Angry residents ask: why sell off needed homes? (From Southend Standard)

it's all to make a quick buck and to release them from their maintenance etc commitments. Probably.

4000 people waiting that seems an awful lot when I read how many private properties are available to rent in Southend.

I just don't get it why the presumption that 'The Council' will house so many people.

Not one single member of my family and not one single person is known to me that demands to be homed by 'The Council'

Odd that don't you think!

Get a job and save up to pay your own way

Brunning999 wrote:
4000 people waiting that seems an awful lot when I read how many private properties are available to rent in Southend.

I just don't get it why the presumption that 'The Council' will house so many people.

Not one single member of my family and not one single person is known to me that demands to be homed by 'The Council'

Odd that don't you think!

Private properties are a lot more expensive to rent than council/ha properties. In a lot of cases housing benefit will hardly cover the rent. Also, the drop off in help when you are working, even on a very low wage, is enormous and people on low incomes can struggle to pay the rent. Often they find they cannot and, thus, find themselves on the council list.

plenty of people willing to buy the homes better than renting too.

emcee wrote:

Brunning999 wrote:
4000 people waiting that seems an awful lot when I read how many private properties are available to rent in Southend.

I just don't get it why the presumption that 'The Council' will house so many people.

Not one single member of my family and not one single person is known to me that demands to be homed by 'The Council'

Odd that don't you think!

Private properties are a lot more expensive to rent than council/ha properties. In a lot of cases housing benefit will hardly cover the rent. Also, the drop off in help when you are working, even on a very low wage, is enormous and people on low incomes can struggle to pay the rent. Often they find they cannot and, thus, find themselves on the council list.

Well stop having kids you cannot afford, stop spending beyond your means and do like my family has done for as long as I can remember if you cannot afford it don't have it!
Stop relying on others to pay for your reckless way of life!
And if you cannot afford private renting get 2 or 3 jobs to pay for the extra, do not rely on Housing Benefits which I no longer want to give to clingons!

Brunning999 wrote:

emcee wrote:

Brunning999 wrote:
4000 people waiting that seems an awful lot when I read how many private properties are available to rent in Southend.

I just don't get it why the presumption that 'The Council' will house so many people.

Not one single member of my family and not one single person is known to me that demands to be homed by 'The Council'

Odd that don't you think!

Private properties are a lot more expensive to rent than council/ha properties. In a lot of cases housing benefit will hardly cover the rent. Also, the drop off in help when you are working, even on a very low wage, is enormous and people on low incomes can struggle to pay the rent. Often they find they cannot and, thus, find themselves on the council list.

Well stop having kids you cannot afford, stop spending beyond your means and do like my family has done for as long as I can remember if you cannot afford it don't have it!
Stop relying on others to pay for your reckless way of life!
And if you cannot afford private renting get 2 or 3 jobs to pay for the extra, do not rely on Housing Benefits which I no longer want to give to clingons!

Quite agree. I had a full time job, a part time job two evenings a week, and a Saturday job, to pay for my first flat. Hard graft, but well worth it in the end.

Nebs wrote:

Brunning999 wrote:

emcee wrote:

Brunning999 wrote:
4000 people waiting that seems an awful lot when I read how many private properties are available to rent in Southend.

I just don't get it why the presumption that 'The Council' will house so many people.

Not one single member of my family and not one single person is known to me that demands to be homed by 'The Council'

Odd that don't you think!

Private properties are a lot more expensive to rent than council/ha properties. In a lot of cases housing benefit will hardly cover the rent. Also, the drop off in help when you are working, even on a very low wage, is enormous and people on low incomes can struggle to pay the rent. Often they find they cannot and, thus, find themselves on the council list.

Well stop having kids you cannot afford, stop spending beyond your means and do like my family has done for as long as I can remember if you cannot afford it don't have it!
Stop relying on others to pay for your reckless way of life!
And if you cannot afford private renting get 2 or 3 jobs to pay for the extra, do not rely on Housing Benefits which I no longer want to give to clingons!

Quite agree. I had a full time job, a part time job two evenings a week, and a Saturday job, to pay for my first flat. Hard graft, but well worth it in the end.

So someone has 'disliked' this comment, I'll have a 'tenna' that they're a sponge.

One has to wonder where the Echo are getting their reporters from these days - this is a terrible piece.
Genesis like every other Housing Association in the country builds a large number of properties every year. Some of these will be for rent - at lower than market rent, so-called social rent. Some of them will be for rent at a slightly higher "Affordable Rent", around 80% of the local market price.
Some of them will for part-buy, part-rent schemes to give people a hand-up onto the property ladder.
Finally, some of them (and it seems that the ones talked about in this article are this sort) will be for outright sale to subsidise the other schemes. Without some being sold for market value the HA could not afford to build the numbers that the Government wants them to build.
Bloody silly article if you ask me!

