Social housing can it be fixed?

[lesleyann]

As the title says can it be fixed really? With waiting lists years and years long people who need them are not getting them anyway. I know its the sun but in an article today is says we will need

This means 415,000 extra homes will be needed over the next 25 years - at a cost to taxpayers of £1billion a year.

If its true and it is unlikey that its 100% honest but I would be guessing its proberly not far out.

The goverment really cannot afford to spend 1Billion per year on more houses with the debt we are in and where would all these houses go?

Should there be tighter controls on who can have a social house?
Should there be time limits on how long you can stay in one?
Should people be made to down size when they no longer require the rooms in the house (New law would not affect the 50+ generation who have lived in their homes for most of their 50years)
Should empty propertys that had been sat for 12months after no contact for owner just be taken back by the govt to them be turned into more social housing since there are so many empty houses?
Should there be laws put in place to control the private rental market to stop workers being out priced for homes then leading to needing social homes?

What do you think? Any idea's I have not thought of ?

 

[kirmal12]

Definitely tighter controls on who can have them and for how long. IMHO they should be there for the people who truly need them, not for every Tom,Dick or Harry who thinks they deserve one just because they were born in England and can't be bothered to do anything with their lives.
And once those people who are in need have got back on their feet, they should move on. For example, Mum & Dad both work with 2 kids who go to Benidorm every year etc etc

** obviously the elderly, sick and disabled should always be housed.

 

[Janidog]

I knew a mother who lived in a 2 bed house with three children, so 2 boys and 1 girl, the council said they didn't have another house for her to move in to, and yet there was a lady in her 60s who had a 3 bed house and she was living on her own, but the council wouldn't move her.

On the other hand I hate it when i read stories in the papers, about women getting pregnant to get a house or flat, thats just wrong.

With ref to councils buying empty properties - my sister has a house next door (not attached) that has been empty for many years, and when an inspector came round, my sister asked if the council were going to buy it to do it up and rent it out, the inspector said the council doesn't have any money to continue to do up empty houses

 

[Eternal]

Im often surprised at some of the people in council housing, its great that thats avaliable for people, but surley (for the most part) it should be like how i view benefits, which is a temporay way of helping someone out, obviously some people will always need to be an council house like some people will always need benenfits. But never the less, it doesnt work of people never move out.

I know a few of my husbands collegues (where he used to work) were in council housing and they were all earning over £30,000.

Saying that the problem I guess is more, where do they go from there, there is a HUGE difference in the price of private rentals. plus its often not kept to the same standard dispite the dramtic diffrence in price.

Then house buying will remain impossible for some. What can be done there? If house prices fall (more so) then everyone nearly will be in negative equity except those buying at the lowest point. which is a much bigger problem, as that could cause a high increase in bankrupsy! There are incentives for new buyers but still house prices are way above what most can afford and on top of that getting a mortgage is a nightmare at the moment, so even those who are alreday home owners cant get one!

So i think it should be a stop gap for people to be able to save and look after their family. But HOW they can ever get out of it is beyond me. Again its like benefits in the sense that some people really want to work, but cant as they would be on less money working than they would on benefits!

Eck! Clearly the system is a mess, but I have no idea what can be done.

 

[lesleyann]

Oh yeah we are stuck pivatly renting, dont earn enough to save a deposit on top of rent yet earn to much or just earn at all, for the council to help anyway.. I think that council prices and private rents should be closer together really I mean we pay £495 for a mid terrace 2bed.. My mums rent is like £300 a month for a 3bed end terrace, so we pay pretty much £200 more for less space where as if our rent was £300 a month we could save £200 a month for a deposit which is over 2grand in a year so ok for a 10grand deposit would take just over 4years..

People who want to help them selfs need to be helped rather than those who dont want to help them selfs!

 

[Mum2b_Claire]

I think in most circumstances they should move people who have too much space to smaller properties, to make way for people who need the space. I'm sure this is undesirable for the people concerned, but if you're in subsidised housing then you should feel lucky you have a house in the first place if you're not able to pay for your own private rent.

I think instead of trying to control private rental prices to make them more affordable, more employers need to pay a 'living wage' instead of the min wage, e.g quite a few employers in London pay a London Living Wage but it is of course a voluntary thing atm.

