Can’t afford to carpet my council house

My DH went on the internet and looked at remnants from industrial carpeting - I think eBay, this was a few years ago. It was very cheap - like 1/4 cost of carpets we'd been looking at - and doesn't show wear at all.

Could you get a referral to a Trussel Trust food bank & once there discuss with the staff your situation-they might have some advice or know of a scheme to help you. The one I help at has access to free SIM cards, winter warmer packs/energy saving packs & can signpost to many helpful services-good luck.

I know it's highly unlikely that you live in my area OP but, if you do, I might be able to help (access to charitable funds). Please say which county you are in.

You can paint floors. There is a special paint for concrete floors (often used in garages) but it is rather expensive. I suppose ordinary emulsion would do, but not so hard wearing. Thin the first coat 10% so it soaks in and seals the surface.

Paint will prevent it making dust, and you will be able to mop or sweep it.

Dull, unobtrusive colours like light grey might be best. You can often get free paint on Freegle or local Facebook groups, but you will need a lot to do a room in one colour.

See if you can get remnants of vinyl. Especially for the kitchen as it is easy to clean. You might get a remnant of stair carpet fir the hall or corridor.

Rugs for the bedroom and living room and mats fir the bathroom. Again you might get some free. You can put small ones in the wash unless they are wool.

Sealing the concrete with a bond resin is very cheap and you can do it yourself. That will reduce the dust. PP had post a link.
There are companies that do your full flat for around 1000 pounds, it is the grey "landlord" carpet. Not sure if that fit your budget. They also have end of cuttins for a fraction of the price.
Vinyl tiles are cheap I have just done my living room for 125 pounds, 16sq mts and I did it myself. I bought them on ebay.
Home bargains and other retailers do vinyl rolls up to 9 sq m surface for 45 pounds, that can solve small rooms like bathroom. They also had carpet tiles you can lay yourself.
Keep on looking I'm sure you can find something you like within a tiny budget, I did it.
One you got the concrete sealed will be easy because the dust will be much less.

Is a 0% credit card an option for you?

It is hard. I was in the same situation and didn't have carpets downstairs for years. The carpet on the stairs is an off cut we nailed on and still hasn't been replaced due to finances.

Definitely ask around on Nextdoor or Facebook to in your immediate area people are always asked no near me and there are some very generous offers!

OP- as pp have said- Pay weekly floor type thing is great. I paid £10 a week and have done my whole house this way. There's loads of them on Facebook just make sure you read the reviews. The one i used was a lical catpet shop who did this on the side so to speak. Good luck x

Have a look at carpet tiles - you can get rescued ones (mainly from offices) for very little and they are relatively easy to lay yourself

The DWP do budget loans. Not sure if that would help:

https://www.gov.uk/budgeting-help-benefits/how-to-apply

I got remnants from carpet right when we first moved in, got 3 bedrooms, hallway and living room all done and fitted for under £500. I'm pretty sure they do finance as well.
The remnants we got were amazing, really good quality and very expensive carpets.

Definitely use the sealer. If you don't like the grey look, get some special concre paint to add colour, place a rug or two and it will all ne lovely and homely!

It says she did in the OP!

I sympathise. This is what I would also advise^

Congratulations on your new home 🏡

How about floor paint i did this in my old home dried quick and was mopable.
Now in my new home i got floor tiles off amazon i dont like carpet my choice.
I done one room a time untill i was done.
Now 3 years on im going to rip them all up soon and sand the floor boards back bit of vanish and go for the natural look.

Have a look to see if there are any local charities that offer grants or anything? I only know through my work previously have supported families with this kind of thing obviously don't know in your area specifically.

@LakieLady ”They also have a rule that tenants in flats above the ground floor must have carpets to reduce noise transmission, which seems a bit mean.”

Try living in a flat under a laminated floor, and then tell me it’s mean! That’s responsible landlording.

I'd also perhaps consider checking out some of the insta or Pinterest pages where people have sanded and painted stairs and used stick on stair treads. They are really cheap and can look amazing.

Came here to say the same thing! Seal the concrete to stop the dust, and get some rugs for rooms where you want things to be comfier underfoot

I used to work in homelessness prevention and resettlement and often used to get grants for housing costs when people got housed.

A lot of charities wanted 3 quotes, and it always turned out that a small, local independent shop was cheaper than Carpet Right when you factored in the cost of fitting and/or underlay.

I had great success with grants from a charity called Glasspool Trust but I'm not sure if you can apply direct, or if you have to get some sort of professional to apply on your behalf. It might be worth checking.

I'm surprised that PPs have been shocked by the OP being allocated a property with bare floors. The 2 councils I'm most familiar with will put vinyl flooring in kitchens and bathrooms but nothing in other rooms. If the previous tenant has left carpet down and it's in good nick, they'll leave it, but if it's worn or dirty they rip it up and leave new tenants with bare boards.

They also have a rule that tenants in flats above the ground floor must have carpets to reduce noise transmission, which seems a bit mean.

I would ask on your local Facebook groups for donations. Explain what has happened and what you're currently living with and ask if anyone has any cheap or free carpet remnants, vinyl or rugs.

I got a local carpet fitter to come and measure up, then i bought the carpet and underlay myself from ebay. It was considerably cheaper than the ones supplied by the fitter.

I'd call around small (suburban high st) carpet shops are see if they have remnants, vinyl is a better option for the downstairs hall, kitchen and bathrooms

Could you do it on interest free credit and pay monthly?

What about pay weekly carpets? I have no idea if they are overinflated so please ignore if this is the case but my SD recently got some flooring from them and she said it was the same price or cheaper than B&Q. Might be worth getting a quote and if they aren't massively more expensive you could pay £10-£15 per month if you could afford it (although it will take a while to pay).