[desertsolitaire]

Is a south London council estate the equivalent of Governement funded section 8 housing projects in the USA? Complete with free utilities so residents may leave doors and wondows open in Winter rather than bother to adjust their thermostats?

[Fai Mao]

Yes

[Chickensoup]

Yes

[Chewbarkah]

Section 8 is a scheme wherein developers and landlords build, own, and operate “Low Income Housing”, usually in the form of two-story apartment buildings in a planned development. The residents pay part of the rent based on their ability, and the government tops it off to a guaranteed level.

British Council Estates are typically large, multi-story blocks of small apartments, that open onto front galleries (like older motels in the US). The local government owns and operates these. On TV, they are usually grubby and poorly maintained crap-holes, full of druggies and delinquents.

[Jamestown1630]

'...with free utilities so residents may leave doors and wondows open in Winter rather than bother to adjust their thermostats?'

I don't understand why people would do that. I've lived in the type of older apartments where utilities were included in rent, and nobody did that (??)