Would you give up a council house to go private?

Laurenbelle

We were just recently in a similar situation to yours, we were overcrowded in a council flat and had the choice to go private. We did move into the private let- it is a beautiful house in a nice area. The flat we lived in was in a horrible area and we dreaded weekends because there were parties going on all the time, dreaded any "celebration" day (Christmas etc) because there was always a bunch of crazy people lurking in the streets and the flat. We also didn't have a garden. We are happy where we are and are just barely making ends meet and are always at risk of not having our tenancy renewed and that scares me very much but after we have managed to get the bills paid and whilst we are within our lease we are in heaven. It is a risk but our house is owned by the realtor that rented it to us and since we have kept our rent paid and everything in good order i am confident although not ideal if he were to end our tenancy he would help us find something else.
It is a hard decision but at the moment one i am glad we made. Good Luck!

niknaknoo1982

kunekune wrote: »

I would be worried about leaving a secure tenancy for someone who is so desperate for tenants he's almost stalking you. You will not have a secure tenancy, and could well end up in a worse position than you are in at the moment: yeah, if you end up homeless cos he sells the house and you can't find anywhere else, you might get help, but it won't even be a 2 bedroom semi. It does sound very crowded but it was your choice to have a fourth child - either your choice to become pregnant or your choice to continue the pregnancy. I'm not judgmental but we don't live in a country where contraception or termination is impossible, and if you don't 'believe' in those, then you have to take the practical consequences.

Also, I hate to throw another fly in the ointment, but what kind of job is OH waiting for? It sounded like security from what you said. Isn't there a scam going on with job training/offers that never go onto become real jobs? It is unlikely that a conventional employer would wait months for someone's paperwork to be ready.

This pregnancy was not planned, and i WAS actually on the pill! LOL I'm against abortion so getting on with things, (booked my wedding last Jul and found out in Nov i'm pg now will be 7 months pg when its my big day too!)

The company who my OH did his training with is legit, Out of the 20 something people who trained with him on a course (he did an NVQ level 2 door supervisor and something else i can't think,lol), 4 got job offers in the security sector by the company who actually trained them, but are all still awaiting their SIA licences, The training was through the jobcentre so is as legit as can be (although annoying when he's still waiting and no other jobs around for him at the mo as he doesnt drive and only has experience in factorys, where its all agency work and none are taking on!:mad:) The last job he had was supposedly full time but he did 2 out of 5 days towards the end,and sent home for 3 days due to the factory not having the work available! He's applied for atleast 6 cleaning jobs though, and waiting to hear back from them. No security companies can allow him to work until he gets the licence, or would be liable to be fined.

Have decided to stick it out and wait for the swap to go through, There are far more negatives with going private and i've been homeless in the past myself due to unforseen circumstances and family disputes, I was just 16 at the time and it was awful.I don't want to have to take my kids to hostels, I've been there before and i wouldn't wish it on anyone!:eek: We may have a crappy little overcrowded house but its OURS (well kind of,lol).

Thanks again everyone xx

Pssst

If youve got any sense,you'll stay with the council where you have a secure long term tenancy and security.

skylight

niknaknoo1982 wrote: »

Blimey, how do you manage with 7 in a 2 bed?

Carefully!! And its something you get used to and make the best of.

seven-day-weekend

You have made a wise decision to stay with the Council house, overcrowded or not.

niknaknoo1982

skylight wrote: »

Carefully!! And its something you get used to and make the best of.

How do you go on about sleeping arrangements? Are you all in the 2 rooms or do you have people sleeping in the lounge? I did consider replacing my sofa with a sofa bed and letting the kids have the 2 bedrooms.but then there'd still be a lack of play space because of all the furniture.

niknaknoo1982

kahwilts wrote: »

Very frustrating to read all these posts. You have a council house, you are very lucky in that sense, there are other who don't have any house, including those with families, and would be very grateful of a two bed house even with a small second bedroom.

I wouldn't not give up your tenancy as you have the security of this home, but I would make the best of a secure, albeit not perfect, situation.
Once you are both working and not in receipt of benefits, then you can save up and buy or rent a house that better suits your needs. Your council house can then be given to another needy person.

I know i'm lucky to have a council house, But it's such hard work and very stressful living like this. There are a lot of people around here who have under-occupied houses (i don't mean OAP's whose familys have long since moved out and have probably lived in the house for 50 odd years) But there are a lot of people i know of who have obviously lied to get a house. I know of one bloke, who has a 4 bed council house which he moved in a few years ago, he's on his own! he does have kids but they are never, ever there and he's just always having parties! I do think the council should look into offering people houses that best suit the needs of the people who will actually be living there.

Our council had a first come first served scheme for a while, where approx 20% (i think) of properties were offered to the first person to ask for them, regardless of how long they have been on the list and i think that's how they messed up! Now they offer to whoever is in 'highest need' and has been on the list the longest and that does make more sense. All the house's are supposed to go up for 'bidding' though....but there was one house on our street that came empty and i never saw that advertised (and i do look at what the council have to offer religiously once a week and also express interest in any properties that maybe suitable for us), a young mum moved in with her son, but it's a bit odd - her mum and sister live on the same street both also in council houses, and there's only 30 houses on the road. What are the chances of that when so many people are on the waiting list?

People are buying their council house's left right and centre and none are being built to replace them leaving a huge amount of people either with no home, or with an inadequate one! I knew that giving up a council house would be quite risky which is why i asked for advice here, maybe someone had done similar and has a tale to tell!

I've now realised that it would be a huge mistake to give what i have up, even for the sake of another room. And i thank you all for giving me such realistic advice.

robin_banks

As there are many many families that are overcrowded, or living in cramped accomodation there are also many (older individuals) living alone in 2/3 bed council property. There is one 4 bed house not a million miles form where I live that is occupied by 1 elderly lady.

There is increasing opinion in LA's and HA's that giving financial incentives (i.e.paying) to people leave larger accomodation to live in smaller accomodation.

niknaknoo1982

I don't think it would be fair, to kick people out their houses just because it is too large for them, whatever the insentive, Unless they have lied to get the house in the first place or have been there 10 years or less. If an elderly person (such as the guy who lives to the adjoining house to mine) was forced to leave it just wouldnt be fair. He's raised his kids there and his wife died, The house is probably the only comfort he does have and will obviously have lots of memories to go with it! It's a tricky one really. We need more social housing but it's not happening . A block of council flats were demolished just on the outskirts of the estate i live on, and new house's were built there. Atleast 3 quarters of them have TO LET signs on them because people just aren't buying them! Why couldn't they have built council houses instead as we just lost 100+ council homes!

clucky69

Hello
Just a quick post to let you know that i work in a housing advicecentre and although i deal with only 16/17 year olds i still work in the same office as the generic homeless officers and the majority of people that are coming through at the moment are people who have lost their private reanted tenancies because the landlords are being repossessed whether because of the recession or not. Some tenants arent even finding out until the court enforcers turn up on their doorsteps.
Also if you report a repair to the council or a problem, they have to do something about it, ok it might take some time or you may not be totally happy with it but its a business, not one person that you are dealing with who may be difficult to contact , chase up etc. If you do decide to go private make sure you have the contact details of your local Private sector housing dept- usually run by the council. You have a secure tenancy at the moment, at affordable rent levels. Private landlords can charge what they want which makes it hard for HB claims. Im sorry if it sounds negative on Private tenancies- there are some very good landlords out there, i just see the end result of the bad ones through my work.
Take Care