Council Housing?

00ec25

seven-day-weekend wrote: »

Why should not someone on a decent income benefit from security of tenure?

no reason at all that they shouldn't, but in the same vein, why should they get such security at a discounted rent?

rent paid should be means tested, then "we" will get a better idea of who are the genuinely needy and who are merely benefit spongers unwilling to work and expecting the state to feed and house them

pogofish

00ec25 wrote: »

no reason at all that they shouldn't, but in the same vein, why should they get such security at a discounted rent?

They don't.

Council housing in England and Wales covers its feet commercially and since the 1980s when the bulk of the treasury bonds that financed it were paid-up and councils were forced to account excess income to Westminster, it has proved a nice little money earner - Ring fenced for "Ministerial Projects" last time I looked, it was sitting at around two billion a year and set to rise further over the next few years.

theartfullodger

seven-day-weekend wrote: »

Why should not someone on a decent income benefit from security of tenure?

Indeed: It's called owning your own home, Mother Theresa's answer to all housing problems

00ec25

pogofish wrote: »

They don't.

they do

perhaps you misunderstand what is being said in this thread?

here is a clue:

deannatrois wrote: »

I live in a maisonette. Its a bit larger than the smaller terraced houses that abound here. The rent is £400 a month. Private rents are disproportionately high as only 12 miles from London with quick transport links - private rental on a 3 bed terrace house now is around £1,100 . I couldn't begin to pay that as LHA when I last looked is around £750 pm.

perhaps you failed to read post #5

lets look at some figures shall we:

average monthly rent in housing association property (all stock is now with RSLs) Bromley Kent 2016: source Govt data per post #5

average monthly rent £512

average private sector rent Bromley Kent 2016: Source: Valuation Office Agency biennial survey https://data.london.gov.uk/dataset/average-private-rents-borough
no of properties sampled: 1,340 average rent £1,241 bottom quartile rent: £950 median £1,195 upper quartile £1,400

so as stated "council" housing is still heavily "subsided" in terms of being way below market rate and yet occupied by people who are thus coining it in comparison to others who are unable to access such housing. Id you look back to the history of deannatrois you will see that she is precisely the type of person for whom social housing is intended to help. She needs and deserves it, yet she has had to go through hel l to get it because so much of it is "blocked" by those who don't need it any longer

seven-day-weekend

theartfullodger wrote: »

Indeed: It's called owning your own home, Mother Theresa's answer to all housing problems

Renting a social house is the securest form of housing, unless the homebuyer has paid off their mortgage or paid cash.

theartfullodger

seven-day-weekend wrote: »

Renting a social house is the securest form of housing, unless the homebuyer has paid off their mortgage or paid cash.

Rarely: There are at least 10 types of council or housing association tenancies/licenses - counting council & HA separately - see...
https://england.shelter.org.uk/housing_advice/council_housing_association

Council tenancies

Secure council tenancies
Introductory council tenancies
Flexible council tenancies
Demoted council tenancies
Temporary council accommodation


Housing association tenancies

Assured tenancies with housing associations
Housing association starter tenancies
Assured shorthold tenancies with housing associations
Demoted housing association tenancies
Secure housing association tenancies

Only the "Secure" tenancies are I think what you refer to: All others have fewer, weaker, rights and indeed for council temporary accommodation you can be pretty much evicted with a couple of days notices.

The Conservatives are planning or reducing the availability of secure tenancies for new tenants & if they could withdrawing them from existing tenants.

Red-Squirrel_2

Mojisola wrote: »

There's no reason why they can't keep their council tenancy but have their ability to pay a market rent assessed.

I know people who got a council house when they were young couples with young children with only one full wage coming into the house. Now there are three or four adults working full-time in the same house but they are still paying the lower council rent.

I think that's because of the fundamental difference between the purpose of council housing and the purpose of private rental stock.

Council housing exists to provide stable secure housing for people. Private renting exists to make profit for landlords.

Its the same with anything that exists in both private and public sectors, you could ask why wealthy people aren't forced to pay for private medical care and free up the waiting lists for poorer people, or why well off parents aren't forced to send their kids to fee paying schools, it only comes up with social housing though because there's such a dire shortage of it.