chem1st Posted January 3, 2012 Share Posted January 3, 2012 Government cuts have now come in. If your under 35 (childless) and on the dole you'll only get enough local housing allowance to live in a room in a private sector shared house (HoMO -House of Multiple Occupancy). You may find that these cuts lead to cheaper housing as rents fall due to a lack of housing benefit pumping them up. And the transition from benefits back to works begins to make economical sense, not to mention benefitting hard pressed workers in the form of lower rent. Anyhow, hold old should somebody be, before we allow them self contained 1 bed flats, privacy if you like? Bare in mind this also affects workers who don't earn enough to cover their rent (and that workers actually claim more in benefits than the unemployed). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Resident Posted January 3, 2012 Share Posted January 3, 2012 Slightly different issue, but along the same lines. Any woman who gets pregnant under the age of 21 and then goes running to the DWP for a house should be referred back to her parents. A lot of social housing could be clawed back by stopping these tarts who decide that they're gonna stick their legs in the air for a council house. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uncleharris Posted January 4, 2012 Share Posted January 4, 2012 One must realise though, that usually the case is the council will try to refer them to family rather than put them on any sort of priority register (and if they are not on the priority register, they have the same rights as any average joe to a council house - a long long wait). The main problem is usually that parents will pretend they cannot have them there when the council rings, as a way of helping them get their own place Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leah-Lacie Posted January 4, 2012 Share Posted January 4, 2012 One must realise though, that usually the case is the council will try to refer them to family rather than put them on any sort of priority register (and if they are not on the priority register, they have the same rights as any average joe to a council house - a long long wait). The main problem is usually that parents will pretend they cannot have them there when the council rings, as a way of helping them get their own place Or the parents pretend to be fuming that they are pregnant, and have kicked them out, I've seen that with a lot of my friends when I was younger. My OH's cousin who was genuinely kicked out but wasn't pregnant at 17, got referred to social services a few months ago. The council had absolutely no intention of helping her with housing of any sort until she turned 18. When I was 17 (and also not pregnant) I fell out with my mum, and although she would have gladly had me back, me being a headstrong little bugger took myself off to the housing, and stayed in a hostel for a while (it was a hostel for battered women they put me in, 'secret' location, and no men allowed, even social workers) due to my age. A lot of other youngsters came and went, usually back to their parents after a few days. I refused. The council gave me a flat after about a month. It was horrible, with no heating, and only being 17, I had difficulties claiming anything and couldn't even pay the rent for a few months while they figured my benefits out. Thank God the system has changed so young people can't just go and do this so readily, its not much fun at all. My flat was a 1 bed on Blackstock Road, back when Gleadless valley was a total hell hole and crawling with drug addicts, and all the windows were put through, flats that nobody in their right mind would want, I got burgled more times than I care to remember. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leah-Lacie Posted January 4, 2012 Share Posted January 4, 2012 In direct response to the OP, I think 20/21 is a reasonable age for someone to be able to live in a 1 bedroomed flat. My friend is 26, and works 40 hours a week, for minimum wage and can only afford a room in a shared house, and she hates it, particularly as she shares with 3 men. Her housemates are all 30+ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nubile Posted January 4, 2012 Share Posted January 4, 2012 Without even reading the OP i immediately voted for 16-18. I left home on the day of my 16 birthday, with nothing but a rucksack and a 12 week old GSD, it made a man of me*. (*The experience, not the GSD ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anna B Posted January 4, 2012 Share Posted January 4, 2012 I would like to think that a lot of these youngsters can rely on the help and support of their families to help get them through a difficult time. This isn't passing the buck, but I do think they need all the help they can get to get back on their feet. Living alone in a grotty one bed flat isn't all it's cracked up to be, and can quickly lead to debilitating depression and the like. Similarly, is sharing a house with other young people so awful? Isn't that what students do all the time? Again learning to live peacefully alongside others and organise yourselves is surely a good thing. If they were to find someone and get married at some point in the future (and I do mean married) then they should be entitled to rent a house or flat like any other couple, and if they need housing benefit to help them do it, then so be it. As for girls getting pregnant to gain a property, well there's really no excuse in this day and age is there? I see no reason to encourage them with the promise of a house. If they can't stay at home, then in my opinion, the old mother and baby units would suffice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
llamatron Posted January 4, 2012 Share Posted January 4, 2012 I don't see why you need a 1 bedroomed flat for privacy-thats a waste of space. Theres nothing wrong with sharing a house. Most people who work have to do it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chem1st Posted January 4, 2012 Author Share Posted January 4, 2012 I don't see why you need a 1 bedroomed flat for privacy-thats a waste of space. Theres nothing wrong with sharing a house. Most people who work have to do it. Only very recently and back in the days of Victorian slums. Anyhow, it gets to a point where the dole (via housing benefit) is the market. So even the workers are priced out. Many many working people have to rely on housing benefit nowadays. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Posted January 4, 2012 Share Posted January 4, 2012 I was 30 when I moved into this Flat in S3 in August 2006. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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