 

[lesleyann]

I think in most circumstances they should move people who have too much space to smaller properties, to make way for people who need the space. I'm sure this is undesirable for the people concerned, but if you're in subsidised housing then you should feel lucky you have a house in the first place if you're not able to pay for your own private rent.

I think instead of trying to control private rental prices to make them more affordable, more employers need to pay a 'living wage' instead of the min wage, e.g quite a few employers in London pay a London Living Wage but it is of course a voluntary thing atm.

Now that's an idea with the wages but then what would stop landlords putting up their prices because people are earning more?

Have you seen this year min wage increase ? It's laughable tbh

 

[Mum2b_Claire]

But then, by definition, the living wage would need to go up because a living wage would be based on the prevailing housing costs.

I don't know what the min wage is, I've never earnt the min wage myself, when I did shop jobs etc as a student I was always too young for it to kick in...

 

[Janidog]

I think in most circumstances they should move people who have too much space to smaller properties, to make way for people who need the space. I'm sure this is undesirable for the people concerned, but if you're in subsidised housing then you should feel lucky you have a house in the first place if you're not able to pay for your own private rent.

I think instead of trying to control private rental prices to make them more affordable, more employers need to pay a 'living wage' instead of the min wage, e.g quite a few employers in London pay a London Living Wage but it is of course a voluntary thing atm.

Now that's an idea with the wages but then what would stop landlords putting up their prices because people are earning more?

Have you seen this year min wage increase ? It's laughable tbh

I do think that the government do need to help those that are on minimum wages. If you're both on very low wages then you're not going to be able to afford to private rent, which then discourages people from working low paid jobs

 

[lesleyann]

Taken from direct govt;

Current NMW rates

There are different levels of NMW, depending on your age and whether you are an apprentice. The current rates are:

£5.93 - the main rate for workers aged 21 and over
£4.92 - the 18-20 rate
£3.64 - the 16-17 rate for workers above school leaving age but under 18
£2.50 - the apprentice rate, for apprentices under 19 or 19 or over and in the first year of their apprenticeship

The age at which you become entitled to the main rate was reduced from 22 to 21 on 1 October 2010. The apprentice rate was introduced on the same date.

If you are of compulsory school age you are not entitled to the NMW. Some of your other employment rights are also different.
Rates from 1 October 2011

The NMW rates are reviewed each year by the Low Pay Commission and from 1 October 2011:

the main rate for workers aged 21 and over will increase to £6.08
the 18-20 rate will increase to £4.98
the 16-17 rate for workers above school leaving age but under 18 will increase to £3.68
the apprentice rate, for apprentices under 19 or 19 or over and in the first year of their apprenticeship will increase to £2.60

It seems like anyone on a low income is forever stuck untill/if they can climb the ladder

 

[summer rain]

I don't feel the social housing situation is as dire as the media makes out, it depends on the area but in some areas, even in London there are a surplus of properties with a certain number of bedrooms particularly 1 or 2 bedrooms and properties in tower blocks. The local authority where we lived until recently was so desperate to let their homes in tower blocks they would allow those with no priority or only entitled to 1 or 2 bedrooms bid on the 3 bedroom ones. A lot of the tower blocks have been really cleaned up recently with new security features added, yet people cannot see that and they are too fussy. People we knew who weren't fussy and only in need of a 1 or 2 bedroom property in that area had a winning bid as early as three weeks after being put on the register, the most it would take would be about 5 months. We got our place because people in our old borough point blank refused to bid on anything outside the borough, as our flat is. Also the fact its a flat, many turn their nose up at that even though there is a lift to practically outside our front door. We are currently registered for a swap as we want to move to a 4 bedroom but in most areas of London if you have 4 kids you're classed as overcrowded in a 3 bed but not eligible for a 4 bed until you have 5-6 kids! Howver with homeswap you're entitled to at least one more bedroom than normal. Its just crazy how fussy a lot of the people wanting to swap are, and its also funny how they all think people in Brighton, Devon, Southend on Sea and Margate will want to come and live in London. A lot of people expect to be housed in social housing but are not willing to compromise on anything and they then grumble the council isn't finding them anything and how the system is broken when it isn't. Also a lot of councils and housing associations will try to fob you off and discourage you from applying but at the moment most people are entitled to register and I think it should stay that way, if people are willing to be open minded and flexible and stay on a list for several years and renting privately would be hard for them or put them into debt-and in some areas even pretty high earners have this problem-then I think they should be allowed to register and bid.

