Council housing waiting lists

[Cogcog]

I had never imagined things were so bad. I was looking at the feedback on the web site for the allocation of old persons bungalows for my Mum who is now on their waiting list. The council where she lives publish a list of all the houses they allocate, how many people apply for each house (over 300 in some cases) and how long they have been on the waiting list (over 4 years for some people). Some people have been waiting over 4 years in the 'urgent' band which normally means they are homeless or have significant medical needs.

http://www.chooseyourhome.org.uk/FeedbackPropertyM...

Has it always been this bad or is this a recent thing?

[10 Pence Short]

There's always a fat, Sky addicted benefit mum ready to pounce on any available property. They tend to reporduce faster than old people die, hence the list just keeps getting longer.

[Tuvra]

doogz said:

You'll take this personally, no doubt, since it affects someone you care about, but if you can't afford your own house, you can wait til the council is good and ready to give you one cheap.

I think older people who have contributed to society (or the state pot) over the years should be a higher priority than some slapper fresh out of school with a sprog looking to get their own accommodation because her mothers "doin 'er feckin 'ed in" whilst trying to put on weight, neglecting their kids and watching Jeremy Kyle.

[lawrence567]

10 Pence Short said:

There's always a fat, Sky addicted benefit mum ready to pounce on any available property. They tend to reporduce faster than old people die, hence the list just keeps getting longer.

Don't the elderly usually get put into retiremnet styel "villages".
The housing estates near me all have elderly areas, where elderly couples live, they're usually bungalows easily accessible.
Apparently, to get a council house you need to get on the "emergency card", which means you need to move ASAP.
According to someone at the council, the people who generally get those, are in this order:
Immigrants who come over, People in witness protection who need to be moved away from the area, domestic violence.
& it's usually in that order too "apparently".

[broken biscuit]

Ex girlfriend's dad is in process of buying the council bungalow my ex lives in. Aged 20 her parents decided to emigrate, she didnt want to go, so therefore homeless. Then conveniently lost her job so got on benefits. Got put into a 2 bed bungalow on OAP area of town. 2 yrs later council wanted to move her out. She got pregnant. Now 5 yrs since moving in, her dad is buying it as its too cheap not to. That cheap he won't say how much. All her neighbours are elderly, and she has a 5 y/o running around. Still doesn't work. Has got lovely 50" TV and posh new sofa though. Only too proud to brag that council have re-wired, re-plumbed and fitted new boiler to it, just before she offered to buy it.

[andye30m3]

Does your mother live alone? If so I doubt a single person will be high up the list for a house.

I'm not sure how these things work but surely when providing subsidised housing it makes sense for single people to be in apartments, in your mothers case possibly in an age restricted environment and families in houses for no other reason than efficiently providing the countries housing needs.

[Oakey]

What do you expect when these people were given a tenancy for life?

Oh, and they're entitled to property with one bedroom above their needs (ie, a single person living alone is entitled to a two bedroom property)?

Add in the fact the majority of these tenants come to believe it's their property, they should never have to leave (ever), they should be entitled to subsidised rent (forever) even if their circumstances change and they start earning more money, etc, etc. You see how greedy these people get when they aren't willing to actually put any money into the property (at this point the belief it's their house is suddenly forgotten and it becomes the councils problem) and they'll happily live in a hovel waiting years and years for the council to fit them a new kitchen, or bathroom, etc.

[Deva Link]

broken biscuit said:

Ex girlfriend's dad is in process of buying the council bungalow my ex lives in.

I thought that had stopped now, as it was generally recognised that Thatcher's idea of selling them off to tenants was a bad idea.

[Cogcog]

andye30m3 said:

Does your mother live alone? If so I doubt a single person will be high up the list for a house.

I'm not sure how these things work but surely when providing subsidised housing it makes sense for single people to be in apartments, in your mothers case possibly in an age restricted environment and families in houses for no other reason than efficiently providing the countries housing needs.

Yes, she lives alone but the council want her house which has helped her up the list a bit. Problem was like most people of her generation when the council woman asked her how her health was she said 'fine' and failed to mention her chest and heart problems. I am guessing the more savvy would have gilded the lily but her generation tend to see anything less than death's door as 'fine'. She was asked if she has suffering from domestic violence so I thought that might be one of the factors.

I was just shocked that 300 people would be after the same house (and those are just the ones who have put in a specific 'bid' for that house on a weekly list) and that the top 10% were already in the top 'urgent' category so basically unless you have these extra things like a disability, kids, overcrowding, are suffering violence or are homeless the wait will be years.


I guess having your own house gives you the stablity to know you are not having to move, which is the kind of stability council tenanats have also had until now and it was the reason she didn't look to the private sector as at the age of 80 she doesn't want to be moving every 12-24 months and may not get somewhere in an area she is familar with.

