Disable people and housing.

Colbaker

Colbaker

Colbaker

Associate
Joined
8 Dec 2004
Posts
1,970
Location
Paignton, Devon
At the moment many people are looking for cheap affordable housing and one way i think more houses could be free'd up is moving the disabled people from there large multistory house's into cheaper to build bungalows.

The reason why i say this is i have a neighbor who is in a wheelchair and lately bed bound but is on her own in a large 3 bedroom council house, She has had the government pay for loads of added item's in her house including a lift, Surely it would be better to move her into a bungalow and let family's have the council house.

On another gripe they should look into the use of these new cars every three years, my neighbor cannot drive and actually gives it to her friends to drive around in, It is rarely even outside her house, maybe once a week the person who is driving it might visit her.

Am i being unfair? If i were on my own and disabled i would be happy to be moved from a large house to a smaller single level bungalow.

What are you thoughts?
 
you are saying that the solution to the housing problem is to build more houses... well you are correct.

as for the new cars, dont forget the old car is sold after 3 years, so its not as expensive are you may think...
 
edscdk said:
you are saying that the solution to the housing problem is to build more houses... well you are correct.

Good point, Although it is cheaper to build smaller houses than larger houses i would have thought.

as for the new cars, dont forget the old car is sold after 3 years, so its not as expensive are you may think...
Click to expand...

It still costs a lot to "lease" these cars over those 3 years. Don't get me wrong i have nothing against disabled people, it could happen to me i am just not a fan of people who get benefits above what they need.
 
Colbaker said:
Am i being unfair? If i were on my own and disabled i would be happy to be moved from a large house to a smaller single level bungalow.

What are you thoughts?
Click to expand...


just because you don't mind being discriminated against and moved miles from family support and friends does not mean that everyone should have to do it.
 
A bungalow does seem like the best solution in this circumstance, but it could be that there simply aren’t any available, you certainly don’t see many bungalows being built these days (as it’s not a good return on investment if you can choose to build a 2 story house instead).

As for the car, are you positive it’s a Motability car? If so then she can allow someone else to drive it, but only if it’s for the owners benefit – i.e doing the shopping, picking up prescriptions etc, so if the other people are using it for their own recreational use then that’s something Motability will take a dim view of. She may not be aware of this, so maybe you could mention it to her? Often in these cases Motability will refuse to allow you to participate in their lease scheme, so it’s in her interest.

If she’s completely unable to drive it she can call Motability to request an early end to the lease (citing changing mobility circumstances). As she’ll be paying for this out of her benefits it sounds like that may be the best course of action.
 
Colbaker said:
It still costs a lot to "lease" these cars over those 3 years. Don't get me wrong i have nothing against disabled people, it could happen to me i am just not a fan of people who get benefits above what they need.
Click to expand...

She'll be losing out £50 a week, so it's her that's paying for it.
 
Wow, OP ignorant much?

People can have whatever size houses they want, disabled or not. People's homes are their homes and many older people might not want to be moved somewhere else, especially if they have a lifetime's network of friends and families around them to help with their mobility etc.

I'm sure your neighbour has paid a massive amount in taxes to the government over her life so she's damned entitled to getting help from them when she needs it.

Also, the cars you can get are still paid for by the user no matter whether they drive them or not.

I'd like to see you post this when you're 80 and some **** wants to move you elsewhere...





Also, people who are disabled might not always stay that way (I myself have seen life from a wheelchair users POV and it's MUCH MUCH harder than anybody would expect). Would you let them have their old houses back?
 
What next, bungalows, special accommodation blocks, death camps?

You can't devise a policy based on a disabled neighbour, just because people are disabled doesn't mean that all have the same needs or abilities.
 
it is a large problem in socialised housing. a lot of needed 3 bed accomodation is inhabited by one old lady with all her family long gone or one single bloke who had the house passed down to them.

Also when mad maggie allowed people to buy the council house i believe it was intended the money was to go on to build more houses but it never did.
 