Ok back on topic, with regard to people getting kicked out if they earn past a certain amount or their kids move out I think this should be the case but here in London there is no way they could put a ceiling of £30k annual earnings or something like that because rental costs even in the social sector are so much higher. Our rent is £132 a week, in some areas of London its around that for a one bedroom council flat.

 

[Midnight_Fairy]

I dont think the elderly should move for others, just my opinion though.

It annoys me when people make trouble for themselves by having more kids when given a house thus needing larger house.

 

[Lightworker]

Something I have observed though, is I have met many people who after the age of 16 (or is it 18), they immediately applied for council housing, regardless of what their situation in life was.

I would have thought that at that age, you have your whole life ahead of you, and you would be setting your sights higher (not to say that council housing is low per se) but I never understood it.

I also met this 40 year old man, he worked full time, and was on the waiting list for council housing, and he said in 5 years time he was guaranteed to get it. I think, as I have said before, whilst British welfare system helps loads, I think it also incapacitates people indirectly by allowing them to be complacent and lazy and not working for their own stuff.

 

[Laura2919]

I definitely dont think that council housing should be something to help people for a short while and then when ready they should move on! I do believe however that council housing should be capped like benefits, if you earn more than £50,000 and above I dont see why you would even need a council house! My mum and dad had no money and were on the council, then the council offered them a great deal to buy their council home and they did, then they sold it and they moved to a bigger place when they were earning better but thats not the case for everyone, council housing isnt a temporary solution for many people.
Im with a Housing Association, I cant see how on my wage I would afford to live in a privately rented home without claiming HB which really is coming from the taxpayer too. I dont claim HB because I can afford my rent. It might be costing the taxpayer but I am a taxpayer and I pay my rent in full with no help.

There are however some issues which really annoy me. Empty council houses that are just left boarded up and not cleaned up and let out again, people living in a 3 bedroom home and they are on their own. People putting family members on their rent book so that if anything happened their family would get the house.
All these things should be scrapped.
There is no way that a privately rented place would cost a person the same as a council home. I only pay £400 a month. The rent for a private home here is between £800-£1000 my friend rents her flat out and she gets just a little over what her mortgage is and thats £800!

 

[tallybee]

With regards to the right to buy scheme, that has taken a large number of homes out of social housing. A quick google finds that wikipedia says:

Between 1980 and 1998, it is estimated that approximately 2 million homes in the UK were sold in this manner.

This is all fine and dandy for the people who got a discounted house, sold it for a tidy profit and moved on, but disastrous for the country's stock of social housing... Those homes that have been sold are no less subject to the usual housing market than anywhere else and many are far from affordable now.

 

[Rhi_Rhi1]

some aspects of council housing annoy me... just recently i was annoyed (okay green) that my friend and her partner and their one year old were given a new build from the council... but can't be bothered to hold down a job.. and he spends all his money on drugs/fags.. yet now they get to live in a brand new home.. i mean i know they have to give them somewhere to live, but you can't help feeling a little put out when we can't afford to buy a new build/rent one but they get one for free?! or that someone else we know makes 32k a year and has a council has in a posh village backing onto a golf course !? .. just because they sat on the list for 8 years, we earn half of that and we are not even entitled to Hb to help pay our rent.. but now his rent is less then ours because of the low rent on council houses !!!!! .. its not a very fair system,

 

[Mum2b_Claire]

^ are you sure? On just my OH's salary, which is more than half of 32k, we would be entitled to a little HB.

 

[lesleyann]

I think the HB cut off for this year is something like 16,456 or something stupid like that, Im pretty sure its in the 16,000 mark as it seems to go up every year and last years was 15,000 something

 

[special_kala]

We get hb and my oh earns 24000 could be where we live though

 

[tallybee]

It's always worth asking about these things, a lot of people don't seem to claim everything they can. I'd say make an appointment with the local CAB as the benefits people fob you off