Council Houses - how?!?!

Author
Discussion

The Moose

Original Poster:

23,117 posts

216 months

Tuesday 15th September 2009
quotequote all
Was sitting here wondering how One would go about getting a council house, and what the requirements would be on the individual.

Just curious having never gone through it??

Cheers

The Moose

lawrence567

7,507 posts

197 months

Tuesday 15th September 2009
quotequote all
Join the waiting list, then you'll be banded in to Gold, Silver or an Emergency card.
Typical waiting list is about 5-8 years i believe.
My girlfriends still on a silver band, has been on the waiting list for 3 years, has been homeless on more than one occasion (with 2 kids).
Was beaten up by her ex and she's still not been banded up yet.
It's madness.

clonmult

10,529 posts

216 months

Tuesday 15th September 2009
quotequote all
Never gone through it, but have known people who've been on the list, or have got one.

You've got to get onto the housing list. And wait.

There are factors that can affect your priority on the list - income, single parent, number of children, as well as a few other more unpleasant factors that can come into play.

sa_20v

4,108 posts

238 months

Tuesday 15th September 2009
quotequote all
lawrence567 said:
It's madness.
It certainly is - why can't she afford her own accommodation like anyone else?

Penny-lope

13,645 posts

200 months

Tuesday 15th September 2009
quotequote all
Haha....

I was classed as homeless, and got offered....








what for it










nothing after 15 months of waiting. (Finally after 26 months I gave up)

I am a single mum, but I work, do not have a drug problem and am over 30.

Decided to buy my own house a few months back.



Edited by Penny-lope on Tuesday 15th September 11:46

Eric Mc

122,854 posts

272 months

Tuesday 15th September 2009
quotequote all
Everyone else CAN'T afford their own house.

The problem is that volume of available Council Housing is far less than it used to be and it has become associated with a certain "underclass" of non-achievers. This is total nonsense and a major disastrous outcome of the Thatcher ethos of everyone who can't afford their own home being branded a failure.

Technically, Council Hopuse no longer exist. The vast bulk of "Council" housing now lies in the hands of quango type o(and therefore unaccountable ) Housing Associations.

Not a good stae of affairs at all.

clonmult

10,529 posts

216 months

Tuesday 15th September 2009
quotequote all
lawrence567 said:
Join the waiting list, then you'll be banded in to Gold, Silver or an Emergency card.
Typical waiting list is about 5-8 years i believe.
My girlfriends still on a silver band, has been on the waiting list for 3 years, has been homeless on more than one occasion (with 2 kids).
Was beaten up by her ex and she's still not been banded up yet.
It's madness.
Total madness.

My partners neighbours were moved at short notice, although god knows why - from what we've heard (other neighbours have council friends, and from family friends) the two parents are drug addicts, elder child was moved out of their family home, and their younger two are on the "at risk" register. Yet somehow they got moved into what is a relatively nice 3 story "town house".

Swmbo only got moved as the person who was convited of attacking her several years back was being released from jail, and his family literally lived round the corner from her old house.

No apparent sense in the "system" at times.

Horse_Apple

3,795 posts

249 months

Tuesday 15th September 2009
quotequote all
Right To Buy has meant that local authorities have massively depleted stocks. Mental. Should stop asap.

Number of empty council homes just being left to rot is also a disgrace.

It's an important service to those needing a leg up but Right To Buy has to end, it cannot be sustained by Council Tax revenues being used to replace the lost property at market rate when the original asset was sold well under market.

Plus, there needs to be a smart re-distribution. There are hundreds of little old ladies living in enormous houses around London. Sadly, they need to be relocated to one bedders and those houses converted into flats for the younger generation who need support.

Bad management by swarms of well meaning, do-gooding but incompetent, ill educated cretins handed blank cheques by the tax payer (who is evil because they steal all the jobs and money)

Chris_w666

22,655 posts

206 months

Tuesday 15th September 2009
quotequote all
Horse_Apple said:
Plus, there needs to be a smart re-distribution. There are hundreds of little old ladies living in enormous houses around London. Sadly, they need to be relocated to one bedders and those houses converted into flats for the younger generation who need support.
While I don't know London too well it appears that in places I do know the only housing being built is aimed squarely at the family market and lots of so called social housing is shared equity which means there is still a need for people to raise mortgage finance.

Building some more appartments to let to young people would be a good idea in lots of areas.

Horse_Apple

3,795 posts

249 months

Tuesday 15th September 2009
quotequote all
Chris_w666 said:
Horse_Apple said:
Plus, there needs to be a smart re-distribution. There are hundreds of little old ladies living in enormous houses around London. Sadly, they need to be relocated to one bedders and those houses converted into flats for the younger generation who need support.
While I don't know London too well it appears that in places I do know the only housing being built is aimed squarely at the family market and lots of so called social housing is shared equity which means there is still a need for people to raise mortgage finance.

