council housing?

They did away with the point system,now its first come first serve, I know a few people on the list and its a very long list..my BIL was on it for almost 5 years. From what I know,to get one faster you'll have to be homeless. They then set you up in a homeless shelter for a few months until theres a place available,and chances are you won't get a house right away,you'll get a flat

chances are you won't get a house right away,you'll get a flat

and probably in one of the rougher areas of town.  they try to get you to take one of those first, b/c in most areas if you refuse what is offered more than once, you lose your priority, homeless or not.

house?  no way here.  unless you've got 4+ kids.

Does he work fulltime? Is there a disability?

Otherwise, why would you want to be in a council home? Isn't it like moving into a project in the US?

5 year waiting list? In that time you could go back to school or vocational training in order to gain the education/training that would enable you and/or he to earn a better income so you wouldn't have to consider a council home.

To me - this is the big difference between the US and the UK. I regularly see 20something boys here w/ just high school diplomas and maybe a yr or two of vocational traing bring home over $30,000 per year and purchasing private smart condos in decent areas for $150,000.

Ok, so after looking at our budget compared to where we can afford rent, its nowhere around here (its a very expensive area ). DF doesnt have a job that he can just transfer to somewhere cheaper..right now we live with the in-laws, and when it comes time to move out, can we apply for council housing? I dont know how it all works, if thats against the rules or what, being on a fiancee visa.

And if we can, can we do it where he works vs. what council we are currently in? We need to live near Bath, but now live near Bristol.

Isn't it like moving into a project in the US?

Not quite, but there is a bit of a stigma attached particularly in some neighborhoods. The UK is a welfare state and council housing is no big deal to many since they are most likely getting other benefits too.

I know a family with 2 kids with severe disabilities, plus another teen, father is also disabled through illness and emotionally abusive to mother. They are going through divorce. He won't leave the home because the Housing department said he is intentionally making himself homeless and therefore won't qualify... but all the while the family suffers his abuse until the courts make a decision.

Hardly fair.

5 year waiting list? In that time you could go back to school or vocational training in order to gain the education/training that would enable you and/or he to earn a better income so you wouldn't have to consider a council home.

That's our game plan.  So far, so good.

Obviously this isn't towards anyone here,but I've heard of trashy people who pop out kids right after another just so they can get a council house & more benefits 

Obviously this isn't towards anyone here,but I've heard of trashy people who pop out kids right after another just so they can get a council house & more benefits 

A bloke was in the paper for this just a couple of weeks ago.  He has 14 kids by three different women, all of whom live in a 3 bed council house in Gloucestershire.  He wants another house, but the council is saying they don't have one.

If your spouse is working, Aeonix, another option is to look at renting or buying an ex-council house.  These are often bought and then let privately as well.

Lovely story Ex-Pat.  Sounds just like the Wife Swap family that had oodles of kids and neither parent worked.

I have posted this somewhere on another thread. I work with a woman who has a brother, age 40 who has 5 different kids from 5 different women. He currently lives with his 12 yr old son (also has a live in girlfriend). He mooches off of the council (partly our taxes) saying he can't work because he has to raise his son. WTF? He is an able bodied, healthy man and they let him get away with that? The council pays the rent on the 4 bedroom house he lives in that is OWNED by his mother who has moved back to her home country.  Meanwhile, his sister (my co-worker) is divorced and is raising two kids by the skin of her teeth (has to take on a part time job from time to time) and would never consider such a thing. I know its difficult for her but she has raised two lovely children. Its amazing how some people have pride and others none.

I do believe in a helping hand when people are down but I strongly disagree with a free handout.

I guess I should keep my mouth.......

You guys remember that family of a mother and 3 teenage girls each had a baby at a very young age, I think it was somewhere around 13yrs old,14yrs old and 16yrs old. They have a council house,pay no rent on it,get thousands of pounds a month in benefits,the mother don't work,and they were upset that they couldn't get a bigger council house and said it was the schools fault they had babies at that age because the school didn't give better sex education 

I do believe in a helping hand when people are down but I strongly disagree with a free handout.

I guess I should keep my mouth.......

I think a lot of people agree with you. A safety net is just that -- to help you when you need it, but not for life. If I needed help, I'd have no qualms about taking advantage of what my tax money pays for -- but only as a last resort, and definitely not as a permanent solution to my problems.

Maybe I should keep my mouth shut too? 

Just as long as we remember that not everyone who lives in council housing or who claims a benefit is low life trashy pond scum ... some people are in genuine need.

Just as long as we remember that not everyone who lives in council housing or who claims a benefit is low life trashy pond scum ... some people are in genuine need.

Absolutely. I don't think anyone is talking about those who truly need benefits. That's why they're there, after all.

If your spouse is working, Aeonix, another option is to look at renting or buying an ex-council house.  These are often bought and then let privately as well.

They also have houses that you part-buy, so you buy a percentage of it and pay rent on the rest.  Its not too bad...my husband and I are on a list for it.
Some of the houses are REALLY nice.

They also have houses that you part-buy, so you buy a percentage of it and pay rent on the rest.  Its not too bad...my husband and I are on a list for it.
Some of the houses are REALLY nice.

We considered this, but upon further research decided it's not the best option for us at all.  In our case it was like the worst of both worlds - you're still paying rent, but as a share owner you're responsible for ALL the maintenance, which isn't good if you're cash poor after the purchase, especially when you're buying a flat or semi w/shared responsibilities.  In the past month we've had to have the washing machine and oven replaced, a new thermostat for the hot water heater, and two light fittings replaced.  Glad we didn't have to stump up for that.

Again, the list for this is also miles long. 

Far easier for us to retrain for a higher paying profession and hopefully earn more money and/or be able to transfer your skills for a location where prices are a bit more moderate.

We considered the part-own thing too. While we haven't ruled it out completely, expat's comments are right on - it's definitely not as good a deal as it sounds.... And the developments around here for those schemes are in areas that are not only sort of gross but also really inconvenient for the train....