Sone said:
it is a large problem in socialised housing. a lot of needed 3 bed accomodation is inhabited by one old lady with all her family long gone or one single bloke who had the house passed down to them.

Also when mad maggie allowed people to buy the council house i believe it was intended the money was to go on to build more houses but it never did.
Click to expand...

You can't just turf people out though, you hear all the time about old people dying after they have been moved about.
 
edscdk said:
but she was given the £50 in the first place by the government? so its not like she had to earn it...
Click to expand...

Except in her taxes that she'll have paid in her working life. People get disabilities and it's part of a caring society to help with benefits where appropriate. Without knowing her exact condition it sounds like she's completely entitled.
 
OldCoals said:
You can't just turf people out though, you hear all the time about old people dying after they have been moved about.
Click to expand...

I agree we cannot just turf them out but as in the OP why spend all the money making them disabled friendly. Give them the choice to move to a suited property or lump it.
 
Forde said:
Wow, OP ignorant much?

People can have whatever size houses they want, disabled or not. People's homes are their homes and many older people might not want to be moved somewhere else, especially if they have a lifetime's network of friends and families around them to help with their mobility etc.

I'm sure your neighbour has paid a massive amount in taxes to the government over her life so she's damned entitled to getting help from them when she needs it.

Also, the cars you can get are still paid for by the user no matter whether they drive them or not.

I'd like to see you post this when you're 80 and some **** wants to move you elsewhere...





Also, people who are disabled might not always stay that way (I myself have seen life from a wheelchair users POV and it's MUCH MUCH harder than anybody would expect). Would you let them have their old houses back?
Click to expand...

Now you are assuming she is old and has worked, Both wrong, She is in her late 30's early 40's and has never worked as been disabled from an early age, she has nurses to help her and to be honest has alienated most people in this area, Anyway thats not the issue, Although i can understand maybe not want to be moving out of a specific area, I do also think the option should be there/offered.

To lease a mobility car she has to forfeit a benefit so ultimately it is the Tax payer who is paying for a car for her friend to drive around in, he never takes her out in the car, she sometimes is seen coming back in a taxi, maybe she lets him have it just to make friends.
 
Sone said:
it is a large problem in socialised housing. a lot of needed 3 bed accomodation is inhabited by one old lady with all her family long gone or one single bloke who had the house passed down to them.
Click to expand...

^^^ if thats the case then I dont see its unfair for them to be moved to a smaller house in the area, unless they have the money to buy the house, or rent it for the full market rate (in which case the council can use the money to house someone else)
 
Bungalows are more expensive than houses because they make less efficient use of available land... The cheaper build costs are dwarfed by the increased footprint costs.
 
Re Bungalows, yes they cost slightly less to build* - but it's not the building cost that tends to be the issue, it's the land usage.
It's much more sensible in general to build a modern 2 story house and have it built from the word go with disabilities/old age in mind (it doesn't cost that much to add a stairlift, or walk in shower if the house has been built with that sort of adaptation in mind).

robbiemc pretty much sums up the motobility car situation.


*I'd be surprised if it was that much less, given that you still need something like two thirds of the materials, the same plot (or larger), and all the same planning/admin costs.
 
Sone said:
I agree we cannot just turf them out but as in the OP why spend all the money making them disabled friendly. Give them the choice to move to a suited property or lump it.
Click to expand...

It's probably much, much cheaper to make the adjustments to the house than to move them to a new build.

Also if the house is rented from the council or housing association once it's got the adaptations done, it is I believe then marked for future disabled use (much the same as most councils stock of Bungalows are only rented to disabled or OAP's)..
 
Not everything is just doled out on benifits my gf mum is in a wheelchair with ms, and i would not like to have to go through what she does.

She has gone through great expense at her own cost to make her house wheelchair suitable such as a special bathroom/wetroom so she can shower easier. She got this money when her mum died.

So whats better her spending this money just to help improve her quality of life slightly or what normal people would do and blow it on holidays or flashy cars in retirement. Their are bigger wastes of government money than on disabled people, why don't you start a thread on those.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom