Council homes to have fixed term tenancies
 

Cameron has said council tennats will be placed on fix term agreements of ten years.. his reasoning seems to be that only those on low incomes rent council homes, and should be means tested every ten years.
So now it is official.. only poor people should live in council houses!.. is there is anyone left in the country that doubts this Government are hell-bent on dismantling any vestige of social improvements made after the World War ?.

BBC News - Council homes for life could go, says Cameron

Re: Council homes to have fixed term tenancies
 

Maybe it shouldn't even be for 10 years. There is a certain stigma that comes with living in a council house, usually the label that you are lazy and can't be bothered to work 40 hours a week on minimum wage and would rather claim benefits. Personally I can see where the label comes from in a lot of instances.

Council houses probably should be seen as a temporary solution for most people, a way of being able to afford to live whilst getting back on your feet. Then once you have you can move into private rented accommodation and remove yourself from the social stigma and hopefully progress through life and your career to one that means you never have to consider council property again and then those who ARE struggling like you once were can have the same opportunity to live in cheap accommodation and work their way up as well.

To be honest, the problem is that you can often rent privately now with your benefits anyway so there isn't really much organisation to the chaos of renting whilst on benefits or very low income. People scrape by in expensive properties sometimes whilst others float by on huge amounts of benefits and can afford expensive TVs, nice cars, holidays etc. The whole system is ridiculous.

I find myself increasingly frustrated by the benefits system but unable to vent my anger towards it without offending people who seem to think they receive benefits as some sort of right and can't be bothered to work because they'd get the same amount of money anyway, if not less.

It actually disgusts me. So whilst some people NEED benefits and NEED council houses and all the rest of it, I think the coalition government is right to review the system starting at employment and accommodation, because it is unemployment and council houses which makes people feel a certain way in the first place and not always in a way that makes them motivated to find a job.

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Since when has a council tennet had a "social stigma" ?... but then again this sort of thing was always on the cards the day after the Tories got power..the "impartial press" have been gearing up to stigmatize any low incomes families .. working or not.. it's a direct attack on low incomes.

Re: Council homes to have fixed term tenancies
 

I think the only stigma, is from snobs. It might surprise you Mancie, that I have lived in a Council house for several years of my adult life, it never bothered me.
After reading the full article, yes it is a Tory paper and I am a right wing capitalist pig, I kind of have to agree. This is about encouraging people to be self sufficient and standing on their own two feet. There are a lot of people in the UK who are able to work who just enjoy leeching the system dry. If they were encouraged to work, get some pride back in their lives then there would be more money for those who do need help the most.
It is by no means a perfect idea, but then what is.

Re: Council homes to have fixed term tenancies
 

As well as a means test to see whether you can afford to move out, there is a supposed solution to 'under occupancy'.

When the children leave home it is sensible to downsize but it isn't always possible.
Moving house is a traumatic experience which many older people cannot cope with.
Being forced to move is insensitive/inhumane

Re: Council homes to have fixed term tenancies
 

But when one person is living in a three or even four bedroom council(housing Ass) property when families are on a waiting list, downsizing to me makes sense

Re: Council homes to have fixed term tenancies
 

I stay on my own and live in a council property as I cannot afford a morgage nor be able to afford the council tax. All the good council properties have been bought up and it is private housing associations that now build houses. Cant rember the last time the council built any up here. In the 20 years I have been up here the local authority has built 0. There is no stigma attached to it up here because wages are low to start with and even married couples struggle to afford a mortgage even if they dont have kids.

Re: Council homes to have fixed term tenancies
 

It makes sense unless you are the person who is told to move.
It would be reasonable to expect them to move IF -
... the costs involved (including replacement carpets, curtains and redecoration) are met in full
....the arrangements for removal are placed in the hands of professional movers (who will do all the packing/unpacking)
....the new accommodation is of the same standard or better than the one they leave.
....the new accommodation is in the same area or better.

I can't see these 4 items being considered - let alone met

Re: Council homes to have fixed term tenancies
 

You forgot compensation for doing so. In essence your are being forced to leave your home even if you have been there 20+ years. If compo is paid to those moved out for regeneration work roads etc then the same rules should apply. At the end of the day you are forcing a person to abandon their home for the sake of so called progress.

Re: Council homes to have fixed term tenancies
 

OK makes sense.. but these proposals are more on the lines that every ten years the council tenant will basically be means tested.. the higher the income the more likley to be told to leave.. to my mind this policey will turn the whole notion of council houses/flats into more like temporary accomodation for low incomes...and that will stigmatize a fairly high proportion of the population.
After WW2 (no matter the rubbish some want us to believe) Britian was even more skint than we are now.. but families needed jobs and homes..thousands were built and thousands of jobs created, this policy worked.. and like I say this mob are determined to reverse any good done over the last 60 years

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You describe a welfare state for those most in need... not really that outrageous is it Mancie.