Building some more appartments to let to young people would be a good idea in lots of areas.
Agreed, but over the last 18 months councils have had the opportunity to buy enormous numbers of new builds off developers at rock bottom prices. I wonder whether they took advantage of this?

My arse.

Asterix

24,438 posts

235 months

Tuesday 15th September 2009
quotequote all
Horse_Apple said:
Chris_w666 said:
Horse_Apple said:
Plus, there needs to be a smart re-distribution. There are hundreds of little old ladies living in enormous houses around London. Sadly, they need to be relocated to one bedders and those houses converted into flats for the younger generation who need support.
While I don't know London too well it appears that in places I do know the only housing being built is aimed squarely at the family market and lots of so called social housing is shared equity which means there is still a need for people to raise mortgage finance.

Building some more appartments to let to young people would be a good idea in lots of areas.
Agreed, but over the last 18 months councils have had the opportunity to buy enormous numbers of new builds off developers at rock bottom prices. I wonder whether they took advantage of this?

My arse.
How could they - they lost all their cash went Iceland went bust! Quite why councils had tens of millions stashed away rather than spending it on stuff, I'll never understand.

Chris_w666

22,655 posts

206 months

Tuesday 15th September 2009
quotequote all
Horse_Apple said:
Chris_w666 said:
Horse_Apple said:
Plus, there needs to be a smart re-distribution. There are hundreds of little old ladies living in enormous houses around London. Sadly, they need to be relocated to one bedders and those houses converted into flats for the younger generation who need support.
While I don't know London too well it appears that in places I do know the only housing being built is aimed squarely at the family market and lots of so called social housing is shared equity which means there is still a need for people to raise mortgage finance.

Building some more appartments to let to young people would be a good idea in lots of areas.
Agreed, but over the last 18 months councils have had the opportunity to buy enormous numbers of new builds off developers at rock bottom prices. I wonder whether they took advantage of this?

My arse.
Maybe it was a decision taken to avoid pissing off tax payers and daily mail readers. Nobody would want to have paid top money in 2006/07 for new homes to have Wayne and Waynetta move in next door. Though there are lots of newish apartment blocks either part built or empty round here and other places I am sure that buying whole blocks wouldn't upset as many people, especially the standalone ones.

Horse_Apple

3,795 posts

249 months

Tuesday 15th September 2009
quotequote all
Chris_w666 said:
Horse_Apple said:
Chris_w666 said:
Horse_Apple said:
Plus, there needs to be a smart re-distribution. There are hundreds of little old ladies living in enormous houses around London. Sadly, they need to be relocated to one bedders and those houses converted into flats for the younger generation who need support.
While I don't know London too well it appears that in places I do know the only housing being built is aimed squarely at the family market and lots of so called social housing is shared equity which means there is still a need for people to raise mortgage finance.

Building some more appartments to let to young people would be a good idea in lots of areas.
Agreed, but over the last 18 months councils have had the opportunity to buy enormous numbers of new builds off developers at rock bottom prices. I wonder whether they took advantage of this?

My arse.
Maybe it was a decision taken to avoid pissing off tax payers and daily mail readers. Nobody would want to have paid top money in 2006/07 for new homes to have Wayne and Waynetta move in next door. Though there are lots of newish apartment blocks either part built or empty round here and other places I am sure that buying whole blocks wouldn't upset as many people, especially the standalone ones.
Again, valid, but the guys I work with have been very busy snappy up the collapsed new build flats in town centres and letting them out to the highly undersirable, so I doubt there is any escape from Wayne and Waynetta. At least if council owned it would be easier to get required maintenance done (in theory).

Chris_w666

22,655 posts

206 months

Tuesday 15th September 2009
quotequote all
It would also mean the tennants would have to adhere to some kind of standards, lots of housing depts employ workers to do periodic checks on the less able to be a decent member of society and condition their tennancy agreements.

Dupont666

21,678 posts

199 months

Tuesday 15th September 2009
quotequote all
Horse_Apple said:
Chris_w666 said:
Horse_Apple said:
Chris_w666 said:
Horse_Apple said:
Plus, there needs to be a smart re-distribution. There are hundreds of little old ladies living in enormous houses around London. Sadly, they need to be relocated to one bedders and those houses converted into flats for the younger generation who need support.
While I don't know London too well it appears that in places I do know the only housing being built is aimed squarely at the family market and lots of so called social housing is shared equity which means there is still a need for people to raise mortgage finance.

Building some more appartments to let to young people would be a good idea in lots of areas.
Agreed, but over the last 18 months councils have had the opportunity to buy enormous numbers of new builds off developers at rock bottom prices. I wonder whether they took advantage of this?

