{"id":1386,"date":"2022-07-25T10:38:56","date_gmt":"2022-07-25T10:38:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mumsmoney.com\/uk\/?p=1386"},"modified":"2022-10-09T16:15:36","modified_gmt":"2022-10-09T16:15:36","slug":"are-council-houses-free","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mumsmoney.com\/uk\/are-council-houses-free\/","title":{"rendered":"Are Council Houses Free? An Explainer"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Council houses are the government\u2019s answer to the housing crisis, and they are public accommodations built by the local authorities.<\/p>\n<p>They are usually found in council estates which are made up of multiple council houses and other helpful amenities such as shops and schools.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1389 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/mumsmoney.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2022\/07\/Are-Council-Houses-Free.jpg\" alt=\"Are Council Houses Free?\" width=\"800\" height=\"500\" srcset=\"https:\/\/mumsmoney.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2022\/07\/Are-Council-Houses-Free.jpg 800w, https:\/\/mumsmoney.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2022\/07\/Are-Council-Houses-Free-300x188.jpg 300w, https:\/\/mumsmoney.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2022\/07\/Are-Council-Houses-Free-768x480.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Council houses tend to be cheaper for the inhabitant and therefore are popular within the UK.<\/p>\n<p>They offer affordable housing to more people, but how affordable is affordable? Do you have to pay at all? Let\u2019s find out.<\/p>\n<div id=\"toc_container\" class=\"no_bullets\"><p class=\"toc_title\">Contents<\/p><ul class=\"toc_list\"><li><a href=\"#Will_You_Pay_For_A_Council_House\">Will You Pay For A Council House?<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#How_Much_Will_You_Pay_For_An_Average_Council_House\">How Much Will You Pay For An Average Council House?<\/a><ul><li><a href=\"#Flats_And_Maisonettes_Per_Week\">Flats And Maisonettes (Per Week)<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#Bungalow_Or_House_Per_Week\">Bungalow Or House (Per Week)<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li><a href=\"#How_Much_Do_You_Get_Through_Housing_Benefit\">How Much Do You Get Through Housing Benefit?<\/a><ul><li><a href=\"#Eligible_Rent\">Eligible Rent<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#Unclaimed_Bedrooms\">Unclaimed Bedrooms<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#Your_Circumstances\">Your Circumstances<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#How_Much_Will_I_Get\">How Much Will I Get?<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li><a href=\"#Are_You_Eligible_For_A_Council_House\">Are You Eligible For A Council House?<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#Summary\">Summary<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/div>\n\n<h2><span id=\"Will_You_Pay_For_A_Council_House\"><strong>Will You Pay For A Council House?<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Yes, you will still have to pay for a council house.&nbsp;You will need to pay rent on your house, although this amount will be lower than you would usually pay with a private landlord.<\/p>\n<p>Council houses are then looked after by the council and you do not have to pay for any repairs or maintenance.<\/p>\n<p>Council houses will pay for themselves through the rent, so you will be paying the same overall cost, just over a higher number of years.<\/p>\n<p>Many people think that housing benefit will be enough to cover the rent and therefore your council house will be free, but this is not the case.<\/p>\n<p>The housing benefit can be claimed by people who live in any kind of housing, whether that be private or owned by the council.<\/p>\n<h2><span id=\"How_Much_Will_You_Pay_For_An_Average_Council_House\"><strong>How Much Will You Pay For An Average Council House?<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>The price of a council house will vary greatly depending on a number of factors, such as the area in which you\u2019re living in, the type of accommodation, and the size of the house.<\/p>\n<p>However, we have found the average prices of each type of council house so you can get a better idea of what you might be paying.<\/p>\n<h3><span id=\"Flats_And_Maisonettes_Per_Week\"><strong>Flats And Maisonettes (Per Week)<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Bedsit<\/strong> &#8211; \u00a356.53<\/li>\n<li><strong>1-bed<\/strong> &#8211; \u00a365.72<\/li>\n<li><strong>2-bed<\/strong> &#8211; \u00a374.89<\/li>\n<li><strong>3-bed<\/strong> &#8211; \u00a384.08<\/li>\n<li><strong>4-bed<\/strong> &#8211; \u00a393.25<\/li>\n<li><strong>5-bed<\/strong> &#8211; \u00a3102.42<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><span id=\"Bungalow_Or_House_Per_Week\"><strong>Bungalow Or House (Per Week)<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Bedsit<\/strong> &#8211; \u00a361.42<\/li>\n<li><strong>1-bed<\/strong> &#8211; \u00a370.61<\/li>\n<li><strong>2-bed<\/strong> &#8211; \u00a379.78<\/li>\n<li><strong>3-bed<\/strong> &#8211; \u00a388.96<\/li>\n<li><strong>4-bed<\/strong> &#8211; \u00a398.13<\/li>\n<li><strong>5-bed<\/strong> &#8211; \u00a3107.31<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>There are larger properties built by the council that will have higher rent prices, so if you\u2019re looking at a home with more than five bedrooms then expect the rent to be higher.<\/p>\n<h2><span id=\"How_Much_Do_You_Get_Through_Housing_Benefit\"><strong>How Much Do You Get Through Housing Benefit?<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.gov.uk\/housing-benefit\">Housing benefit<\/a> is a government scheme that aims to help people in need by covering the cost of some of their rent and utility bills.<\/p>\n<p>You can get housing benefits if you are either over the state pension age or you are in supporters, temporary, or sheltered accommodation.<\/p>\n<p>Housing benefit is only for the most in need and therefore there are a number of exceptions as to why you would not be able to get this.<\/p>\n<p>However, if you are living in a council home then you are more likely to be able to qualify for this benefit.<\/p>\n<p>The amount of money you will get from your housing benefit depends on your personal case.