Brunning999 wrote:

emcee wrote:

Brunning999 wrote:
4000 people waiting that seems an awful lot when I read how many private properties are available to rent in Southend.

I just don't get it why the presumption that 'The Council' will house so many people.

Not one single member of my family and not one single person is known to me that demands to be homed by 'The Council'

Odd that don't you think!

Private properties are a lot more expensive to rent than council/ha properties. In a lot of cases housing benefit will hardly cover the rent. Also, the drop off in help when you are working, even on a very low wage, is enormous and people on low incomes can struggle to pay the rent. Often they find they cannot and, thus, find themselves on the council list.

Well stop having kids you cannot afford, stop spending beyond your means and do like my family has done for as long as I can remember if you cannot afford it don't have it!
Stop relying on others to pay for your reckless way of life!
And if you cannot afford private renting get 2 or 3 jobs to pay for the extra, do not rely on Housing Benefits which I no longer want to give to clingons!

Say that to the family, two young teens (12 and 13), parents both in their forties, who have fallen on hard times. Father has lost his job through redundancy a year ago, mother works part time. Both worked all their lives and who are now finding it hard to pay the rent for their (private) two bedroomed flat as their housing benefit is miniscule (due to mothers part time work). Father goes to job centre and agencies almost every day and knocks on doors. As he is in his forties nobody will even give him an interview. Mother takes every little bit of extra that she can muster from her job, as well as looking for other work.
I know these people. They are not even the exception and their situation is likely played out thousands of times up and down the country.
It looks very likely they will soon not be able to afford their rent at all once their savings have gone and will have to look for cheaper accommodation (which will be difficult as they are not exactly in expensive accommodation as it is). They may very well end up homeless and may require the housing assistance you so want to deny them.
It is all well and good saying get two or three jobs but getting one job currently is hard enough, getting two or more more or less impossible.
It is easy for people to spout such righteous remarks when experiencing a bit more financial stabilty that those who, through no fault of their own, are currently experiencing huge financial instability.

Brunning999 wrote:

emcee wrote:

Brunning999 wrote:
4000 people waiting that seems an awful lot when I read how many private properties are available to rent in Southend.

I just don't get it why the presumption that 'The Council' will house so many people.

Not one single member of my family and not one single person is known to me that demands to be homed by 'The Council'

Odd that don't you think!

Private properties are a lot more expensive to rent than council/ha properties. In a lot of cases housing benefit will hardly cover the rent. Also, the drop off in help when you are working, even on a very low wage, is enormous and people on low incomes can struggle to pay the rent. Often they find they cannot and, thus, find themselves on the council list.

Well stop having kids you cannot afford, stop spending beyond your means and do like my family has done for as long as I can remember if you cannot afford it don't have it!
Stop relying on others to pay for your reckless way of life!
And if you cannot afford private renting get 2 or 3 jobs to pay for the extra, do not rely on Housing Benefits which I no longer want to give to clingons!

I hope you never fall on hard times through no fault of your own, such as I'll health. I'm not sure how you will live with yourself given your statements. Yes, there are people that are earning enough to buy or rent privately, but squander it on booze etc, but not everyone seeking assistance is living like that.
Regards,
Smiffy22

Isn't that what critical illness cover is for? Or a policy that pays out your salary in the eventuality of redundancy, or wasn't any such policy deemed necessary?

What a load of misinformed people there are here. Why do people believe that renting council properties equals living on benefits? That is an equation that does not add up.
How about removing the blinkers, looking at how many business's have moved abroad to maximize their profits, such as Twining's tea and Gillette razors?
Instead of continuing down the Elitism road, what if the government was to make everybody P.A.Y.E. (A system which even the richest admit was the biggest con ever worked on a population) so we all pay to help the less able, not just the manual workers and lower middle classes.

The council housing schemes were there to provide a solution to the sector of the population which could not afford the deposit, never mind the repayments, for a mortgage.

What sickened most of these people was the fact that they paid for those houses over and over but never bought them. Most home owners moaned that they were subsidizing these people but the truth was quite the reverse. Tax relief was provided for mortgage repayments and historically working classes paid more tax per £ than any other class so, who actually subsidized who? Time you people started reading history instead of that written by the members of the shareholders society. Now there's money for nothing!

