Neighbour with council house but does not live there!!

135man

Hello all I have a neighbour who has a free council house and is a single woman but does not live there. She lives with her elderly parents who are healthy and do not need caring. They live about a 5 minute walk away and she only goes to the house about 3 times a week and has the lights on a timer and if anyone see's here coming to and from the house she runs as not to be seen. I'd be inclined to report her as there are a lot of young families here in need of housing!!

What are ye'r views thanks.

KKkitty

135man wrote: »

Hello all I have a neighbour who has a free council house and is a single woman but does not live there. She lives with her elderly parents who are healthy and do not need caring. They live about a 5 minute walk away and she only goes to the house about 3 times a week and has the lights on a timer and if anyone see's here coming to and from the house she runs as not to be seen. I'd be inclined to report her as there are a lot of young families here in need of housing!!

What are ye'r views thanks.

I'd report her. As you said there's a lot of people on waiting lists and this woman is taking advantage of the situation. How many bedrooms is there in the house?

135man

It is a 2 bed bungalow but her parents are living in a house they used to run a b&b from which has 10 bedrooms !

MajorMax

Snitches get stitches:cool:

ShaShaBear

It doesn't even make sense! She still has to pay rent, and obviously an electricity bill if her lights are on timer. Why in the world would she just not live there too? I mean, she could easily live there, and walk to her parents every day for meals etc if she isn't looking to spend money. Might as well sleep there too.

You sure it is her parents house she is staying in OP? Doesn't make any sense to pay rent and utility bills and not live in a house.

OU812

Maybe it's her that needs caring & not the parents?

djimi

Report her if you like, but I dont see what difference it makes to you? Im fairly sure if anyone starts poking around then she will just move back in, so its not like anyone is going to get the house either way. Id save myself the price of the phone call to be honest.

135man

She will only go to the house to turn on the tv for about an hour! This woman is driving a 131 car ! I was down with a neighbour who lives across the road from the house and when she came out we she seen us standing outside chatting and bolted a lot of the time during the winter she will not come to the house till it's dark as not to be seen and then the timer comes on and it's like she is at home!!

ShaShaBear

Again OP, it really doesn't make any sense

She still has to pay rent
She still has to pay utilities

It's not like by not being there she gets the house for free - she doesn't! So why pay for a council house that she has no intention of living in?

D3PO

OP your talking a load of nonsense. What your describing makes no sense at all. Nor does it make any sense that she would "bolt off" if seen by you even if it were the case.

sounds like your putting 2 & 2 together and making 5.

Furthermore the fact she has a 131 car has no bearing whatsoever on the matter. So why do you think its worth bringing up ? Sounds to me like your green with envy. Mind your own business, if you know or suspect shes doing something fraudulently report it (which there is no indication she is) if you don't then keep your nose out.

djimi

D3PO wrote: »

Nor does it make any sense that she would "bolt off" if seen by you even if it were the case.

If I thought my neighbours were standing around watching me all the time Id probably run a the sight of them also...

ShaShaBear

D3PO wrote: »

OP your talking a load of nonsense. What your describing makes no sense at all. Nor does it make any sense that she would "bolt off" if seen by you even if it were the case.

sounds like your putting 2 & 2 together and making 5.

Furthermore the fact she has a 131 car has no bearing whatsoever on the matter. So why do you think its worth bringing up ?

Didn't even occur to me but you're right. I mean, what business is it of anyones when she comes and goes to the house? If she is on her way out, why would she run? It's her house, and she is paying for it?

D3PO

for all we know she works funny shifts and isn't around when the nosy neighbour peers out their window to see whos home.

I mean seriously who knows how long their neighbor is in watching TV for ? The OP needs to get a grip

Mrs OBumble

OU812 wrote: »

Maybe it's her that needs caring & not the parents?

This +1.

At some point, this woman has been allocated a council house, based on her housing need. You have no idea what that was based on, what disabilities or health issues she or her parents might have, how difficult she might be finding it to leave home or what hidden disabilities her parents might have.