Re: Council homes to have fixed term tenancies
 

Well that statement says it all.. you, as a Tory, consider council housing as part of the welfare state...thank you for clarifying my point :rolleyes:

Re: Council homes to have fixed term tenancies
 

Umn, yes? Beveridge wanted to create a welfare state to tackle the "five giants" of want, disease, squalor, ignorance and idleness. Part of the plan to tackling these was to increase the number of public houses built.

Those who most need a council home should be the ones that get them.

Re: Council homes to have fixed term tenancies
 

I think that your response is a little long-winded ... "BS" would have been succinct and sufficient;):D

Re: Council homes to have fixed term tenancies
 

Unfortunately it does not work that way.

Re: Council homes to have fixed term tenancies
 

The stigma of council housing doesn't come from snobbery, it's something that quite commonly arises during high school bitchiness as a way of making someone feel humiliated, and it isn't necessarily coming from people who are in that much of a better position either.

Council houses are commonly though not always in rough areas where crime rates are high, as is unemployment and there is a general poor standard of living. There are nice areas with council houses of course, and a lot of that comes down to the council in that area and what schemes are available to keep young people busy with legal, community friendly things to do and adults occupied with activities a bit more creative than being drunk, high etc.

I live in a council house now in a nice area but I used to live up Fern Gore and that was a completely different environment really. I didn't mind either but I know which I would choose now if I had to.

Re: Council homes to have fixed term tenancies
 

I must have lived in a different Britian to most posters on here.. I've never thought of a council house as some sort of gift from the welfare state that dependend on anyones income...why should any family living in council housing be subjected to an earnings test every 10 years?....this stinks to high heaven of a Thatcerite policy of turning council houses into temp accomodation .. and forcing normal rent paying working people into the private landlords slums of the 30's... it stinks ... we all know it does but yet you have those that defend these policies..

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It's a throwback to before World War I. A land fit for heroes?

Not ruddy likely with this bunch in power.

Council housing is not cheap - you still have to pay a commercial rent by law introduced by the Tories last time they were in power. Low income is irrelevant to social housing. It's just a way to force all property into the private sector for Dave's mates.

Re: Council homes to have fixed term tenancies
 

So true really, back to working at 14 and rickets for all.

i do not remember Labour instigating a massive council house building project while they were in power

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Why not, don't people want to better themselves, there are a good number of workshy people out there who could move up the property ladder. Its called pride.
That way the majority of these properties would be free to help those in real need, not just those who take because they can

Re: Council homes to have fixed term tenancies
 

This is all really quite vague; and it raises many more questions than it attempts to answer. The rhetorical question about "people (wanting) to better themselves" begs questions concerning "better". Do folks become better merely by becoming wealthier? Is wealth the measure of man? Are the wealthiest therefore the best? The tories certainly seem to think so. And is pride nothing more than the aquisition of property? I remember when pride involved, among many other things, polishing the brass on the door, cleaning the windows, and stoning the front step. I remember when people were proud of being working class.

And who are these people in "real need"? And why, in one of the richest countries in the world are they in "real need"? Is it really the fault of the "workshy" that there are people in "real need"?

Re: Council homes to have fixed term tenancies
 

You only need to watch tv programmes where you see the fancy houses and cars, then you realise you're watching a programme about the police and the property and cars are those owned by people who have used crime to get them.

Isn't 10 Downing St a council house ? After all it's not owned privately owned :D

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sometimes I sit back and realise what a good choice other people have made :)

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Well i was brought up to believe in self reliance. The state is their to help those who cannot work not those who don't want to.
Where I come from wealth is defined as this: being able to keep the roof over your head, pay the bills put food on the table and have a bit left over for yourself. if that is not right please let me know.

Re: Council homes to have fixed term tenancies
 

when i was growing up we lived in council houses, my mum was a single parent of 3 who ALWAYS worked, she never claimed any benefits....what does it matter as long as you are paying your rent on time? its utter bollox if you ask me

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You seem to be contradicting yourself BG. One minute you measure pride byhow far up the property ladder you can climb,( and in effect saying if you don't own your own property you have no pride ) then you measure it by being able to support yourself and your family. I wouldn't use the latter to measure wealth. :confused:

Re: Council homes to have fixed term tenancies
 

Yes I see what you mean lancsdave, I lived in a council property, I now own, through a mortgage my own home.
I never intended to upset anyone who was happy to live in rented accommodation. I have the belief that it is better to own your own home rather than rent.
I was referring to people who have no interest in working and are milking the system for everything they can get.
I feel that if you are working you should have a level of pride.
Sorry if I have confused you. heck i have confused myself and I have not been near the special brew

Re: Council homes to have fixed term tenancies
 

Thats why I rarely touch the stuff, it makes sure I remain sound in mind and body. I only post on here to see how non-normal people live life :D

Re: Council homes to have fixed term tenancies
 

Give us six Dave:D

Re: Council homes to have fixed term tenancies
 

I wonder how many couples live in 2 houses/flats,both paid for out of Benefits but they keep them both on just in case.

I refer to couples that live together for most of the time.

Don't say it Isn't happening because it is.

Re: Council homes to have fixed term tenancies
 

Most other european countries have a lower percentage of owner/occupiers.
It seems that social stigma against renting does not arise when the ratio of renting/owning is about 50/50.

In some ways owning can be a handicap because it makes it more difficult to move to where work is more readily available.

http://www.ebst.dk/file/2256/housing...stics_2003.pdf
page 42 shows a map of europe indicating the levels of owner/occupancy in countries

Re: Council homes to have fixed term tenancies
 

I think renting offers more flexibility and in some ways a lot more security. You may not be able to say that your money bought you something permanent but at least you can move whenever you like without having to worry about whether your house will sell or not. People move around so much more for work these days, I'm surprised that more people aren't renting than buying.

Re: Council homes to have fixed term tenancies
 

I thought about selling up and renting a bungalow near the coast. I tried a few estate agents and got some good properties to look at but what put me off was lack of security. They only ever offered me a six month tenancy and then a review. Most owners were just hanging on until house prices went back up again and were covering costs in the meantime while somebody else paid the poll tax and kept the place warm and dry.

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I know where you come from Gremlin, I live on the coast and most the properties are second homes that are rented out at an extortinate rate with no security. Rent here is at the least £700 per month. If you own don't go back to renting. I wish you well.

Re: Council homes to have fixed term tenancies
 

i have never rented, always owned, but then i'm a dinosaur, this posted has pretty well nailed it, in my opinion, well said blaze.;)

Re: Council homes to have fixed term tenancies
 

This all seems sensible.. but from experience of places like London you would have to be more than just flexible.. or have a very good income to go around renting flats/houses when it suits... £1200 minimum per month will get you a basic ex-council high rise flat.
My point is that in future all council homes/flat dwellers will be subject to a means test to determine wether they should stay in that home..this could be a home that families have had for 50 years or more.. we can "if and but" about the size of home or who can afford to rent private houses but we are talking about families and homes... does any Government have the right to evict a family who pay rent from thier home in order to give that home to some poor sod on benifits?.

Re: Council homes to have fixed term tenancies
 

by the time this government has finished there will be no 'poor sods' on any benefit whatsoever.....what will they plan to do next? knock all the council houses down?

Re: Council homes to have fixed term tenancies
 

Only the bad ones the rest will be sold from under you to private buyers. Those that lose out will be in tents or caravans the way this could end up going.

Re: Council homes to have fixed term tenancies
 

No the only poor sods on benefit will be those who genuinely require them not families who are brought up on benefits from cradle to grave and bring their kids up in the same way, and its no use saying this doesn't happen it does and has been going on for donkey's years

Re: Council homes to have fixed term tenancies
 

Revealed: The quarter of a million homes where no one's ever had a job | Mail Online
Just to back up what I'm saying

Re: Council homes to have fixed term tenancies
 

Homelessness is not an aid to job seeking.:rolleyes:
If we have tent cities (as is already happening in USA), they are breeding grounds for disease which can spread to the general population.

In a civilised society a roof over your head is a basic need.

Re: Council homes to have fixed term tenancies
 

There's also a saying in the US of A which we hear quite regularly Trailer Trash, think over here we call um pike's:rolleyes:

Re: Council homes to have fixed term tenancies
 

Yes it's the same here Kikine, I spent a lot of my childhood in Poulton le Fylde and some family still live there. My grandmas house was £2000.00 in 1948 and was recently sold for well over £200,000 and it was needing a lot of work on it.
Rent for a decent property especially a bungalow which me and my wife need is round about the same as you quote. We will stick to the bungalow we have and live in Accrington for a bit longer.

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There is nothing wrong with council schemes . When I clock out the children wont have to fight over who live here. they will just have to stop the benefits

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So you are going to live on benefits until you die? I hope you have a good reason :eek:

Re: Council homes to have fixed term tenancies
 

probably :alright: