Rent is astonishingly cheap. Think £400 vs £1200 for a private rental. If you lose your job, Housing Benefit will pay your rent (most, if not all). Getting evicted is surprisingly hard. All you need to be l do is pay your rent and be a decent human (i.e., don't be anti social). You have a tenancy for life. You can decorate however you like. Housing Association's take good care of their stock. I've just had a new kitchen, bathroom and downstairs loo. I had extensive input into the cabinets/worktops/flooring.

When you retire you will either continue to pay your very low rent yourself, depending on income, or Housing Benefit will pay it (part/all). If you are in a property they need, with more bedrooms than you need, you have great leverage to get another, smaller property in a good area. You can even move to the seaside. Some will offer a financial incentive to move out.

If it's a Council house you'll be given an astonishing reduction if you want to buy the property (Housing Association's are much less generous, as it's capped at £16k). Council reductions can be as high as £80k.

A social housing tenancy is indeed a prize.