Council/company want to demolish inlaws estate

Ivrytwr3

My inlaws are fast approaching their 80's and live in a bungalow. They said they do not own it and is a council house but through a company called livin.

Their estate has had notification that they intend to move out the residents and demolish the estate to build more housing.

They have offered new build bungalows in another area and £5800 compensation. All moving costs etc will be met by the individuals not the company.

They don't want to move as they have made improvements etc and also they will be losing a garage, a large garden and the proposed property is smaller.

Does anyone have any experience of this?

Mojisola

Ivrytwr3 wrote: »

My inlaws are fast approaching their 80's and live in a bungalow. They said they do not own it and is a council house but through a company called livin.

Their estate has had notification that they intend to move out the residents and demolish the estate to build more housing.

They have offered new build bungalows in another area and £5800 compensation. All moving costs etc will be met by the individuals not the company.

They don't want to move as they have made improvements etc and also they will be losing a garage, a large garden and the proposed property is smaller.

Do they have a choice if the house is being demolished?

Bhanson

I work in a council regeneration team. Presumably at this stage the consultation has been complete and the decision made, so unfortunate not much you can do.

I would say though that, depending on which stage of the acquisition and demolition your inlaws house is in (the full estate will be done in smaller chunks/stages) it might not happen for a long, long time. We've got estates being regenerated at the minute were approval was given for demotion over ten years ago and we're only just about to do the last ones. So their house might not be programmed for up to 10 years away depending on where the finance for the new build is coming from.

I'd firstly contact the council to find out when their house is programmed in for and at the same time make them aware of your inlaws opposition to the demolition/proposed decant property - their local team will likely follow it up with a call/visit to discuss their concerns and other property options.

csgohan4

they don't own the house, so they may not have much choice.

stator

What sort of tenancy do they have?

Looks like Livin are a property management organisation, not the owners of any houses. They are probably still owned by the council.

If you want to secure the best house possible for them to move into, it's best to work with the council. If you fight the development by refusing to discuss moving then you'll end up with whatever's left

Ivrytwr3

Thanks for the inputs - to answer a couple of questions:

a. i believe Livin is a property management company.

b. There is 3 phases to the move - phase one is 2018 (first people to move) Phase 2 is 2019 which is when inlaws are scheduled to move.

c. Tenancy - not sure. All i know is they pay rent and any repairs etc then council/livin action the repair.

I can go and ask questions if that would help here, but i think i have got my answers, they have to move by the sounds of it!

(not sure where the figure £5800 comes from though)

Bhanson

In terms of the homeloss payment, *I think* there's a minimum set out in statute. Though we pay a little over £6k so the £5.8k might well be the minimum but can't say for certain.

Tenancy type shouldn't matter I wouldn't have thought. Just make sure they aren't offered anything less than a lifetime secure tenancy in the new place if that's what they already have.

agrinnall

Unless the £5800 is specifically to cover expenses rather than being compensation for being forced to move I would push for all removal costs to be paid by the council too.

patman99

What about buying the bungalow via right to buy?. The Council cannot demolish what they do not own.

leslieknope

but they're not going to sell a bungalow they want to demolish.

Mossfarr

patman99 wrote: »

What about buying the bungalow via right to buy?. The Council cannot demolish what they do not own.

Of course they can - have you never heard of compulsory purchase?