The council doesn't just give houses out 'cos they like the look of someone .... and they ain't free. Once someone is allocated one, they have a right to keep the tenancy for the rest of their lives (provided they pay the rest etc). [IMHO this is a dumb policy because some people get rich after they get a house - but it is Irish govt policy]

Sounds to me like certain neighbours need to stop twitching their curtains and find something better to do with their time.

Sierra Oscar

Report her. There are families out there who are living in emergency sheltered accommodation for months on end because they cannot get access to badly needed social housing.

If she deserves the unit then happy days, I am sure she will be able to explain why she is never there.

djimi

Sierra Oscar wrote: »

Report her. There are families out there who are living in sheltered accommodation for months on end because they cannot get access to badly needed social housing.

Report her and say what? I dont think she is home much? You think they will take the house off her because she visits her parents a lot?

Sierra Oscar

djimi wrote: »

Report her and say what? I dont think she is home much? You think they will take the house off her because she visits her parents a lot?

The OP can report the occupant and say exactly what he has said here - leave it to the council to investigate. The council are discreet with such investigations, and if there is a genuine explanation then no action will be taken.

Believe it or not, abuse of the social housing scheme does happen and unfortunately it means that deserving families are being denied much needed social housing. I would rather err on the side of caution and let the council look into it considering there is currently a chronic shortage of social housing.

ted1

how do you know its a council house? and that she didn't buy it.

ShaShaBear

Sierra Oscar wrote: »

The OP can report the occupant and say exactly what he has said here - leave it to the council to investigate. The council are discreet with such investigations, and if there is a genuine explanation then no action will be taken.

Believe it or not, abuse of the social housing scheme does happen.

I agree, but this would seem more plausible if she were leaving the house in total darkness and using it for something other than its intended purpose.
But she is still clearly paying rent or else something would have been done, and she is still clearly paying utilities or her electricity would have been cut off. She is over and back, and leaves the TV on for an hour?

Maybe her parents are not healthy and she spends a lot of time with them? Maybe she is having a mental or health problem herself and feels safest around her parents? It doesn't make sense for her to give the illusion of her living in the house and continuing to pay for it.
It makes more sense that she has noticed her neighbour is spying on her (if they can say that she leaves her telly on for an hour, that's a hell of a lot of spying) and is afraid that she might get robbed if people are monitering when she is and is not in the house. Timer lights are common. Paying for a house you do not use is not.

Shark

My sister lives next door to a man that has a 3 bed council house. His wife passed away a number of years ago and all the children have grown up and fled the nest. He has now more or less moved in with his daughter and only comes to the house a couple of times a week. He never sleeps there anymore.

BUT he still has to pay his rent and any utilities that come in the door. And another thing...NOBODY CARES! It's his business not anyone else's. It's up to the Council to decide if a house exceeds someones needs or if they are living in it.

Really just leave her at it, she's not doing any harm.

D3PO

Sierra Oscar wrote: »

Believe it or not, abuse of the social housing scheme does happen and unfortunately it means that deserving families are being denied much needed social housing. I would rather err on the side of caution and let the council look into it considering there is currently a chronic shortage of social housing.

yea abuse does happen. People get social housing then rent it out, or move a partner in despite not letting the council know, or withhold details of their income so that they underpay their rent....

What they don't do is "abuse" the system by paying rent and utilities to leave somewhere empty.

To even suggest this shows distinct flawed thinking.

ShaShaBear

Depends on how long she has had the council house. Clearly the OP knows her family quite well to know where they live, what they used to do with the house and to make assumptions on this woman's parent's health situation.

Maybe she went on the list and got offered a house sooner than expected and is not yet ready to move? Rejecting a council house is a big mark on your record, and perhaps she accepted and is dutifully paying for the house she received and will move in at a later stage? Perhaps the lights, TV and visiting is to make sure the house is not broken into?

wexie

Nobody offered the possibility yet that she's only coming back to the house to tend to her plants?