Incidentally, I am lucky enough to own my own property, but still have enough of a memory to remember how things really worked!

there is a simple solution to all our problems.

scrap housing benefit and have a means tested 'home owners benefit'.

a system where 'instead of wealthy landlords' working people get the opportunity to enjoy that same level of benefit support as greedy landlords do.

this would be set at the same rate as current housing benefit and would take income into account for the level of support provided for a deposit and mortgage repayments..

here's the love factor of it..

estate agents and mortgage providers and banks don't get a look in to scrape any profit off the top.

the funds come from the bank of England as part of the next QE package and house sales are set at a flat rate of interest and the mortgage repayments are at a lifetime flat rate of interest..

bang.. the jayman think-tank has ended the recension by stabilising the property market by applying long term fiscal leavers and has provided stability for every man woman and child in the UK..

everyone will have something to sell to provide a retirement or elderly care...

until such a radical measure is introduced, we will need council/social housing at low, affordable rent!

the Tory argument...

cant afford it... get a job

-I've got a job and cant afford it-

get a better job...

-i cant, i don't have the skills or experience in being a CEO of a large multi-national company-

get the training

- I cant.. the Tories have just cut the funding-

go around your local estate and wash peoples windows until you have the money to afford the funding...

-I cant, I wont live until I'm 192.-

but you've got an NHS to support your life expectancy.

-I haven't.. you sold it to blue circle and Bupa when all those GP's you put in change of it couldn't run it as GP's where too busy seeing patients and writing prescriptions-

well perhaps your children will be able to afford it after we build a load of grammar schools for them to attend.

-no.. because they are on the national pleb register that your party insisted on pushing through parliament-

well.. we are the party of aspiration.

@notalocalman the properties being sold are not new properties being built for sale by genisis but properties built by springboard housing many years ago. Genisis a london based housing assn took over Springboard and many other housing assn across essex. Genisis have become very large and are unable to manage all their properties. They are selling properties outside London and are to use the money to build houses within London.

Brunning999 wrote:

emcee wrote:

Brunning999 wrote:
4000 people waiting that seems an awful lot when I read how many private properties are available to rent in Southend.

I just don't get it why the presumption that 'The Council' will house so many people.

Not one single member of my family and not one single person is known to me that demands to be homed by 'The Council'

Odd that don't you think!

Private properties are a lot more expensive to rent than council/ha properties. In a lot of cases housing benefit will hardly cover the rent. Also, the drop off in help when you are working, even on a very low wage, is enormous and people on low incomes can struggle to pay the rent. Often they find they cannot and, thus, find themselves on the council list.

Well stop having kids you cannot afford, stop spending beyond your means and do like my family has done for as long as I can remember if you cannot afford it don't have it!
Stop relying on others to pay for your reckless way of life!
And if you cannot afford private renting get 2 or 3 jobs to pay for the extra, do not rely on Housing Benefits which I no longer want to give to clingons!

What a stupid, uninformed, and bigoted comment.

Look at the latest news. The largest proportion of housing benefit claims are coming from hard-working people who are seeing rent and cost of living increases push them into poverty and making them unable to meet their rent. Currently housing benefit claims are going up by 10,000 per month. This is a direct result of a failure to invest in new housing. Rents have risen by 37% over the past three years, show me anyone whose pay has gone by as much in the same period.

http://www.bbc.co.uk
/news/business-20023
113

*edit, that should read, 'show me anyone whose pay has gone up by as much in the same period'.


As for telling people to take more than one job, what planet are you living on? It's extremely difficult for people to find one job at the moment, let alone multiple jobs. And if your beloved tories have their way they will dispose of all employment and hire and fire rights. That will create a workplace where no-one will know if they still have a job from week to week. If anything was designed to torpedo the economy that policy is. Who is going to make any large investment, such as buying a house, if they have no job security?

Those that think its a good idea must be buy to let slum lords or happy to pay more in council tax. If a property is taken away from people on the housing list they will have to be housed in a private property at a higher rent so more housing benefit. Also a lot of people on the council list are low paid workers who would need a housing benefit top up to rent privately.

smiffy22 wrote:

Brunning999 wrote:

emcee wrote:

Brunning999 wrote:
4000 people waiting that seems an awful lot when I read how many private properties are available to rent in Southend.

I just don't get it why the presumption that 'The Council' will house so many people.

Not one single member of my family and not one single person is known to me that demands to be homed by 'The Council'

Odd that don't you think!

Private properties are a lot more expensive to rent than council/ha properties. In a lot of cases housing benefit will hardly cover the rent. Also, the drop off in help when you are working, even on a very low wage, is enormous and people on low incomes can struggle to pay the rent. Often they find they cannot and, thus, find themselves on the council list.

