Can’t afford to carpet my council house

I painted and sealed mine - cost me £30 and then I bought massive outdoor rugs from ikea

Or get free ones

We did big rugs and then just a room at a time started with kids room and living room first. Agree with second hand rugs if you can get them.

it’s a pain isn’t it! I just went for the cheapest carpets etc as well , also shop around as there are carpet shops that are cheaper than others.

I'd paint/seal it and then get some rugs to throw down on it. We aren't in a council house, but we don't have any carpet anywhere downstairs - it's either concrete or slate. For the bit that's concrete, it's been painted with a sealer/paint and we have a rug that covers the middle of the floor. We wear slippers in winter to keep feet warm.

I'd definitely recommend sealing the floor, as PP have suggested, in the first instance.

I had a floor like that in a new extension and sealed with ordinary emulsion, watered down massively. After the first coat you can do a second with thicker paint.

We're coming into summer (!) so it won't be too cold in the short term, but look out for carpet from free sites, unless you can save for new. Even something really cheap will be better than nothing come winter.

Writing to an MP about no carpets will go nowhere - it absolutely is standard.
And plenty of private tenants would happily leave behind the private sector for social housing secure tenancy - especially because it’s usually less rent (and so it should be, and no it’s not subsidised) which frees up money for flooring.

I absolutely would write to MPs about the lack of additional financial support for those of low income moving into social housing though.

Congratulations on your forever home, you will both make lots of happy memories there!

Speak with your school Parent Support Advisor or similar regarding grants. It may just be for your little ones bedroom and possibly the living room, but it’s a start.

Do you have any local energy charities nearby who help with and advise on energy costs? Our local one provides curtains, occasionally carpets, and even puts up curtain poles. The idea is that without these, energy bills are higher - so they help make your property more energy efficient.

Lots of other great suggestions on here.

Good luck!

I second looking out for big rugs. As they are out of fashion they go for silly money. Wwe recently sold a room sized Indian wool rug at auction for £25 in excellent condition. Also to cut down the dust in the concrete seal around the rugs (paint or varnish; whichever you prefer) so you can damp mop or swiffer more easily.
If you were homeless you may have had contact with your local food bank: if so they will be able to put you in touch with all the local help/support groups. They will find something. Even if it's just the bound edge squares/samples from a shop: we've taped them together for a child's room before. It's a short term fix but is warm and colourful.

Yes of course they are aware council houses don't come with flooring, that's normal.

If you go to the back of most carpet shops they have a roll end section. They’re usually so much cheaper than if you get someone out to measure up and chose a carpet out of a book. A carpet fitter isn’t very expensive either- my daughter just had a carpet fitted and I think it was something like £50. Start with the lounge to give you some comfort.

The painted hallway sounds a good idea. There are people on Instagram who have made lovely stair runners from cheap rugs.

Second hand office carpet tiles can be really cheap and possible to lay yourself as a temporary solution.

Seriously, it's standard? Crazy! No private tenant would expect to out up with that!

Eta to add a link that apparently this is a thing! https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/kids-left-freezing-homes-concrete-26423054

OP - wrote to your local MP. It's appalling and I doubt they are away that that is standard practice. It's dangerous for a young child falling and banging heads, scrapes and grazes etc.

As an immediate solution to the dust and concrete wear issue, I would really recommend something like this construction floor covering. For the price it's the most hard wearing option which will give you some time to work out a more permanent solution. Tape it together with clear gorilla tape for a neutral base and then add second hand rugs for colour, softness and warmth.
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&opi=89978449&url=www.tiger-supplies.co.uk/Catalogue/site-equipment/temporary-protection/Floor-Protection/Floor-Card---Standard---1m-x-100m-116-028&ved=2ahUKEwiU8q7rk_GFAxW9UEEAHe8hARMQFnoECBgQAQ&usg=AOvVaw1G4rOyoub9QuLCxmHJgems

How lovely to have a brand new house. I would go to a carpet place and ask if they have any roll ends or left over laminate boxes that would be cheaper.

Concrete flooring throughout? You mean upstairs too? Normally it's floorboards upstairs.

No carpets is standards for social housing I'm afraid. You have to make do and do it bit by bit.

You can see if you can get offcuts, roll end or carpet tiles or cheap rugs. Colours and styles don't matter right now, just take anything you can get just to have something down.

It took us several months to carpet our HA home when we were fortunate enough to be allocated it.
We started with dirt cheap rugs in the bedrooms and living room and just lived with it until we could get it done.

In the short term, masonry paint can help reduce the dust and make it look a little better. I know someone that painted tiles on their hall floor.

You've had lots of good advice, I don't have anything other to add to that.

First of all go to a few places to get a quote. Chain places are always going to be expensive.
When i moved into my HA house there was no flooring whatsoever.
I managed to carpet a 2 bed house including stairs (lino in the front room and hallway) for less than £900. It was the same carpet throughout. Fitting was included- some chains charge for fitting on top. I put it on my credit card and paid it off bit by bit.

if you can’t afford what they are charging- check out the offcuts section.

Lino/vinyl is always going to be cheaper too.
check out freecycle/gumtree/fb to see if people have carpets for sale/free too.

I’ve used garage floor paint before - there are various colours. It does sound like you may need a sealant first but it would tide you over and look good with any rugs or remnants you can get hold of.

Get carpet right to do it . The cheapest stuff. Get underlay from eBay. So much cheaper. The fitter isnt that much. Especially if you find one on Facebook for a bit of cash discount

Also the cheap stick on laminate in b&m does the job for awhile.

We are only just replacing the cheapest carpet upstairs after 8 years x

I think this sort of thing should do it- and you can (I think) then paint over the top (do check online) with something like tile paint in rooms like the kitchen and bathroom.

https://floorseal.co.uk/product/concrete-floor-sealer/

I’d also recommend sticky vinyl tiles from Dunelm (floor pops) which I have fitted myself and it was pretty easy (I literally used a Stanley knife and a ruler and some extra gorilla glue on the back).

https://www.dunelm.com/product/floorpops-alfama-self-adhesive-floor-tiles-1000158942

Sorry you're in this position OP. For us we couldn't afford to carpet the house in one go (with some concrete floors in the mix but others just had 45 year old disgustingly stained carpet down). We've done one room at a time, prioritising where we wanted it most for comfort/ maximum use - for us it was kids bedrooms first and then living room. We also found a carpet warehouse that just sells remnants/ leftovers, so were able to get really nice quality carpet for the kids rooms for under £300 fitted (including underlay).

I'd start by finding it cheap and then work out which area to do at a time.

There’s a charity near me that is solely dedicated to providing free flooring to people in the area. I can’t imagine it’s the only one - may be worth asking on Fb?

If you've got a British Heart Foundation furniture store nearby, you can buy decent quality rugs very cheaply.

https://www.onlinecarpets.co.uk/ then find someone of Facebook to lay it, no way does it need to cost 2k

Go your local DIY store and get a concrete sealant,
Paint it on and it will stop the dust until you can get the money together to to buy carpet

Lived without carpert for years until i had the money and then i carpetted one room at a time

Garage floor paint comes in lots of colours. My one reservation would be the need for ventilation while it dries. However once dry it is a dust-free moppable surface. Hope you find a solution, lots of good suggestions already.

Congratulations on your new home...you know once the flooring is sorted you will love being there.