Council house entitlement!!!

bobblebot

Council housing is there if you are desperate, yes I understand but also think too many live in them who are no longer desperate hence when people who are desperate in desperate times need them they are not available. I was in a desperate situation following divorce and debt, had to go bankrupt, lost job and had house repossessed, with 4 children and a lone parent who had never claimed benefits before I did not know where I was to live. Could I get a council house...no...but then again council housing was not my first point of call...because i figured it was my situation and if I could het myself a house without resorting to have to live on a drug infested coucil estate (if I was lucky, then I would). I managed to scrimp up and save a deposit and get a private rental- only 3 bed semi with just one samll living room and for 4 teenagers and myself it was tight but not as tight as a 2 bed council flat. I'm now back in pt work and hoping to get a bigger house after saving up a bigger deposit in next year. I would have hated to end up in council housing but if I needed it it should have been available...it is just unfortunate that so many people take it for granted as a way of life. i don't mean to get at the poster but I think it should only ever be treated as 'temporary' accomodation.

neas

well said bubble its meant as temporary to get people back on their feet... i know of a family who lived in their councl house from 16 to well she is 45 and finally getting out of it. She had 6 daughters... and now once the daughters are all grown up and moved out... now got a good job and a big house lol. She bought the councl house... sold it and moved to a posher area. Still a bit screwed if you ask me... hardly temporary... 6 kids is a lot.

clk299

Because of the nature of my job, I go into a lot of houses (this is GREAT for house design ideas, haha) but I also go into a lot of council houses and onto a lot of real sink estates and neglected areas, and council regeneration areas. I can tell you, a lot of accommodation from local authorities really, really stinks. Anyone who boasts about it, is probably doing it because they want to save face (unless they've got really lucky and got a new build- there are some about). I see people day in, day out who are living in one room with a shared bathroom; I see families crammed in to unsuitable homes because of the way the system works. Most councils say that you have to have one bedroom per gender until a child gets to a certain age (I think it's 7, where we are) so you end up with lots of sharers, but then you have to bid on houses that go according to your NEEDS, so if you 'need' a four bedroom house (but you could make do with a 3) you have to bid for four beds only. 8 kids and mum and dad in the most immaculate 3 bed flat I've ever seen- it's a bit wrong really. Plus a lot of HA and LA housing really is unsuitable to live in, and when you are forced to take your child to A&E with asthma exacerbated by the damp, again and again, you lose the plot a little!

Then you get the even worse: the illegal immigrants, and people who have no leave to remain here. Living four families (with lots of children) in three or four bed semis; subletting rooms in council properties, rooms with a bed and a fridge and a cot and all sharing the kitchen and bathroom because they aren't eligible for anything from the council and can't afford more. I've not had to call social services because of living conditions for any of these families YET but I know there will come a day.

And then there is the other side: I earn over £30k, I live with my parents because I can't afford to buy and I can't really houseshare (not appropriate with my health problems and seems a bit pointless to pay nearly all my income on rent and bills rather than save up for my own place). There's no point me applying for council housing, because I am so low on the priority list, and rightly so- I know many people much more deserving than I, and I'm grateful I'm not desperate or homeless. There are a few big estates locally, and you could buy on them... but the properties are cheap because who would WANT to? the crime is awful etc so you have the choice: go for the 'entitlement' to a council flat in a mank area or say 'ok, I will have hardships in other ways but I prefer one to the other'. That is, if you HAVE a choice.

lidlest

bobblebot wrote: »

Council housing is there if you are desperate, yes I understand but also think too many live in them who are no longer desperate hence when people who are desperate in desperate times need them they are not available. I was in a desperate situation following divorce and debt, had to go bankrupt, lost job and had house repossessed, with 4 children and a lone parent who had never claimed benefits before I did not know where I was to live. Could I get a council house...no...but then again council housing was not my first point of call...because i figured it was my situation and if I could het myself a house without resorting to have to live on a drug infested coucil estate (if I was lucky, then I would). I managed to scrimp up and save a deposit and get a private rental- only 3 bed semi with just one samll living room and for 4 teenagers and myself it was tight but not as tight as a 2 bed council flat. I'm now back in pt work and hoping to get a bigger house after saving up a bigger deposit in next year. I would have hated to end up in council housing but if I needed it it should have been available...it is just unfortunate that so many people take it for granted as a way of life. i don't mean to get at the poster but I think it should only ever be treated as 'temporary' accomodation.

Sorry but if not wanting to move from my HOME makes me lack morals then i lack morals. If i buy my council house as i plan to the council could build 3 homes for the price they are going to charge me. The lack of council housing has more to do with them not being built as much rather than people no longer in need renting/buying them. Only a small % of housing going up where i live is social housing and this is an area in desperate need of it.

tigtag02

neas wrote: »

well said bubble its meant as temporary to get people back on their feet... i know of a family who lived in their councl house from 16 to well she is 45 and finally getting out of it. She had 6 daughters... and now once the daughters are all grown up and moved out... now got a good job and a big house lol. She bought the councl house... sold it and moved to a posher area. Still a bit screwed if you ask me... hardly temporary... 6 kids is a lot.

I'm not convinced you actually live on the same planet as the rest of us!!

MissMoneypenny

in_debt_again_but_dealing_with_it wrote: »

This seems a very sweeping statement Miss Moneypenny. Saving up the minimum for a 10% deposit on a £90,000 house (if there are any left below £100k) is £9,000, a person able to save £100 a month would take 90 months or roughly 7.5 years, in the meantime the price of there bottom of the ladder home has increased and so the donkey keeps chasing the carrot on the stick!

Sorry for the late reply - only just seen it.

It wasn't a sweeping statement. Saving up for a deposit was what we all use to do. I raised 6k in one year to buy my first house (on my own), back in 1979. Yes, I had a well paid job, but I also took a second job and worked a total of 90 hours per week, plus traveling time. 1k of that 6k came from selling my beloved car. The market was rising then too. It fell again of course, just like it will again now.

Those crazy 100% and 125% mortgages came in with easy credit on cards and loans and it fueled some peoples desire to have it now and pay later.

There is nothing wrong with saving for something you want. Lots of people do it. My 22 year old son was working 50 hour weeks, while my 24 year old daughter works 70+ hour weeks to get what she wants.

dmg24

MissMoneypenny wrote: »

It wasn't a sweeping statement. Saving up for a deposit was what we all use to do.

That appears to be another sweeping statement!

MissMoneypenny

dmg24 wrote: »

That appears to be another sweeping statement!

How did you get a deposit for a house in the 70s then?

in_debt_again_but_dealing_with_it

I agree with you Miss Moneypenny saving is the only way to go - and my hat goes off to your children, my children are already reasonably self sufficient and already employed, at the ages of 14, 15 and 20 (+ student). I was born and brought up in a council house and have a very strong work ethic as do all my family - however you were fortunate to be in a well paid job and in a position to take a second job. You must understand that not all people are able to do this - not always because they are lazy or selfish or work shy but because their circumstances and situation simply doesn't make it possible. That doesn't mean they are less worthy - we are all born and then die - what we do in the middle is make the best of it and hopefully leave a lasting impression and sweet memories - where we live and how much we are worth (financially) really counts for not much at all!

dmg24

MissMoneypenny wrote: »

How did you get a deposit for a house in the 70s then?

I wasn't alive in the 70's! However, my parents had the money for their deposit gifted to them.