How big is a 1 bed flat/bungalow (council)

sourpuss2021

youth_leader said:

@nightsky224 do help your family member declutter ruthlessly.  I left a 5 bed 264 sq foot and thought I had decluttered for this 100 sq foot bungalow but am still giving things away that I paid to move here. 

Do you mean square metres?

youth_leader

I do, I apologise.

nightsky224

user1977 said:

nightsky224 said:

user1977 said:

Doesn't sound that bad. It's larger than my first flat (36 square metres).

I think it’s hard when I’m used to being in bigger places and she has a 2 bed house to fit in to it. 

Downsizing means getting rid of stuff.

Oh yes of course but it’s still a big move. I thought they would be a bit bigger. 

goldfinches

I thought I would just raise one or two points that you and your relative may like to know now rather than later.

You mentioned that she is contemplating moving to "a bungalow on a small estate of 1 bed bungalow's for over 60s" please do check carefully what the situation would be if the council needed to change the ages/types of tenants accommodated on the estate. I say this as such changes can be quite drastic and your relative might find that the estate is now allocated for young single people without her being informed or being able to object in any effective way. This has happened to some areas in my city and the residents have had severe problems with new neighbours that they are unable to move away from which has caused great ill feeling.

The other thing I think you would be wise to do is to walk around any area at all times of day and night to see what type of activity there might be and how responsive or otherwise existing residents and/or local police are to any disturbances. We all know that some parts of a town are quieter than others and that the police will respond much more quickly to some calls than others so it would be useful to gauge how vulnerable she would feel when she could not retreat to a first floor and might have to wait for some time for the police to arrive while her near neighbours were resolutely ignoring any noise.

Lastly, and sorry for the essay, do check on the construction of any property she is seriously interested in as some estates can have well known problems that the council are effectively ignoring. I think the way to do this is to have a serious chat to a local surveyor or builder who wasn't responsible for the original construction and arrange either an in depth survey or use an infra-red camera to check the heat loss from the exterior of the property and maybe do both. I have heard, informally, of skimped work on such things as loft insulation, cavity wall insulation and so on, not to mention wasps nests in eaves etc. so you would be well advised to have these things formally checked so that you can then hold the relevant housing manager's feet to the fire.
Another good way of doing that would be to get your relative or one of your family elected to the council this coming May as she would then be assured of first class service and real help when she needs it. I know that sounds cynical but I have seen this in action locally and have had to explain to Councillors that their area of the city receives much better street cleaning, waste collection etc. simply because they live there and would notice if these services were not carried out to the agreed standard. You would probably only need a few hundred votes to be elected so this strategy is well worth considering, especially as you can claim allowances for meetings and so on.

spoovy

My wife and I lived in a similar sized private rented house for years. 48sqm IIRC. Not ideal but perfectly fine. More than enough for one person.

GibbsRule_No3.

I downsized from a two bedroom ground floor council flat, to a one bedroom bungalow for the over 55s (ages are going down it used to be over 60’s so good call to mention that in a previous thread.  PPOV I think mine is so they do get people who pay full rent, rather than everyone subsidies, could be wrong.). I was over 60 when I moved in, most of the other 11 bungalow’s in the Close were older, three have died since I moved in over 7 years ago and been replaced by younger people, except one, who is older than me.  So much quieter than having a noisy family above me.  The rooms are a good size but that is noticeable due to the slanting/vaulted ceilings, none of the rooms are flat ceilinged.  I did start off with a single bed as I thought a double would not fit and as I was buying everything new, except for tv, fridge and dining table set it made sense, year later I swapped it for a double bed.
The rent and council tax are both more than the two bedroom flat.  I also have a small back garden, that I paid to have a kitchen door put in, going out to it, reason for no door given was that it is “communal” but no one goes round the back and most of us now have our own bit of garden. I had to be in for a year before I was given permission.  At present the roof is being replaced and solar panels installed.
I’d imagine no one can be sure what will happen anywhere we live in future years but if it is good when she moves in then hopefully it will stay that way depending on the area.