why is it so hard to get housing?

Question

Council housing that is, unless you are 17 and pregnant!

Answer 1

We were nearly made homeless through mortgage repossession when I was 6 months pregnant and they said we'd get no help with housing as they considered mortgage repossession "intentional" homelessness

- this was crap as we had got into financial difficulties through a severe drop in income caused by my long term sickness - our mortgage insurance wouldn't cover it as it was pregnancy related sickness. There was nothing "intentional" about it -

There was a 7-8 year waiting list for council housing and without a "priority card" (which you should get for pregnancy or having kids but if we were evicted for repossession we'd be denied one as apparently repossession is "intentional") you had absolutely no hope of ever getting housed.

We were told we'd get 6 weeks in a B&B whilst we looked for private rent (no landlord round here will take DSS and if we couldn't afford our £400 pcm mortgage we sure as hell couldn't afford £550 pcm rent!) and then we were on our own baby or no baby. They'd have quite happily seen us sleep on the streets.

So those who think getting pregnant will get them a council house, think again.

Luckily we managed to save our home with advice from Shelter, scrimping and penny pinching and help from family.

But this is the way people are being treated in "B-Liars Britain".

Answer 2

I think young people have been completely priced out of the rental maket now, hence many more people applying for Council or Social Housing. I know that Portsmouth City Council, (where I live), has a waiting list of approx 2000 families waiting for housing. I agree, it does seem easier to get if you are young and pregnant, but I suppose that group is seen as most needy. Whether that is right or not, I'm not even going to address it!

I also don't think that selling Council Housing off to tenants is particularly fair, I know its some people's only hope of getting on to the property ladder, but those properties were built for everyone who needs them, and many don't seem to get replaced with more housing , hence a lack of properties, hence longer waiting lists etc.

Answer 3

Because if you are preganant and 17, or an immigrant to this country who has no intention of working you get first choice. Sucks doesn't it!! Basically there is a shortage of council housing because the council sold off many of their properties.

Answer 4

You can almost always get a Council house. The difficulty is getting one in an area you are prepared to live in. There are always lots of empty properties on the estates no one wants to live in.

The main problem is that a huge proportion of Council housing has been sold to sitting tenants since 1980, so the overall supply is much smaller. Also, the houses that have been sold tend to be the nicer houses in better areas.

Answer 5

Just is.....the number of corp / council houses are going down, the number of people wanting them is going up.

Supply and demand

Try a housing association

Answer 6

There's not enough to go round, this stems from Maggie Thatcher allowing people to buy council houses instead of them only being available for the needy.

Answer 7

Hey lets stop beating around the bush here.... yes we all know that young single pregnant teenagers seem to get a house at the click of their fingers, but they are still second in line to all the immigrants that are coming over here.

BNP in power - and then there would be enough affordable housing for all english people who needed help.

Answer 8

Its not hard if you are either foreign, gay, single mother or out of work with 15 kids. It makes it harder for the most deserving people as there just isnt enough housing to go round. Makes me want to spit I get so angry.

Answer 9

because imigrants taking up housing and all the doleites!!!!!!!!!!!!

Answer 10

they give 1st consideration to those who are most desparate.