What can i do? Overcrowded??

Shakethedisease

Tennancy is not renewed every 6months. If your landlord dosent want you to stay its likely to be for a good reason and they still need to give you notice.
If you are a good tennant and pay your rent you are unlikely to be asked to leave unless the landlord decides to sell.

Lots of us rent in the private sector we dont live in fear that we're going to be asked to leave at any moment. Stop trying to scare people with utter rubbish.

I'm not suggesting the OP gives up a council place but they need to look at options.

Yes they do need to look at options. Of course they do. But pointing out potential pitfalls of moving from the very secure tenure of council housing, to 6-12 month tenancy contracts is also worth mentioning, especially with children and schooling involved.

I personally found that living as a family in private rental accommodation to be very insecure. Well, I guess having an estate agent and viewers at the door the day after you move in to what's been advertised as a 'long let'..and then 6 months later the rent go up by £100 does that to you ? We haggled it down to 'just' £75 extra and went along with it simply because we didn't want our children having to change schools twice witihin 12 months.

I'm sure our landlord had very 'good reason' to sell and then try to put the rent up by 100 quid a month. It was his house. But for our family, living day to day, it didn't make for the most 'secure' way to live.

I'm not tarring all landlords with the same brush. I'm know there are very good ones out there happy to have long term tenants in for years. But the above are just two of the many pitfalls of private renting as opposed to the advantages. You only have to read to boards here to see that things don't always work out for the best though between landlords and tenants.

Some landlords will want to sell sooner or later and some will put the rent up occasionally ( perhaps in line with increased mortgage payments etc ?) The op has already indicated that money is tight as it is.

If the op is happy to accept that she may find herself moving her family around from time to time and all the hassles, possible schooling issues and expenses that involves.. ( with 8 weeks notice ).. with young children for the forseeable future..that the rent payable will possibly not stay reasonably 'static' for years like council rent. And should it not work out then getting back into council housing may leave her family worse off and in 'temporary' accomodation until they are rehoused. Then fair enough.

Good luck whatever you decide OP. I appreciate your circumstances and where you are living at the moment are less than ideal. I hope it all works out for you. x

pinkshoes

JEWISHPRINCESS wrote: »

I have only recently started posting on this forum but have been an avid reader for many years and it disgusts me how so many people cruelly tear some people to pieces when they are only asking for some advice. It is completely unnecessary and uttely pathetic but they just do it to make themselves feel better.

They're not tearing them to pieces, they're just highlighting another point of view.

In Oxford City, I'm told there's 8000 council houses, and 5000 on the waiting list, which is growing daily.

I know a nice couple who rent a 2 bed flat for £875 a month with their 2 year old. They would LOVE to have more children, but can't afford it, and it could be 10+ years before they'd get a council house. Due to this, they will not have any more children until they can afford it...

And yet here we have someone who already has the luxury of having a 2 bed council property, who has had so many children, they now want a bigger council property.

Surely getting a council property is a luxury in itself, so if you want more children, you should either fit them into the property you've got, or look into renting privately?

You need to understand that SO many people would love a council property, so when someone moans they want a bigger one, it doesn't go down well.

To the OP: Could you not give the children the bigger room, then section a bit off for your son with either a curtain, or some sort of divider?

Catspajamas

I used to work at a housing association a few years ago. We didnt have a huge amount of properties, and remember that 3 bed are the most popular. Generally under about 12 year old kids sharing a room was not overcrowding, and a cot in a parents room wasn't. Also as you already have a council property you would be no where near the top of the priorities unfortunately. Your best bet is to go to your MP, and provide as much information on your sons disability as possible as this should (hopefully!) put you up the priority banding.

With the amount of people needing houses at the moment there is much more demand than supply. In our area there was a sort of auction scheme where people could bid on a property and whoever had the highest banding would get it. Try going for those in the least popular areas and also getting someone round (if possible) to view your current situation as there are piles miles high of people claiming to be overcrowded.


Hopefully I've helped a little!

ILW

pinkshoes wrote: »

They're not tearing them to pieces, they're just highlighting another point of view.

In Oxford City, I'm told there's 8000 council houses, and 5000 on the waiting list, which is growing daily.

I know a nice couple who rent a 2 bed flat for £875 a month with their 2 year old. They would LOVE to have more children, but can't afford it, and it could be 10+ years before they'd get a council house. Due to this, they will not have any more children until they can afford it...

And yet here we have someone who already has the luxury of having a 2 bed council property, who has had so many children, they now want a bigger council property.

Surely getting a council property is a luxury in itself, so if you want more children, you should either fit them into the property you've got, or look into renting privately?

You need to understand that SO many people would love a council property, so when someone moans they want a bigger one, it doesn't go down well.

To the OP: Could you not give the children the bigger room, then section a bit off for your son with either a curtain, or some sort of divider?

I know this is a bit of a generalisation and I will be flamed for saying it but,
I think this thread neatly sums up the differences in attitude between those that think the state owes them and the rest. The majority of people who work and either buy or rent privately would plan a family around the accomodation they can afford, deciding when and how many children to have based on the size etc of their house or flat. Whereas those in public housing seem to have the children as and when they feel like and then expect the state to support the additional housing requirements. I am not saying which is right or wrong, just pointing out that there do appear to be two totally separate ideas of where responsibilty lies.

Scabs

ILW wrote: »

I know this is a bit of a generalisation and I will be flamed for saying it but,
I think this thread neatly sums up the differences in attitude between those that think the state owes them and the rest. The majority of people who work and either buy or rent privately would plan a family around the accomodation they can afford, deciding when and how many children to have based on the size etc of their house or flat. Whereas those in public housing seem to have the children as and when they feel like and then expect the state to support the additional housing requirements. I am not saying which is right or wrong, just pointing out that there do appear to be two totally separate ideas of where responsibilty lies.

I don't think you should be flamed as you are being totally honest and only saying what a lot of us already think.
Its just we don't have the b*lls to say it.

As for the OP just count your blessings as when I was younger I had to sleep under the stairs because the council rarely house single people.
This situation drove me mad but gave me the determination to work my !!!! off to get my own place.

ModernSlave

I've rented privately for 7 years and never been asked to leave. I do resent being classed as 'just a renter' by people who have council housing or mortgages. I'm not poor enough for council support and I'm not rich enough to buy a house but I firmly believe that children can be brought up well in rental accommodation. The OP should seriously consider it.

The govt is also working towards registering/licensing private landlords so that should go some way towards getting rid of the dodgy ones. Don't dismiss renting because in future, with sky-high house prices and little council building it looks as if it's where many people are heading.

michaelkav36

do you have to pay rent in a council flat?

im currently living at home trying to save up with my GF to move out, may put our names down if you dont have to pay anything! Cant you try and save up to get a deposit together to get a joint ownership or something, may take time but alot of people have to wait aswel.

ILW

michaelkav36 wrote: »

do you have to pay rent in a council flat?

im currently living at home trying to save up with my GF to move out, may put our names down if you dont have to pay anything! Cant you try and save up to get a deposit together to get a joint ownership or something, may take time but alot of people have to wait aswel.

I blame the skools.

SingleSue

Yes you do have to pay rent in a council or housing association property.

Jowo_2

michaelkav36 wrote: »

do you have to pay rent in a council flat?

im currently living at home trying to save up with my GF to move out, may put our names down if you dont have to pay anything!

Are you joking? Do you actually believe that no rent is payable by tenants in social housing? How did you end up assuming that?