i dont get council flats?

bluedoganchorite

Hi. first time I have ever looked into this stuff.

If you earn below a certain level etc
You can just rent privately and with housing benefit you will pay less than a council flat it seems.

I mean.. I assume you can't get housing benefit for a council flat lol.

If I've made any very skewed assumptions, please let me know, thanks.

~Beanie~

I think with council property you are more secure in the long term, a private landlord could give you notice to leave and you could find yourself having to move house every 12 months or so.

And yes, you can get housing benefit for a council flat!

[Deleted User]

Housing benefit is awarded to help people whose income (whether through benefits or work) is below a certain level. It doesn't matter if they live on a boat, in ashipping crate, a council flat or a private rented flat (although the person could have problems if shown to be renting from a family member).

Before making assumptions, you'd probably be wise to check things by googling. Read this if you haven't already http://england.shelter.org.uk/get_advice/housing_benefit_and_local_housing_allowance/what_is_housing_benefit/local_housing_allowance#how_is_local_housing_allowance_%28lha%29_calculated%3F If you are under 35, your housing allowance limit will be set at the lowest 30% of cost to rent a room in a shared house/flat.

Also to live in a private rental flat you often have to pass credit checks or have a guarantor, provide references and have a month's rent in advance plus a month or six weeks rent in deposit, plus be able to cover admin fees etc. Its not just rent you have to pay out. With council houses (one of the reasons they are in short supply) you don't have to supply any of this.

Be careful.

KME91

bluedoganchorite wrote: »

Hi. first time I have ever looked into this stuff.

If you earn below a certain level etc
You can just rent privately and with housing benefit you will pay less than a council flat it seems.

I mean.. I assume you can't get housing benefit for a council flat lol.

If I've made any very skewed assumptions, please let me know, thanks.

You've made some very skewed assumptions, yes. Housing benefit is paid for council (or more likely housing authority) flats, and they also tend to have more long term security than private lets. In my experience of living in council accommodation versus private lets, council houses tend to have better maintenance, a more straightforward process for getting stuff fixed, and more freedom to do things like paint and decorate, landscape if there is a garden etc.

The challenge is that getting a council place is fairly tricky these days. It's not simple to qualify for one.

Road_Hog

KME91 wrote: »

The challenge is that getting a council place is fairly tricky these days. It's not simple to qualify for one.

And finding one that isn't a total warzone.

BigAunty

Tenants in social housing have high rates of worklessness than other types of tenure. There is a higher percentage of social housing tenants who claim HB than private tenants.

Niv

bluedoganchorite wrote: »

Hi. first time I have ever looked into this stuff.

If you earn below a certain level etc
You can just rent privately and with housing benefit you will pay less than a council flat it seems.

I mean.. I assume you can't get housing benefit for a council flat lol.

If I've made any very skewed assumptions, please let me know, thanks.

You sound like a bad troll to me tbh.

moremore

BigAunty wrote: »

Tenants in social housing have high rates of worklessness than other types of tenure. There is a higher percentage of social housing tenants who claim HB than private tenants.

Have you got any sort of statistics to back up what your statement? Or is it your own prejudices against working class people.:(

AnnieO1234

The only thing I will say is, because I was surprised by it on the 1940s benefit programme a few months ago, council tenants seems to end up with all decorating and fixtures and fittings costs so I'm not sure which really is cheaper between the two.

jonewer

moremore wrote: »

Have you got any sort of statistics to back up what your statement? Or is it your own prejudices against working class people.:(

It fairly well stands to reason since the last last Labour government took the decision to allocate council houses on the basis of 'need' rather than on the basis of being a deserving tenant.

For obvious reasons, this means that council houses are given to those at the bottom of society, hence the phrase 'sink estate'. Just to be clear, the problem with council housing is precisely that it is no longer working class accommodation because people who work are less likely to be given a council house.

http://www.housingcare.org/downloads/kbase/2027.pdf

You are twice as likely to be a victim of burglary if you rent from a council or housing association than if you own your home

As an anecdotal, I used to work as a crime analyst with the met. I cannot recall a single target subject I worked on in 9 years who did not live in social housing.

BigAunty

moremore wrote: »

Have you got any sort of statistics to back up what your statement? Or is it your own prejudices against working class people.:(

I am working class, born to a cleaner and toolmaker. I was actually born in a council house and lived in social housing for all of my childhood and some of my adult life. Even if I was born in a palace, my observations are based on fact, not bigotry.

And yes, this is a statistic that I came across in an article with an academic who was tasked to look into the future of social housing who said that even allowing for the usual factors behind people not being in employment (pensioners, those with disabilities) it is a fact that social housing tenants have far higher rates of unemployment.

"More than half those of working age living in social housing are without paid work, twice the national rate."

http://www.theguardian.com/society/2007/feb/21/communities.politics

Also, here

"despite the most recent drop in figures, there are still 2.5 million unemployed people within the UK, and social housing tenants are disproportionately represented among them. Unemployment rates within social housing stand at a much higher 20%"

http://www.theguardian.com/housing-network/2012/oct/26/live-discussion-helping-residents-work-unemployment

More stats for you

5,072,264 claiming housing benefit - A total of 1.4 million private tenants were claiming housing benefit in May this year. (This means that around 70% of HB claimants are social housing tenants. Note that social housing provides around 12% of housing stock in the UK.)

http://www.insidehousing.co.uk/regulation/number-of-benefit-claimants-in-work-nears-1-million-landmark/6528257.article