Cost of renting a council property?

tigs78

I am currently sharing privately rented accomodation, with all the bills and rent being split three ways it works out at approx £350 per month each.

I have been on the housing association and council waiting lists for some time and today I got a card through from the 'lettings department' of my local council asking me to ring them as they want to discuss my housing situation.

Does anybody know what the average rent for a council property is? It would more than likely be a one bedroomed flat as it is just me. As I said at the moment I pay £350 but that is with all the utility bills and sky etc split three ways. If I had my own council owned flat then I would obviously have to pay the rent and all utility bills on my own so it may not be as affordable as I first thought

Thanks in advance...

bamberbamboo

Hi as far as I know it's different in different areas, in Wales in my local area I believe it's about £39.00 per week for a flat and £45 - £55 for a house,

elisebutt65

I pay £70 for a 3 bed house in Warwickshire.

Obviously 1 bed flats are going to be a LOT cheaper

lesandflynny

Hi There

this is just a tip as i don't know all your circumstances, but it is always worth seeing if you are entitled to some help from housing benefit. If you are on a low income you can get a portion of your rent paid and there is also council tax benefit for single occupancy accomodation. Ask them at housing before you rule out your own place. It may cost about £10 more per week overall yet you end up with your own space. Also, remember, LA landlords are obliged by law to keep the property decent and habitable. The property must have decent central heating, water supplies, windows etc. They also have to repair wear and tear within a reasonable period and they pay not you, as long as it is not your damage. On a private property you will face a lot of repair bills yourselves and the landlord may not keep the substantial things updated i.e. heating, windows, bath etc.

All this depends on your income of course.

Good look, go along and do you sums before you make any decisions. Also see where the property is, you are not obliged to take the first one offered either.

Diane

lynzpower

really depends where you are. Your local authority webiste should have the answer to this, particularly if you have a bidding system in your local area

lynzpower

lesandflynny wrote:

Hi There

this is just a tip as i don't know all your circumstances, but it is always worth seeing if you are entitled to some help from housing benefit. If you are on a low income you can get a portion of your rent paid and there is also council tax benefit for single occupancy accomodation. Ask them at housing before you rule out your own place. It may cost about £10 more per week overall yet you end up with your own space. Also, remember, LA landlords are obliged by law to keep the property decent and habitable. The property must have decent central heating, water supplies, windows etc. They also have to repair wear and tear within a reasonable period and they pay not you, as long as it is not your damage. On a private property you will face a lot of repair bills yourselves and the landlord may not keep the substantial things updated i.e. heating, windows, bath etc.

All this depends on your income of course.

Good look, go along and do you sums before you make any decisions. Also see where the property is, you are not obliged to take the first one offered either.

Diane

Also to say that you may have to come up with a damn good reason why you wont take what is offered to you- such as a disability. Ive known many housing departments discharge duty for prospective tenants being too choosy.

lesandflynny

Don't know how to quote Lynspower, but I work in housing and legislation and regulations are much tighter. It is now discriminatory to restrict the number of offers to tennants, particularly in bidding schemes. You can actually have many many reasons why you do not wnat a property, any reason has got to be considered and almost all are accepted by the authroity as legitimate as they cannot make a "subjective judgement". i.e. I might not want to accept a property because it feels unsafe, who can prove otherwise..... it is me who feels this. Another example is that the area has bad memories for me, again who is to prove otherwise..... Another example, I might feel closed in..... who is to prove otherwise etc.

I respect what your saying as some authroities are still very pushy and unless you are assertive and know your rights it is easy to be fobbed off.

I would advice tigs78 to do homework on the LA scheme, what the restrictions are on offers, what happens if she breaches these restrictions, what benefits are available for low income people etc. LA can be challenged on their policy or procedures if you feel they are being unfair, be assertive and keep coming back to this site for advice. It may also be helpful to see you local CAB who will be 100% up to date with housing benefit advice and housing legislation.


Diane

Alleycat

lynzpower wrote:

Also to say that you may have to come up with a damn good reason why you wont take what is offered to you- such as a disability. Ive known many housing departments discharge duty for prospective tenants being too choosy.

Hi Lynzpower (not stalking you honest!). Just to say that I don't think the OP is being dealt with by the council under the homeless act. If she has just been waiting for rehousing as a normal applicant, there will be no duty to discharge, therefore in the majority of cases she would be able to refuse as many properties as she likes (obviously this will be dependent on the OP's situation).

tigs78

Thanks for all your replies so far...

I wouldn't be eligible for any housing benefits, I earn a reasonable wage but I have a lot of debts which mean that I have a very limited disposable income after paying everything.

I am not behind on any payments and make sure I pay everything as soon as I get paid but I would not be able to afford a mortgage or even a shared ownership property so a housing association or council property is my only realistic hope of having my 'own' place.

Could somebody please tell me what a 'bidding scheme' is as mentioned by lynzpower?. I went on the council's website before posting the original question but it just says to contact the nearest housing office for more info on pretty much everything!

Another question - Are white goods normally included in a council property? I have all of my own furniture but the house I am currently sharing already had a cooker and fridge freezer so I would need to factor in the cost of those if they are not normally included.

Thanks in advance

lynzpower

Alleycat wrote:

Hi Lynzpower (not stalking you honest!). Just to say that I don't think the OP is being dealt with by the council under the homeless act. If she has just been waiting for rehousing as a normal applicant, there will be no duty to discharge, therefore in the majority of cases she would be able to refuse as many properties as she likes (obviously this will be dependent on the OP's situation).

Absolutely correct Alleycat! I must be going homelessness act mad at the moment, what with a few too many at work! But yes, of course there is no duty to discharge when your not dealing via the homelessness act . So yes, OP you can choose whether you like the place or not :beer:

Alleycat

What local authority are you with Tigs?

Re the bidding system. Some local authorities basically advertise properties on a website/newspaper etc and all those who are registered with the council can 'bid' for a property. No money is involved, you are basically expressing an interest in the property. Most local authorities will have a cap on the amount of properties you are allowed to 'bid' on each cycle (time each lot of properties is advertised for). Once you have placed a bid, your application will be placed on a list with the longest registered members at the top and the newest applications at the bottom. If someone has been assessed as statutarily homeless they will have some priority over other applicants, so even if you have been registered for an eternity you may find that you are not in position one. This does not mean that you will not get an offer of property as if the person in position one is in the same position for a number of properties, they can only rent one property!

Re white goods. I don't know of any council or Housing Association properties that come with white goods. They are not furnished at all and you will usually have to provide your own carpets, curtains etc as most tenants take them with them when they move. If you are worried about cost and on a low income, you can get help through charitable furniture stores (some local authorities run their own as well). Just google furniture low income and your area, it should bring back some hits.

Edit to add: Even if there are a few applications before you, don't despair. The people ahead of you may get denied their bid if they have former tenant arrears with the local authority, have ASBO's to keep out of a specific area or are being dealt with by tenancy enforcement. They could also refuse if they decide they don't want the area, get another offer etc.