Well stop having kids you cannot afford, stop spending beyond your means and do like my family has done for as long as I can remember if you cannot afford it don't have it!
Stop relying on others to pay for your reckless way of life!
And if you cannot afford private renting get 2 or 3 jobs to pay for the extra, do not rely on Housing Benefits which I no longer want to give to clingons!

I hope you never fall on hard times through no fault of your own, such as I'll health. I'm not sure how you will live with yourself given your statements. Yes, there are people that are earning enough to buy or rent privately, but squander it on booze etc, but not everyone seeking assistance is living like that.
Regards,
Smiffy22

I have had that pathetic comment said many times.

We are all born equal except for the special needs and disabled who deserve funding from the able bodied.

The problem these days is if a family falls on hard times they demand someone else to finance then with free housing etc.

Sorry but I am sick to death of financing my family and half a dozen other dependent fallen on hard times families.

David Moon pointed out the association was channelling more than £1million into the conversion of the historic St Mary’s Cottages almhouses, in West Street, Southend, into three four-bedroom houses. The plans also include demolishing neighbouring Shelford House and replacing it with 13 flats....however he forgot to mention that all of the flats are for the disabled so dont really count in the arguement he was making. They are 3 bedroom properties to be shared by disabled people probably the same people that lived in Shelford and other council care home before they were closed down.

emcee wrote:

Brunning999 wrote:

emcee wrote:

Brunning999 wrote:
4000 people waiting that seems an awful lot when I read how many private properties are available to rent in Southend.

I just don't get it why the presumption that 'The Council' will house so many people.

Not one single member of my family and not one single person is known to me that demands to be homed by 'The Council'

Odd that don't you think!

Private properties are a lot more expensive to rent than council/ha properties. In a lot of cases housing benefit will hardly cover the rent. Also, the drop off in help when you are working, even on a very low wage, is enormous and people on low incomes can struggle to pay the rent. Often they find they cannot and, thus, find themselves on the council list.

Well stop having kids you cannot afford, stop spending beyond your means and do like my family has done for as long as I can remember if you cannot afford it don't have it!
Stop relying on others to pay for your reckless way of life!
And if you cannot afford private renting get 2 or 3 jobs to pay for the extra, do not rely on Housing Benefits which I no longer want to give to clingons!

Say that to the family, two young teens (12 and 13), parents both in their forties, who have fallen on hard times. Father has lost his job through redundancy a year ago, mother works part time. Both worked all their lives and who are now finding it hard to pay the rent for their (private) two bedroomed flat as their housing benefit is miniscule (due to mothers part time work). Father goes to job centre and agencies almost every day and knocks on doors. As he is in his forties nobody will even give him an interview. Mother takes every little bit of extra that she can muster from her job, as well as looking for other work.
I know these people. They are not even the exception and their situation is likely played out thousands of times up and down the country.
It looks very likely they will soon not be able to afford their rent at all once their savings have gone and will have to look for cheaper accommodation (which will be difficult as they are not exactly in expensive accommodation as it is). They may very well end up homeless and may require the housing assistance you so want to deny them.
It is all well and good saying get two or three jobs but getting one job currently is hard enough, getting two or more more or less impossible.
It is easy for people to spout such righteous remarks when experiencing a bit more financial stabilty that those who, through no fault of their own, are currently experiencing huge financial instability.

Please spare me the cr. ap. the only thing you need is a violin.

I will say again sorry but what your vivid description of a family want?

Because I am sick of giving my taxes away to families that have come to expect finance and benefits for doing nothing.

Please spare me these hard up stories that died out after the war when we started a well meaninged welfare state which is now collapsing due to the fact that there is far to many claimants and not enough subscribers.

Try street busking with a violin.

bruning999, you really are the perfect example of a wanabee Boris Johnson.

You have not one iota of what life is like for the working people of this country. You state that you are fed up with your taxes being used to subsidise the worse off families, but you fail to grasp the fact that it is the lower portion of this countries tax payers that meet the bulk of the tax bill.

With the rich persons investment casinos and guaranteed incomes that are far worse than any "Mr. 10%" theatrical agent, they are the leeches of our society. Add to that the fact that they live here (and abroad) without paying the taxes to support this country, and that, with this current governments' determination to restore the "Elitism" that the rich so much enjoyed in years gone past, why do you care what happens with the false benefit claims? If you have done so well for yourself and your family then you too must be part of the right wing tax evading trougholites that feel they have a right to the 95% of this countries income, forgetting that they stole this land from its rightful owners centuries ago. How can they talk about the right to buy? They never bought!

Brunning999 wrote:

emcee wrote:

Brunning999 wrote:

emcee wrote:

Brunning999 wrote:
4000 people waiting that seems an awful lot when I read how many private properties are available to rent in Southend.