My arse.
Maybe it was a decision taken to avoid pissing off tax payers and daily mail readers. Nobody would want to have paid top money in 2006/07 for new homes to have Wayne and Waynetta move in next door. Though there are lots of newish apartment blocks either part built or empty round here and other places I am sure that buying whole blocks wouldn't upset as many people, especially the standalone ones.
Again, valid, but the guys I work with have been very busy snappy up the collapsed new build flats in town centres and letting them out to the highly undersirable, so I doubt there is any escape from Wayne and Waynetta. At least if council owned it would be easier to get required maintenance done (in theory).
I have a friend in this situation.... he pays 500k for a very nice penthouse apartment to find out that the owners of the building couldnt sell them all privately and so sell/lease/whatever some to the DSS and thus he wakes up one morning to loud music and shouting and opens the door to find waynette across the corridor in the other flat after he has just worked his ass off for years to get his dream flat and then she moves in.

Livid is an understatement and hes now looking at suing the builders as this wasnt mentioned on the details when he bought it and he would never have bought it if it was.

Chris_w666

22,655 posts

206 months

Tuesday 15th September 2009
quotequote all
IIRC there was a group of Wimpey purchasers taking a developer to court over something similar.

pdV6

16,442 posts

268 months

Tuesday 15th September 2009
quotequote all
Dupont666 said:
I have a friend in this situation.... he pays 500k for a very nice penthouse apartment to find out that the owners of the building couldnt sell them all privately and so sell/lease/whatever some to the DSS and thus he wakes up one morning to loud music and shouting and opens the door to find waynette across the corridor in the other flat after he has just worked his ass off for years to get his dream flat and then she moves in.

Livid is an understatement and hes now looking at suing the builders as this wasnt mentioned on the details when he bought it and he would never have bought it if it was.
Whilst I have every sympathy, how on earth does this friend of yours expect to sue the builders?

Dupont666

21,678 posts

199 months

Tuesday 15th September 2009
quotequote all
pdV6 said:
Dupont666 said:
I have a friend in this situation.... he pays 500k for a very nice penthouse apartment to find out that the owners of the building couldnt sell them all privately and so sell/lease/whatever some to the DSS and thus he wakes up one morning to loud music and shouting and opens the door to find waynette across the corridor in the other flat after he has just worked his ass off for years to get his dream flat and then she moves in.

Livid is an understatement and hes now looking at suing the builders as this wasnt mentioned on the details when he bought it and he would never have bought it if it was.
Whilst I have every sympathy, how on earth does this friend of yours expect to sue the builders?
Its him not me taking the developers to court... as far as I was aware if it said private accomodation on the flats they couldnt be sold to anyone other than individuals, hence the DSS/etc cant put in DSS.

But that is just a guess on my behalf.

lawrence567

7,507 posts

197 months

Tuesday 15th September 2009
quotequote all
sa_20v said:
lawrence567 said:
It's madness.
It certainly is - why can't she afford her own accommodation like anyone else?
Because, she was stupid when she was younger & has 2 kids.
She's 22 now & her youngest has only just gone to school full time.
She's started doing an NVG teaching assistant course because she can become a teaching assistant then.
Her parents work full time as do i so nobody to look after the kids if she was to get a day job.
She had an evening job, but they wouldnt give her a set amount of regular hours a week so she lost so much in tax credits it wasnt worth working.
The father of the children does'nt pay the right amound of CSA (he pays about half).
& if she takes him to court, he's already said he'll never see the kids again (cos he's a twunt.)
Her benefits & overdraft each month just about cover food/bills/rent.
So the reason she can't aford a hosue is because she was stupid when she was younger & is paying for it now.

Eric Mc

122,854 posts

272 months

Tuesday 15th September 2009
quotequote all
Dupont666 said:
pdV6 said:
Dupont666 said:
I have a friend in this situation.... he pays 500k for a very nice penthouse apartment to find out that the owners of the building couldnt sell them all privately and so sell/lease/whatever some to the DSS and thus he wakes up one morning to loud music and shouting and opens the door to find waynette across the corridor in the other flat after he has just worked his ass off for years to get his dream flat and then she moves in.

Livid is an understatement and hes now looking at suing the builders as this wasnt mentioned on the details when he bought it and he would never have bought it if it was.
Whilst I have every sympathy, how on earth does this friend of yours expect to sue the builders?
Its him not me taking the developers to court... as far as I was aware if it said private accomodation on the flats they couldnt be sold to anyone other than individuals, hence the DSS/etc cant put in DSS.

But that is just a guess on my behalf.
Individuals are usually free to rent out their own property to whoever they see fit. If they rent it to Benefits Agency (or whatver they call it these days - it's definitely not the DSS), that is entirely his business.

I think suing the builders or developers is a complete waste of time.

Does the block have a residents' assiciation or is there a housing association mamaging the block. If not, maybe the resident owners should think of setting one up and btringing in some sort of set of rules and regulations for the tenants/residents to abide by.