[Soovy]

10 Pence Short said:

There's always a fat, Sky addicted benefit mum ready to pounce on any available property. They tend to reporduce faster than old people die, hence the list just keeps getting longer.

So right. So very right.

They should be put in hostels and put to work.

[Oakey]

But what was she doing up until the age of 80? That's part of the problem we've been faced with up until recently.

Previous generations living in council housing for their entire lives, paying subsidised rents, who have no reason to ever leave despite whether they can afford to or not who can also pass on the property to their children.

There was a case not too long ago about an old man, in his eighties, who was being asked to leave his council property. He felt it was 'his' home because he'd lived there all his life with his parents (who owned it prior to him) who since passed on and he'd 'inheritied' it.

Social housing should be for those who desperaterly need it, until such time they better their lives and they can move on. Unfortunately, with todays chavs, that's unlikely to ever happen, is it?

[Deva Link]

Cogcog said:

Yes, she lives alone but the council want her house which has helped her up the list a bit. Problem was like most people of her generation when the council woman asked her how her health was she said 'fine' and failed to mention her chest and heart problems.

I guess if they want her house then they're going to have to find her a place she's happy with, so that presumeably puts her in a very strong position?

Re the health questions - we look after an elderly (98yr old lady) and have to make sure we're there for every meeting with Oficials because otherwise she just says she's fine and they also lead her to get the answers they want.

[Eddh]

Does she own her current house or is it council house?

[Penny-lope]

I am still waiting for a council house, over 3 and a half years after leaving my ex and being registered homeless with a young child.

I gave up in the end, and rented privately and ended up buying my own place two summers ago.

[anonymous-user]

Penny-lope said:

I am still waiting for a council house, over 3 and a half years after leaving my ex and being registered homeless with a young child.

I gave up in the end, and rented privately and ended up buying my own place two summers ago.

MY mum got a letter from her local council asking if i still wanted to be on the housing list he other day, i havent lived at home for 12 years or so

[okgo]

Penny-lope said:

I am still waiting for a council house, over 3 and a half years after leaving my ex and being registered homeless with a young child.

I gave up in the end, and rented privately and ended up buying my own place two summers ago.

So if you could afford to rent and then buy why did the council need to give you one?

[Simpo Two]

The old people of this country are sadly neglected. Children, chavs and foreigners get all the attention.

[ajf]

Tuvra said:

doogz said:

You'll take this personally, no doubt, since it affects someone you care about, but if you can't afford your own house, you can wait til the council is good and ready to give you one cheap.

I think older people who have contributed to society (or the state pot) over the years should be a higher priority than some slapper fresh out of school with a sprog looking to get their own accommodation because her mothers "doin 'er feckin 'ed in" whilst trying to put on weight, neglecting their kids and watching Jeremy Kyle.

do you know my sister-in-law

[Deva Link]

okgo said:

Penny-lope said:

I am still waiting for a council house, over 3 and a half years after leaving my ex and being registered homeless with a young child.

I gave up in the end, and rented privately and ended up buying my own place two summers ago.

So if you could afford to rent and then buy why did the council need to give you one?

For people on benefits (I'm not saying Penny-lope is) it makes no odds anyway as their rent is paid by housing benefit.

[tinman0]

Cogcog said:

Some people have been waiting over 4 years in the 'urgent' band which normally means they are homeless or have significant medical needs.

My understanding is that you might be on the list, but you don't have to take the first house that comes along. Hence you can be on the list a long long time if you so choose. Which quite a few people do because they get horribly picky about the location of the house.

(Apparently, it is possible to be in need of housing and still have standards when offered a nearly free house. It really is a joke).

Imagine my pleasure today hearing that a friend's daughter (pregnant and married by 17!!) got a free council house today, fully paid for by the council for her and her loser husband. She's only 18 now. And it's a new build. How fortunate. She's put fk all into society, yet had a premature baby (even the child wanted out at 26 weeks and tried to kill itself by hitting the eject button), has a husband (how????) who is a scitzo (so signed off for life), and they get life given to them for free. Because they are poor. And stupid.

Really, what is the point in being in work in this country?

Or the woman on Facebook I battle with regularly. Proper signed off life with ME, life paid for in full, but hates bankers or anyone earning a decent living because "i'm denied the opportunity because of my illness". Well tough fking luck poppet.

I got lynched on Facebook when I celebrated the work shy being told to get on a bus to get a job by the Work and Pensions secretary. Oh no, unemployed people can't be "told" to travel to get a job. Well fk all the people who have to spend 90 minutes on each commute each day to London for their jobs, to pay taxes, to pay for the fkers who feel getting on a bus is "too much to ask", or "doesn't seem fair really".

fk EM ALL.

Edited by tinman0 on Wednesday 5th January 17:58