(Rental) Housing Crisis? What Crisis?

SusanJP

I read so many articles in the news about shortage of housing, bedrooms with damp problems, blocks of flats with drug dealers etc etc. Especially for people on DSS.

People moan about not being able to find decent accommodation at an affordable price. Here's my experience of putting some accommodation on the market.

I live alone in a 4-5 bedroom house in a nice town in the southeast of England. No mold, no damp. Luxury b/rooms (new deep pile carpet on the floor, a/c !!!!!! heater on the wall). Decent facilities elsewhere in the house - laundry room, dishwasher, 2 fridges, 3 freezers, all the basics. Large garden, parking on drive. Close to shops / bus stops / schools.

I thought I'd take in a lodger or lodgers. I priced the rooms at roughly 25% below market rate and, importantly, I made it available to DSS or even a mum and kids! I advertised on FB, spareroom.co.uk and elsewhere. The lower rate was to be in exchange for helping me a bit with housework and I stated that I was willing to lower the price even further depending on how much help they are able to give me.

Three months later and I've had 50+ applications from, mostly, a bunch of morons.

• 4 of them were either criminals or on the run from the law (which I discovered by doing a bit of digging).
• Over 20+ of them didn't even do me the courtesy of reading the ad and expected me to engage in a to and fro conversation answering questions already covered in the ad - like whether the room is still available, how much etc. If they're that lazy, there's no chance they're going to even clean their own rooms!
• 12 booked appointments and did not turn up (only 3 actually sent me a text to say their plans had changed). One was a recovering drug addict who I felt sorry for as she didn't have money to buy a bus ticket so I agreed to drive 30 minutes to where she was - on Christmas day (because that's the only day she could do) - and she stood me up!
• The others were not suitable for other reasons (for example, they had dogs/cats they wanted to bring with them).

I've got one lodger now, in one b/room, for the last 2 months but given the laws of economics and what they say about demand and supply leaves me thinking ....

What housing crisis?

Splatfoot

It wouldn't be my first choice of accommodation. I'd need more privacy than you seem to be offering.  I know beggars can't be choosers but people want/need their own space. Do you think also, that some might sense hostility?

SusanJP

I hear what you say about hostility. The tone of this thread doesn't reflect the copy in my ads   A few people actually commented on how friendly and welcoming they found the ad (what with the "DSS welcome" and children welcome and what not).

If you (and your kids!) want to get out of a rat infested, druggie hell hole - there was a programme on TV recently about how bad these temporary council accommodations are - and you still demand that you have not only a nice area and low price but also sole occupancy of the property without the home owner being around, then that rat infested, druggie hell hole ain't so bad and there ain't no housing crisis.

[Deleted User]

The Department of Social Security is a defunct government department that was dissolved in 2001. 

If you've ever sold something on Gumtree you've probably experienced something similar. I was living in Aberdeen and selling a bike advertised as cash only and collection only. Not a single respondent understood the concept of collection only. One lady wanted me to deliver the bike the next time I was passing through Wakefield. I've never been to Wakefield in my life. 

However, I tend to agree with splatfoot and wonder if some respondents could sense the hostility. It also sounds like quite a few of those who responded to your advert have chaotic lives so perhaps don't see things as rationally as you might. 

SusanJP

Our posts crossed so I won't address the hostility issue again, but you may have a point about the chaotic lives. I tried to make some allowances for that (like driving to that recovering drug addict lady) but there's only so far you can go. They've got to be willing to do something! One bloke told me that he needs a place urgently but could I call the council and sort it out with them for payment etc  because he couldn't be bothered with all that.

I've had some right cases I tell you. One was a lovely 28 year old lady who came with her mum. Her mum did all the talking. When I tried to speak with the young lady her mum would answer. It transpired that the young lady had learning difficulties and a somewhat reduced mental age. I thought okay but ... I took her mum aside to press her on what the girl's mental age actually was. It turned out to be  ...8!

[Deleted User]

I can well believe someone deferred you to the council to sort things out for him. I'm never quite sure if people genuinely can't cope with these situations and will never learn to cope or if they're just so used to having someone do everything for them that they feel someone else should sort it out. 

The young lady with a mental age of 8 is a tricky one. I can't imagine being comfortable with a child of mine with such learning difficulties moving out of home. You'd effectively have to become her parent. 

afis1904

What is the purpose of this thread? 

Yes, there is a housing crisis, partially because people live in way to big houses for no reason, landlords don't care and councils have to sell houses for an awful price thanks to right to buy.

 Don't really see how you not liking some prospective tenants you tried to find via a site that will attract more people who can't rent on the normal market has got anything to do with it.

SusanJP

afis1904 said:
Yes, there is a housing crisis, partially because people live in way to big houses for no reason,

LOL, so it's my fault for causing the crisis?

But, then, contrary to all the hysteria in the media, my experience suggests that there's probably not a crisis (or it's not as bad as it's made out to be).

Bossypants

SusanJP said:

afis1904 said:
Yes, there is a housing crisis, partially because people live in way to big houses for no reason,

LOL, so it's my fault for causing the crisis?

But, then, contrary to all the hysteria in the media, my experience suggests that there's probably not a crisis (or it's not as bad as it's made out to be).

The 'housing crisis' refers to there not being enough suitable longterm accomodation of the types people need need at prices the people who need can afford. Lodging in one or two rooms in someone else's house, with little privacy and no security, is not suitable longterm accomodation for anyone, let alone people with children in tow.

I'm saying this just on the infinitesimal chance that this isn't actually the wind-up it so obviously is.

ccbrowning

Yeah, sure seems like a total wind-up.

2 fridges, 3 freezers, all the basics

SusanJP

Yes, all the basics for a 5 b/room family house that used to have four kids. When the house was fully occupied those were all in full use. But, yeah, the internet has an uncanny knack of generating smart asses who think, thanks to their genius, they've found the flaw that nobody else has spotted which flaw points to the obvious conclusion that the  thread is a "wind up".  (Yeah, it's a wind up and I'm being paid by Russian bots! )

The 'housing crisis' refers to there not being enough suitable longterm accomodation of the types people need need at prices the people who need can afford. Lodging in one or two rooms in someone else's house, with little privacy and no security, is not suitable longterm accomodation for anyone, let alone people with children in tow.

I get you. The availability of this property isn't for long term / permanent accommodation. It's an alternative to the dire council housing people have been moaning about ...but the housing crisis is presented as multi-faceted affecting both owning and renting and extending all the way from single occupancy to large family homes (albeit with more acute pressure at the "affordable" end of the market".)

There is far more privacy in a setup like mine than in some of those places where you get frequent break-ins, where you've got to put up with loud music from the flat upstairs or sounds of passion from the flat next door. I guess I started this thread after watching that BBC programme about how dire the situation is for most families being housed by councils. Apparently, many of these temporary accommodation places - temporary accommodation - are in converted office blocks being run by private companies as makeshift flats and doing so at huge profit. And that the tenants in these blocks are desperate to move out. Apparently.

Wouldn't a safe, clean, comfortable temporary accommodation beat a dangerous, dirty, noisy, drug den temporary accommodation?

In looking at your language I notice your multiple use of the word "need", once even repeating the word where no repetition was necessary. I'd argue it's not about need, it's about want. The disparity in the market is between what's available and what people want.