Sierra Oscar

D3PO wrote: »

yea abuse does happen. People get social housing then rent it out, or move a partner in despite not letting the council know, or withhold details of their income so that they underpay their rent....

What they don't do is "abuse" the system by paying rent and utilities to leave somewhere empty.

To even suggest this shows distinct flawed thinking.

Frankly, I don't care if the rent is still being paid. If they never need to sleep in the unit then they don't deserve to have it in my view. There are people out there who are on the verge of homelessness due to not being able to get adequate social housing. I don't see why the council should be supplying a social house to someone who does not need it.

It would be a different story if we had an adequate supply of social housing, but we don't - we have a chronic shortage.

D3PO

Sierra Oscar wrote: »

Frankly, I don't care if the rent is still being paid. If they never need to sleep in the unit then they don't deserve to have it in my view. There are people out there who are on the verge of homelessness due to not being able to get adequate social housing. I don't see why the council should be supplying a social house to someone who does not need it.

It would be a different story if we had an adequate supply of social housing, but we don't - we have a chronic shortage.

weather they deserve it or not in your or my view is irrelevant. Deserving something and abusing the system to get somewhere are to very different things.

I don't disagree with you FWIW but the system is what the system is.

djimi

Sierra Oscar wrote: »

The OP can report the occupant and say exactly what he has said here - leave it to the council to investigate. The council are discreet with such investigations, and if there is a genuine explanation then no action will be taken.

Believe it or not, abuse of the social housing scheme does happen and unfortunately it means that deserving families are being denied much needed social housing. I would rather err on the side of caution and let the council look into it considering there is currently a chronic shortage of social housing.

Im sure abuse does happen, but the OP has specified that she is with her parents; its not like she has gotten married and moved into another house with her husband or something like that. Truthfully the OP has no clue what the story is, and reporting someone on the basis of what could be a vague fairytale that you invented is not really on.

D3PO

djimi wrote: »

Im sure abuse does happen, but the OP has specified that she is with her parents; its not like she has gotten married and moved into another house with her husband or something like that. Truthfully the OP has no clue what the story is, and reporting someone on the basis of what could be a vague fairytale that you invented is not really on.

I agree. Resources to investigate abuses in the welfare system are finite and Id much rather they were utilized to tackle something where theres actual evidence of abuse of the system than that of a nosy neighbor wanting to stick their nose into something they frankly have no idea about.

spaceHopper

Sounds like an ideal neighbour to me, she's quite, keeps to herself and causes you no harm what so ever. OK maybe she should live there more but then again maybe she has a good reason to stay with her parents who knows. But if you report her, who knows who they will give the house to then, you may be very sorry if it's somebody antisocial problems!

con___manx1

135man wrote: »

Hello all I have a neighbour who has a free council house and is a single woman but does not live there. She lives with her elderly parents who are healthy and do not need caring. They live about a 5 minute walk away and she only goes to the house about 3 times a week and has the lights on a timer and if anyone see's here coming to and from the house she runs as not to be seen. I'd be inclined to report her as there are a lot of young families here in need of housing!!

What are ye'r views thanks.

you don't know the circumstances. are you here elderly parents doctor? or her kids?maybe 1 of them has been diagnosed with cancer or had a breakdown. or maybe one of her kids is sick or the woman herself is finding it hard to cope. ask her yourself. don't go behind her back and report her. that is not a very neighborly thing to do

cali_eire

135man wrote: »

Hello all I have a neighbour who has a free council house and is a single woman but does not live there. She lives with her elderly parents who are healthy and do not need caring. They live about a 5 minute walk away and she only goes to the house about 3 times a week and has the lights on a timer and if anyone see's here coming to and from the house she runs as not to be seen. I'd be inclined to report her as there are a lot of young families here in need of housing!!

What are ye'r views thanks.

Frankly, I think it's none of your business. You might not know the full story, surely you can do something else more productive with your time besides meddling.

Santa Cruz

wexie wrote: »

Nobody offered the possibility yet that she's only coming back to the house to tend to her plants?

Those cats won't feed themselves