Council selling flats

Somniac

Cakeguts wrote: »

Councils sometimes sell off properties that they don't want to modernise. It is easier to build new than try to fit a modern kitchen into a 1930s flat so they sell them.

That's true but our kitchens and bathrooms were modernised and CH put in only 3 or 4 years ago

Somniac

da_rule wrote: »

There are strict rules under various Housing Acts and Local Government Acts regarding how Council’s can sell their housing stock. However my understanding is that most of these rules only relate to housing stock that they own within their boundaries as they are the hosuing authority for that area (if they still own housing stock and it hasn’t all been transferred to housing associations etc).

As long as the proceeds of the sale goes to the relevant account (either Hosuing or some other department if the properties were transferred internally by a relevant appropriation first) there doesn’t seem to be anything wrong. The Council may not want to invest money into maintaining properties outside of its own boundaries when it could use the money to benefit its residents.

Mmm. That's true too but they are in the process of upgrading the fire protection at the mo. I guess they would do that as the freeholder anyway in the aftermath of Grenfell.

Somniac

Mossfarr wrote: »

Our local housing association has been selling off the older housing stock for a couple of years now.
As soon as the properties become vacant they give them a good makeover and put them up for auction or offer them to first time buyers at a discounted price.

These are not being offered at a discount. They have put the sale in the hands of a local Estate agent so needless to say the asking price is over the odds. Most are going as buy to let. So being rented put at higher rent than the Councils of course.

Somniac

deannatrois wrote: »

I would be grateful if you could point out which posts on here are aggressive?

Try this one from Cheeky Monkey above

"Who exactly do you think they should have consulted before going about their lawful business? You, by any chance?"

Somniac

Cheeky_Monkey wrote: »

:rotfl: Moi?

No, if I'd wanted to be aggressive I would've said something like - mind your own business - but I didn't so I think I'm in the clear :rotfl:

You're not a landlord by any chance?

Somniac

marliepanda wrote: »

??

Neighbours don't ask you before putting up their house for sale.

Why should the council ask random people if they don't mind them selling property that belongs to the council?

I'm not "random people" I live here. Do you not keep up with what is going on on Council estates all over the country?

Somniac

t0rt0ise wrote: »

The council selling off properties is everybody's business. You could talk to the councillor who has responsibility for housing or any councillor for that matter, and find out what their thinking is behind it. You might find that it's a sensible solution, or you might find that it's just an easy way for them to get rid of their responsibilities and make a bit of money, in which case you could start a group lobbying against it.

Yes that is a good idea. Before they started selling them off, people from the housing list came down to view and wanted to move in but the flats they were offered were in such a state, moving in was an impossibilty. When the prospective tenants refused the ones they were offered, the council had them done up to sell. Speaks for itself really.

Crashy_Time

lincroft1710 wrote: »

My point was that the OP would be in a similar situation, surrounded by owner/occs or non-council tenants. The price quote was for information only

Yes, I agree to a point, but he doesn`t fund owner/occs with his monthly council tax, that makes it slightly different, he is in a way a shareholder of the council?

paddycharlie

Somniac wrote: »

I'm not "random people" I live here. Do you not keep up with what is going on on Council estates all over the country?

So who are the council supposed to consult before selling their property? The next-door neighbour, everyone in the building, everyone in the town/city, everyone in the UK or everyone in Europe?


It would probably be almost cheaper to leave some properties to rot than go through rounds and rounds of consultations and formal processes for every property and having to fight off objections from some people who simply have nothing better to do (I don't mean you).

Somniac

slopemaster wrote: »

I am frankly gobsmacked that some people find the very idea of consultation risible.
I mean, do you want to just be bossed around by those in "authority", with no opportunity to have an input or express an opinion?

Just to show that it is not some off-the-wall anarchist idea, here's a small extract from another council's strategy document

it is vital that our tenants and leaseholders are at the heart of everything we do, the decisions that we make and the plans we put in place for improving services. We want to work with tenants as part of our commitment to improve services and ensure that our housing estates are places where people choose to live now and in the future, as well as creating
confident communities. Our aim is to do this in partnership by speaking honestly, listening to each other’s views and enabling tenants to influence decisions about their homes and the services they receive.
To achieve this vision, the Council will Consult widely and listen to feedback

That is pretty much what my agreement says and the whole reason I think we should have been consulted. There are a number of leaseholders here who think the same thing. Most of them bought under Right to Buy.