Julie is in shared ownership accommodation, just like I am! They are marketed for people on low incomes and the scheme is an affordable way of getting into property. I've said it time and time again, I did this 21 years ago and it was the best thing I ever did. The rental portion is heavily subsidised, so outgoings are within reach.

When the noise monitoring equipment was installed Friday I asked about selling and asked the question both I and my neighbour want to know: must we sell at the HA's valuation? Can it not sell for market value? She replied, because the rent is heavily subsidised, it must go for the cheaper option, to give other buyers the opportunity. Service charges (in my case) are taken each month with the rent and put into a fund, the breakdown of which is given every year, the budget and what is spent. We are never given a huge bill, unless there is a deficit on the budget at the year end, but it is well managed and we usually pay less than £100 each flat for the shortfall.

As an example, my monthly contribution to service charges, buildings insurance, repairs etc is about £84. The remainder (about £135) covers the rent on the 50% of the property I don't own. I pay about £219 a month then to the HA. ( I cannot speak for Julie and her financial situation, as every complex is different. And of course her financial situation is her own business.)

Hope this clarifies some confusion over costs of repairs, etc.

This is one reason I don't want to sell as my outgoings would then soar!

And I might add, to support Julie's words, internal repairs to the property are the responsibility of the owner. So if the heating packs up, or the boiler needs new elements, or the plumbing needs seeing to, it is the owner who picks up the bill.

I have known a neighbour pay a plumber's bill of over £300 when their boiler element has gone! I paid £150 last year, having both replaced. Was she ripped off, or what? And that was some years ago.

I'm so glad I'm now a council tenant in respect of housing repairs.

I'm so glad I'm now a council tenant in respect of housing repairs.

Which is why I might end up selling to take a rented HA flat. But for the life of me I can't think of the words I need! Arrgghhh....senior moment. Help me, someone.

Commenting on figures published today (Thursday) by the Department for Work and Pensions, which show that benefit fraud accounts for just 0.7 per cent of the welfare budget, TUC General Secretary Frances O'Grady said:

'People have been brainwashed into believing that the benefits system is riddled with fraud. In fact it accounts for just 0.7 per cent of the welfare budget and that proportion is not increasing.

'While benefit fraud is a problem, these figures show there is a significant issue with underpayment too, with one in ten housing benefit claimants being underpaid at a time when living costs are soaring.

'Instead of seeking to demonise those on benefits, ministers should be getting tough on tax-evading companies who are cheating the Treasury out of £25bn a year.'

Polling carried out by the TUC in January, showed that on average people think that 27 per cent of the welfare budget is claimed fraudulently. The government's own figure is 0.7 per cent.

https://www.gov.uk/government/collec...benefit-system

There must be so many people out there who aren't getting benefits they are entitled to.