Refusing a council house offer

[Crystal1970]

Hi, I have been in temporary housing for 4 years now during that time I was allowed to bid on 4 bed houses and advised when asked I wasn’t allowed to bid on 3 bed ones, the council have now visited and said we have found a suitable property for you it is a 3 bed house 🤔 one bedroom being a box room, I have 3 sons who are not small kids now I don’t mind 2 sharing a room but someone i know has said all you will get in the box room is a single bed . Now can I refuse this as jot being suitable I think it was under section 8 so if I refused they wouldn’t help me anymore.

Should have thought about that before ( not after) you had 3 children that you couldn’t afford to house

The OP wants to live in a big house funded by the tax payers as she feels that this is what she is entitled to…..diddums isn’t being treated fairly in her opinion 🤷‍♀️

That's what most of my friends had as a bedroom, a box room or shared, whether rented or owned. My neighbours had 5 daughters, in a 3 bedroom, 2 sets of bunks in one room, eldest in the other room with the wardrobes, for 21 years! It's a home and you can easily get all three boys a bunk, with drawers/ wardrobe or space for a hanging rail underneath.

Could the largest room accommodate the 3 boys for sleeping and convert the box to walk in wardrobe?

A 3 bedroom house is perfectly adequate for a parent and 3 sons. Two boys share the biggest room, you in the medium and lone boy in the smallest. Will be fine.
Yes the logic re allocation might be frustrating, but it doesn't really matter. You've been offered a suitable house, take it.

My parents had a 3 bed semi (with a loft later converted to 4th bedroom) and before the conversion there were 3 in one room and the eldest had the box. This was in the good old days!

Take the house

Yep! We bought a 2 bed flat when it was just me and my husband. We now have three kids 😂 You just have to be creative in regards to storage! We have the small double room, ours kids have the much bigger bedroom. We make it work because we have to 🤷‍♀️

This is actually a really good idea, if the ages work. Otherwise 2 in one room, one in another and you in the third. Absolutely bonkers that you’d consider turning down a secure home after four years in temporary accommodation on the basis that your sons won’t all have their own rooms… it’s not exactly cruelty to have children share a room!

A secure council tenancy is like golddust these days. I would accept...

If you can get a single bed in the room it will be fine, bed with storage and a rail on wall. Don’t revise a perfectly good house

It's making me think op may not be genuine. Who's that entitled!

But why isn’t the house on offer good enough? As other people have said, they live in similar or smaller. It’s normal.

I’m afraid I have to agree with this. Our DS will grow up in a 6’6’’ by 6’6’’ bedroom because that’s what we can afford to buy without moving far away from friends and family (the ‘master’ bedroom is only 2 feet longer and the same width). We currently live in a small one bedroom flat with a toddler and count ourselves lucky to be moving soon to give him his own space, albeit small. If we hadn’t managed it then we’d have converted the lounge in our current flat to our bedroom once he gets a bit older. Take the house.

Because when people are being told 'it's your right to be given what you want' 'you're entitled to' and as seen on this thread 'how very dare they! Go and seek legal advice, you should get what you want'.... it creates issues.

Yeah, you could be right

My house is three bedroomed the smallest is 5 foot 6 by 6 foot six.big enough for a single bed and and small wardrobe. My neighbour has three children her house is the same size as mine. Of course it's possible.

Keep the small bedroom for yourself, and keep it just to sleep in, with your clothes in the hallway.

Your sons will need more space in their rooms to play/study/hang out with friends, depending on their age. You get your room to sleep in, living room to sit about in. When boys move out, you move to a bigger bedroom.

There are many gangly teenagers sleeping in box rooms up and down the country. Take the house.

My life circs dramatically changed a few years ago and I'm now on the waiting list for council housing. I joined several Facebook groups and I'm genuinely astounded by the entitlement on there. People giving off stink about being offered a brand new apartment, because they have DC "that deserve a garden" or they have 3 dogs or their 7 DC need a bedroom each. When you are offered a home that is 60+% cheaper than a private rental, either take it or graciously decline and let the next person take it!

I am a tax payer I work around 55hrs a week for the NHS not medical though

This is very unfair you don’t know my situation I have rented privately for around 35 yrs my situation took a turn for the worst about 4yrs ago so please don5 judge unless you know peoples situation

I am a tax payer 8 work around 55 hrs a week to keep my head above water around here a 3 bed house is around £1800 a month it’s a joke what landlords are charging

Whatever you do OP and whatever housing you eventually get, can I please beg you to downsize when you no longer need the extra bedrooms every night. So much of our social housing stock is occupied by single or couple pensioners in three bed houses meanwhile families are crammed in temporary accommodation for years. Our housing crisis would be almost completely solved if under occupiers downsized (that goes for owners as well). Please don't become part of the problem when your housing issues are solved.

Perfect solution

I am not expecting a large house I was advised years ago i couldn’t bid on 3 bed houses which I saw and thought would be big enough so had to bid on the 4 bed ones