<\/p>\n<p>Some will get more money while others will get less. You may be entitled to all or part of your rent covered.<\/p>\n<p>How much you can get through this benefit will depend on a number of factors, which we will look at below.<\/p>\n<p>Bear in mind that this only applies to people living in council or social housing rather than private renting.<\/p>\n<h3><span id=\"Eligible_Rent\"><strong>Eligible Rent<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-1391\" src=\"https:\/\/mumsmoney.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2022\/07\/Eligible-Rent.jpg\" alt=\"Eligible Rent\" width=\"800\" height=\"500\" srcset=\"https:\/\/mumsmoney.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2022\/07\/Eligible-Rent.jpg 800w, https:\/\/mumsmoney.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2022\/07\/Eligible-Rent-300x188.jpg 300w, https:\/\/mumsmoney.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2022\/07\/Eligible-Rent-768x480.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>This is how much you use to calculate your housing benefit claim.<\/p>\n<p>It is your actual rent figure plus any other service charges you pay, such as communal laundry. This does not include other bills such as gas or water.<\/p>\n<h3><span id=\"Unclaimed_Bedrooms\"><strong>Unclaimed Bedrooms<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>If you have a spare room, then your housing benefit might be decreased.<\/p>\n<p>One spare room will reduce your eligible rent by 14%, and two spare rooms will reduce the eligible rent by 25%.<\/p>\n<p>This reduced eligible rent will then be used to calculate your housing benefit allowance.<\/p>\n<h3><span id=\"Your_Circumstances\"><strong>Your Circumstances<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Your housing allowance will also be determined by considering your household income, including other benefits, savings, and pensions.<\/p>\n<p>Your personal situation will also be considered, such as the disabilities and ages of all people who live there.<\/p>\n<h3><span id=\"How_Much_Will_I_Get\"><strong>How Much Will I Get?<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>The most amount of money you can get through housing benefits is the maximum amount of rent you have to pay.<\/p>\n<p>However, it is very uncommon for housing benefits to cover your entire rent, and will more often only cover some of it.<\/p>\n<h2><span id=\"Are_You_Eligible_For_A_Council_House\"><strong>Are You Eligible For A Council House?<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Every council has its own set of rules to decide who can apply for a council house, so it\u2019s best to check on their individual website.<\/p>\n<p>However, most will require you to:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Live in one area for a number of years or have a family or job in that area, otherwise known as a local connection.<\/li>\n<li>Be living on a low income and have an amount of savings under the maximum amount.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>Again, every council has its own requirements for council housing, and some might not require a local connection from you.<\/p>\n<p>However, you should check the local council\u2019s website before moving somewhere new to determine whether you suit the requirements or not.<\/p>\n<p>There may also be additional rules that you need to follow depending on your nationality, such as being a citizen of the EU, Switzerland, or EEA.<\/p>\n<p>If you are eligible for council housing, you will then be put on a waiting list. This works by having some people prioritised ahead of others.<\/p>\n<p>For example, legally homeless people will be prioritised over someone who is living in suitable accommodation.<\/p>\n<h2><span id=\"Summary\"><strong>Summary<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>And there we have it &#8211; council housing is not free, although the rent is cheaper than if you were to be living in private accommodation.<\/p>\n<p>Rent depends on the number of bedrooms your house has, and you might also be able to get housing benefits to help with the rent.<\/p>\n<p>Some people seem to be on the waiting list for council housing for years, but that is because they are not as high of a priority as others.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Everything you need to know about council housing with George Clarke\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/YBHwjdU84vg?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Council houses are the government\u2019s answer to the housing crisis, and they are public accommodations built by the local authorities. They are usually found in council estates which are made &#8230; <a title=\"Are Council Houses Free? An Explainer\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/mumsmoney.com\/uk\/are-council-houses-free\/\" aria-label=\"More on Are Council Houses Free? An Explainer\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1389,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1386","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-saving-money"],"mv":{"thumbnail_id":1389,"thumbnail_uri":"https:\/\/mumsmoney.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2022\/07\/Are-Council-Houses-Free-300x188.jpg"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mumsmoney.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1386","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mumsmoney.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mumsmoney.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mumsmoney.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mumsmoney.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1386"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/mumsmoney.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1386\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1730,"href":"https:\/\/mumsmoney.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1386\/revisions\/1730"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mumsmoney.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1389"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mumsmoney.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1386"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mumsmoney.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1386"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mumsmoney.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1386"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}