I just don't get it why the presumption that 'The Council' will house so many people.

Not one single member of my family and not one single person is known to me that demands to be homed by 'The Council'

Odd that don't you think!

Private properties are a lot more expensive to rent than council/ha properties. In a lot of cases housing benefit will hardly cover the rent. Also, the drop off in help when you are working, even on a very low wage, is enormous and people on low incomes can struggle to pay the rent. Often they find they cannot and, thus, find themselves on the council list.

Well stop having kids you cannot afford, stop spending beyond your means and do like my family has done for as long as I can remember if you cannot afford it don't have it!
Stop relying on others to pay for your reckless way of life!
And if you cannot afford private renting get 2 or 3 jobs to pay for the extra, do not rely on Housing Benefits which I no longer want to give to clingons!

Say that to the family, two young teens (12 and 13), parents both in their forties, who have fallen on hard times. Father has lost his job through redundancy a year ago, mother works part time. Both worked all their lives and who are now finding it hard to pay the rent for their (private) two bedroomed flat as their housing benefit is miniscule (due to mothers part time work). Father goes to job centre and agencies almost every day and knocks on doors. As he is in his forties nobody will even give him an interview. Mother takes every little bit of extra that she can muster from her job, as well as looking for other work.
I know these people. They are not even the exception and their situation is likely played out thousands of times up and down the country.
It looks very likely they will soon not be able to afford their rent at all once their savings have gone and will have to look for cheaper accommodation (which will be difficult as they are not exactly in expensive accommodation as it is). They may very well end up homeless and may require the housing assistance you so want to deny them.
It is all well and good saying get two or three jobs but getting one job currently is hard enough, getting two or more more or less impossible.
It is easy for people to spout such righteous remarks when experiencing a bit more financial stabilty that those who, through no fault of their own, are currently experiencing huge financial instability.

Please spare me the cr. ap. the only thing you need is a violin.

I will say again sorry but what your vivid description of a family want?

Because I am sick of giving my taxes away to families that have come to expect finance and benefits for doing nothing.

Please spare me these hard up stories that died out after the war when we started a well meaninged welfare state which is now collapsing due to the fact that there is far to many claimants and not enough subscribers.

Try street busking with a violin.

Contributing tax for the greater good is part and parcel of being a member of a civilised society.

If you don't like it go find somewhere better to live.

I suggest you read the latest news: http://www.bbc.co.uk
/news/business-20023
113

"Workers are increasingly depending on benefits to pay their rent, the body which represents English housing associations has warned.

The National Housing Federation says a failure to build homes has led to an 86% rise in UK workers claiming housing benefit from May 2009-May 2012 because of soaring rents and house prices.

It has called for a solution for the "millions of families" affected.

The government said it would "pull out all the stops to get Britain building".

The NHF cites Department for Work and Pensions figures that show 903,440 people in work claimed housing benefit in May 2012 compared with 485,610 three years earlier.

It said that figure was rising with an additional 10,000 working people each month claiming housing benefit to help to pay their rent.

NHF chief executive David Orr said the housing market was "at the point of no return".

"These people are the strivers the government wants to help, yet their future is looking bleak," he said.

"Only by addressing the chronic under-supply of new homes can we stem the financial pressure on families and government.""

In addition because of the lack of social housing £35billion in benefits goes to private landlords. If housing was council owned that money would go straight back into the system instead of into private landlords pockets.

"An analysis of official statistics for Karen Buck, the Labour MP and a parliamentary expert on welfare, found that between 2011-12 and 2014-15 £35bn of housing benefit will be spent on private landlords, £13bn more than the previous three years."

The lack of social housing - sold off by the tories in the 80s and 90s - is now costing the country dear.

http://www.guardian.
co.uk/society/2012/o
ct/22/working-people
-housing-benefit-rep
ort?CMP=twt_fd

Shoebury_Cyclist wrote:
In addition because of the lack of social housing £35billion in benefits goes to private landlords. If housing was council owned that money would go straight back into the system instead of into private landlords pockets.

"An analysis of official statistics for Karen Buck, the Labour MP and a parliamentary expert on welfare, found that between 2011-12 and 2014-15 £35bn of housing benefit will be spent on private landlords, £13bn more than the previous three years."

The lack of social housing - sold off by the tories in the 80s and 90s - is now costing the country dear.

http://www.guardian.

co.uk/society/2012/o

ct/22/working-people

-housing-benefit-rep

ort?CMP=twt_fd

That is another factor to take into account...... No wonder the right wing is so slow to act on benefit fraud. It all goes to line the pockets of the needless!