Do You Think Older People Should Be Made to Downsize Their Properties ?
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This article is suggesting older couples, with three bedroom homes for example and nobody else in residence , should sell up and downsize to give younger families a chance get on the housing ladder
There might be many reasons they don't want to do this , handing the property down to family is one
What is your opinion on this ?
Hell no they shouldn't move unless they want to, it's not there fault there isn't enough houses for everyone it's this country Margaret Thatcher did it wrong with letting people buy council houses and they are just letting people in sorry but it's time we started looking after ourselves
No. We were young once. We worked hard and searched for a house for 3 years before finding one. We were going to have a family but unfortunately had problems and couldn’t. So 2 of us in 3 bedroom house. We have made a home with memories. The third bedroom is now a workplace study so used. We still work. People shouldn’t have more than 2 children in my opinion or definitely not loads of them! because of course there will be housing problem. That’s not our fault so why should we move?
No, they have worked hard for their money and have made a purchase that is their home.... council is a different matter as they do not own that property so the council are control freaks and as it's their property they deem themselves superior to people who rent rather than own.
Pinkspirit disagree there so what if these people are in a council house they should downsize? No they shouldn't most of the older people I know have lived in there council house for years rised there children worked all there life's to get asked will they downsize no it's wrong why should they be treated differently just because they couldn't afford to buy there house ? The council asked my dad to move I told him no way he's staying put as when he did want to downsize they wouldn't help him he done the house up council didn't help with the jobs and when it was all done and very nice they said would you like to move there having a laugh
Pinkspirit we have lived in our council house for nearly 40 years, had 3 daughters here, it would break my heart if we were made to move, we look after our property and have spent quite a lot of money keeping it nice. Why should we move!
pollye1961 Sorry l should of said that l don't think you should have to downsize if it's a council property, but that as the council own the property they tend to have the final say on what happens with their property. Do l think it's fair...no l don't, but the government are control freaks.
Thanks for all the replies, everyone is against this idea , rightly so
As was said before this is the council and governments problem , not ours
If someone has a spare room it is there for a reason in most cases, it might be used as an office, or maybe for family or guests to stay , sometimes even a couple might sleep in seperate rooms because of snoring , there are many reasons
It is no ones business especially if you own it, renting off the council might be another story, they dictate this unfortunately , but then you just dig your heels in and say no
martinlufc5637 I wonder if someone might go knocking on the doors of a retired MP or Council executive for example and ask them to downsize from their 6 bedroom 3 bath mansion to a two bed because of the housing crisis ?
I doubt it very much !
telmel yeah I doubt that very much, sounds more like a communist ideology than a democracy
Why is it people think that people in council houses don't work? My parents worked there whole life paid rent but couldn't afford to get a mortgage because of other bills yes they lived in council houses but they still paid there way like anyone else what because there council they should be moved to smaller place or end up in a nursing home?
Leannexxx my mum lived in a council house on a council estate for over 50 years, I wouldn't have wanted to be raised anywhere else, I've lived on new housing estates they were boring with no community whatsoever , council did hound her when she reached 65 years old to downside, she wasn't having any of it lol
telmel ,I'm also from a family of 6,Dad was a Builder's Labourer, came to this country from Southern Ireland, he went around the building sites dressed in his work clothes at 5am every morning til he was taken on..
Our Mum & Dad brought up 6 children to be respectful,polite & help others,Mum stayed at home while Dad worked,we didn't have much money but we had plenty of love & laughter,our door was always open & kettle on the hob.
We grew up on a council estate,Dad died aged 59 years & 11 months exactly from Cancer,Mum continued to live in our 3 bedroomed council house til it got too much.Sheffield council offered her a bungalow over the back of our family home & 3 min from my sister's family. Mum took the bungalow, we made it nice,my late Nephew painted canvases up for his Nan,decorated & did her garden, òther family members helped make things homely too.
My sister used to cook a family meal & take it round,she visited Mum before going to work & after,Mum was never without visitors,the whole family visited her,she was rarely alone,she LOVED her little bungalow but wasn't in it long when she died..
I walk past sometimes on my way to my sister's & glance over at
" Mum's Place"
People should move only if they want to...x
Seems similar to spare bedroom tax they did years back. Doesn’t seem fair to allow all of these building companies to make big profit by building new housing, but not enough affordable housing, and then making hard working people sell up.
As usual in this country they don’t want to actually tackle the root causes of the problems and then just put it on common people to solve the issues through their sacrifice.
We all know damn well that if this did happen, those with the most in our society wouldn’t have to change anything as usual
No not if you own it but if it’s council property then yes to free it up for a family.
No. If they bought it then it's their property!
That's why I'm always cautious about not having strangers in private property.
It’s the government and local authorities to build houses not for the older gen to provide something that may have been in the family for generation. They have worked and paid for their home.
