How to get a Council house

[vetran]

Bedroom tax them out of their homes. Sorted.

Its a start. Its not a tax by the way its a reduction in Government subsidy.

Tax is where the Government takes your money off you. A Subsidy is where the Government gives you money, if you have a rental property bigger than you need then they give you less money to encourage you to move to a smaller property.

I'm of the belief council housing should be a safety net not a Lottery win. If the cost of rental is a third of private rent regardless of your needs then the public purse is subsidising you by two thirds.

e.g. Private rental = £300 a week, Council house = £100 a week so the Government is giving you £200 a week tax free for as long as rent the council house. Do You fancy £200 a week more take home? This is why Council housing is over subscribed.

You should go into council properties for a short period of respite in desperate need then move on once sorted, it shouldn't be pleasant.

All the rest is BS and hand wringing.

[doodab]

You should go into council properties for a short period of respite in desperate need then move on once sorted, it shouldn't be pleasant.

Having grown up in a council flat with mould on the walls and various other problems on a fairly rough estate I can assure you it's anything but pleasant. I'm not sure why you seem to think it ought to be a punishment though?

I'd also point out that moving house with a family is a non trivial affair, shifting people in and out all the time would likely require subsidy in itself, and once they are out they'd likely end up on housing benefit anyway so the saving would be illusory.

[vetran]

Having grown up in a council flat with mould on the walls and various other problems on a fairly rough estate I can assure you it's anything but pleasant. I'm not sure why you seem to think it ought to be a punishment though?

I'd also point out that moving house with a family is a non trivial affair, shifting people in and out all the time would likely require subsidy in itself, and once they are out they'd likely end up on housing benefit anyway so the saving would be illusory.

I'm not suggesting using force, more like financial and social incentive. If the cost of using Council housing were more than private when you no longer need the support (Like Bob Crow) people would naturally find an alternative. We need to increase the churn while protecting the needy.

17% of the housing stock is Social housing so 1 in 5 people are in subsidised accommodation. That is not sustainable and people stay their whole lives in subsidised accommodation. Many more are privately renting with government help.

We need to tackle both the supply & the demand. Make it less attractive to stay once you no longer need it and you will free houses up.

Last night they had 20,000 people chasing a few hundred homes, so something needs to be done. We either cut the people wanting accommodation by making it less of a good deal or we move people on that no longer need our support. Which do we do? Or do we just pour money into it unreformed?

The housing stock is tired and poorly maintained at huge cost, this does need to be fixed.The estate is the same whatever the Estate ownership, its how you police it. The reason rough estates existed was there was little hope or sanction for wrong doers, the reason private estates don't have quite the issues is that the private landlords avoid renting to the scallies. Now if we policed council estates hard then the issues would be reduced but no government has the guts to do it.

By pleasant it should feel like its a last resort not that people in need should be moved unnecessarily.

I know a few people that are in council accommodation and people in similar situations renting privately. The ones in Council accommodation tend to be less hungry to better themselves and are more comfortable with similar incomes.

As I say its the equivalent of £200 / week tax free, should we give that kind of subsidy if they are earning above average wage?

[doodab]

What you need to fix is the disparity between wages and the cost of rent. Social housing is attractive because private rents are astronomically high relative to wages at the moment.

[vetran]

What you need to fix is the disparity between wages and the cost of rent. Social housing is attractive because private rents are astronomically high relative to wages at the moment.

that as well.

We need to either
1. Accept the cost of housing is going to be a more significant part of wages.
2. Reduce demand for housing by having fewer people wanting it. There are a few ways to do this.
3. Subsidise it more.
4. Legislate to keep rents down (yeah right Ed).
5. Build more until we run out of land.

[minestrone]

Can I suggest that not giving houses to immigrants would be the easiest way to solve the social housing shortage.

[vetran]

Can I suggest that not giving houses to immigrants would be the easiest way to solve the social housing shortage.

you some kind of racist?

[SueEllen]

Can I suggest that not giving houses to immigrants would be the easiest way to solve the social housing shortage.

They disperse asylum seekers who want housing around the UK so they are in places where there is a lot of council housing that no-one wants.

The problems with lack of housing including council housing tend to be the Southern half of the country.

[SueEllen]

Last night they had 20,000 people chasing a few hundred homes, so something needs to be done. We either cut the people wanting accommodation by making it less of a good deal or we move people on that no longer need our support. Which do we do? Or do we just pour money into it unreformed?

In Brighton they basically chucked people of the housing list by telling them as they weren't a priority they would be waiting around 35 years for a place. Some other councils have copied this.

The housing stock is tired and poorly maintained at huge cost, this does need to be fixed.The estate is the same whatever the Estate ownership, its how you police it. The reason rough estates existed was there was little hope or sanction for wrong doers, the reason private estates don't have quite the issues is that the private landlords avoid renting to the scallies. Now if we policed council estates hard then the issues would be reduced but no government has the guts to do it.

In richer areas lots of the council stock is owned by housing associations who are private companies. Even if it isn't there are some councils like this one

[vetran]

They disperse asylum seekers who want housing around the UK so they are in places where there is a lot of council housing that no-one wants.

The problems with lack of housing including council housing tend to be the Southern half of the country.

They then all moved back to London and requested housing. They don't want to be in Leeds, there is no work there. Whether they work legally or illegally is another issue.

The 17% social renting included Housing association.

https://www.gov.uk/government/upload...rt_2012-13.pdf

Not sure excluding them because they wouldn't get a house any time soon is fair, but I suppose its easier than telling them they can't have one.