Why should an older person give up their home because the government hasn’t dealt with the problem. They should make an order on all the houses that have been empty for a long time, unless they are genuinely up for sale, and get them up to scratch for people to live in
Absolutely not. Before both my sons left home I was asked by a few people if I would move in with my mother once they had. It's outrageous, as it assumes that being single means I don't deserve to have an independent life now my child-rearing is over. If I had a partner they wouldn't ask, so obviously those in couples are allowed to enjoy the rest of their lives, while I should revert to being the child, just serving my mother this time. If I were male they wouldn't ask. It's misogynistic and grossly insulting. Older couples have the right to enjoy their homes and remain living in them, or move wherever they wish. Condemning them to smaller properties is acting as if they have no rights and no longer matter or deserve the homes for which they worked so hard. It's the government's responsibility to ensure there is a supply of social and affordable housing; they can't solve the problem by evicting those with spare bedrooms. Imposing such rules would be the beginning of a slippery slope to removing other rights for people based on whatever criteria the government of the time thought appropriate.
If someone owns their home the government should have no right to force them into a smaller property but if that person is reliant on state aid then you could make the case that someone in a large house mainly unoccupied didn't get any help with winter heating etc. You can apply light financial pressure on them to move. As I've stated a few times the old rates system was a much better tax system to generate local income for councils. You couldn't avoid paying it and people in larger houses paid more based on the value of the property. This motivated people to live in smaller properties to save money. I would of thought all that was needed was a return to the rates system. Of course the rich don't want this because they would pay a lot more on their large estates but they too have the option to downsize to save money.
For so many years governments of different political persuasions have been going on about building houses but none of them keep their promises. We need more houses built by councils/housing associations in order to give people their independence. We also need to focus on getting the homeless back on their feet, giving them a decent place to live is the first step.
No they should not have to give up their house, most people have brought their children up in it , made improvements etc. Don’t throw older people on the scrap heap they still matter.
I have lived in my house for 39 years and in total I have probably Bought this house two or three times over, 46 years I have Rented a Property and raised my Children in two houses I have had in 46 years so why should I move to a One Bedroom place or even a Bedsit in a Rough Area 
it’s not my Fault that we give priority to people from other countries rather than our own country and no I’m not being Racist before anyone says that I am, I have Decent Neighbours in a Decent Area why should I be shoved into a Rough area, The housing associations only give priority to people on Benefits if you are Working they tell you to Rent Private, They need to stop Drug Dealers and Neighbours from Hell living everywhere and neighbourhoods would be a Better Place for people to live then maybe people would volunteer to Downsize there are Housing Estates that have nobody or maybe one or two Residents in them Because the Area is a no go Area they need to clean up estates and stop letting houses fall into Disrepair and then they wouldn’t have to sell them for a £1 either
No I don’t think they should have to give up their home just because they have got older. They worked years to pay off the mortgage if they own the property and sacrificed to do that and many will pass the property to their younger relatives when they die
In social housing there should be incentives for sole tenants who still occupy a larger property than they require to move to a smaller home. Help with moving...few months rent free...anything that frees up housing stock. People should only be allowed to ever own one property. You only need one roof over your head.
Certainly not if in a private house, they have presumably worked to buy and can afford to stay there. When these people pass the relatives normally sell the property and divide the estate and it returns to the market that way. The only situation that this might apply is if the property is a local authority/housing association property and their family has grown up and left. In this instance it is probably morally correct that they are asked to downsize.
My mum lives on her own now as my dad died a couple of months ago and me and I and my brothers moved out but not sure if it is right she would have to move even though it's 3 bedrooms
If you scrimp and save and buy a house then it's yours to do with what you want.End of.
There's a problem, and that is there are not enough smaller properties for older people to move into. I wanted to downsize and couldn't find a property that suited my needs. I was looking for a two-bedroom bungalow, but there were not many coming to the market and having spoken to many estate agents, they told us that as baby boomers, the demand for the type of properties we wanted outstripped supply. We had a four-bedroom property to sell. We sold our four-bedroom house to a young couple, without any children, which made us very happy. I think that people should be encouraged to move out of bigger houses when their children have flown the nest, however, we need to provide the smaller properties for those who need them. Perhaps some kind of trading company that can match the needs of both in their local area?
harried Thats a good idea H
Another could be to have a small 2 bedroom built to your own spec
But that could be too much for an older person to take on, buying the land , drawing up plans, then finding a private builder to construct it
All this while needing to stay in temporary accommodation while waiting
Plus you would need a good price for the property to enable this to happen
Yes I totally agree. There are not a lot of bungalows built for older or disabled people. Most architects these days design apartments etc geared towards rich people I think.
Maybe it would help if property owners were limited to owning fewer properties and ripping people off with high rents for poor quality housing. I know there are responsible and good landlords out there of course but too many rogues. There are also lots of empty properties that could be renovated and made use of rather than hard up councils giving planning permission freely in order to rake in more council taxes without the infrastructure to service the communities that already exist.
Pjran Too right. I know that Local authorities have duty to inspect properties. After all they're paying out money to help people on low incomes and universal credit in rent payments. However in reality they just don't get to grips with it and many landlords are getting away with it.
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