How can I get a bigger house off the council?

[Dreamzcancometrue]

Hi all,

In 2016 after a brief stint staying in a hostel I started to bid for a property and successfully got a studio flat. I moved into the flat in May 2017 as a single woman. It was fine then and lived there happily until March 2019 when I gave birth to my lovely daughter and there being not enough space in the bedroom area for a large cot, I have a dbl bed which takes up most of my bedroom space . The living room and bedroom area are seperated by a big wall there aren't any doors just two entry points on either side of the walls.. Its frustrating. So Im in need of a bigger property atleast 2 bed. I live in the Southwark borough of London and I know council flats are in high demand here then any other borough. Moving out the borough is not an option for me as I have mental health issues and family support is paramount for mine and my baby's wellbeing.

Sorry im so shit at writing these type of things. If you've managed to follow up until now, basically what I'm asking is due to my mental health issues and the fact that me and my daughter are in a property that no longer suits my situation. Would the council help us?

My support worker, perinatal consultant and health visitor and GP have been advised to write me a supporting letter to back up my council housing application but not sure what else I could do?

I really would like to be re-housed so my daughter can have her own room. I can't afford to privately rent and I'm not working atm it will take me a while to get back into work.

Any suggestions would be beneficial. Thanks for reading.

Are you able to get a job and save and rent privately? Single bed option as PPs have mentioned sounds like best option for you for now.

@lolaflores I make sure I am not in this situation. I work, my DH works and we instill work ethics in our DC.
Kids going hungry while parents are puffing on cigarettes and drinking cans of beers! Big TV, XBox and what not. Noone has to go hungry in this country..some people just dont want to help themselves

Thank you for your magnanimity Fedup and also reinforcing with your posts

TheQueef

Ah you are talking a pile of shiteFedup*

Queef I agree with you. For a start the free 15 hours does not start until the child is at least 2 years old and it's not for the mum as such it's for the child. Also depending on peoples earnings people who work can get 30 hours free childcare.

Are social services involved with your baby? If so they could provide a letter of recommendation if they feel the baby would benefit from having her own room. Councils might consider it if a bigger home is better for the baby - but bear in mind that many London boroughs don’t give you any choice in the area you move too or whether you get a house / flat (unless you’re disabled) so you might end up with a bigger house that still doesn’t meet your needs. Your best bet I think is to focus on your MH and get to a place where you can have the flexibility to move out of the borough.

Can you describe your living/ sleeping space a little more or attach a diagram?

We've managed to divide a 12ft x 8ft bedroom into two rooms for two teenagers because moving isn't an option. Our youngest is in a room 6.5ft x 8ft and with very creative furnishing she has quite a bit of storage and a bit of space to play.

I'm not saying don't do everything you can to get yourself on all the lists you can, just also consider what could help with how you live now too.

For example a double bed may be your prefference especially if your own condition means you thrash around a lot at night/ sleep fitfully. But the double is hard to get around and fit a cot in the space. Could a double mattress on the floor be a free solution to this problem? When little one starts to be mobile you could have a great big quilt to throw over the on floor mattress (your bed) and it becomes a play space. When they wake in the night you woulent be catching yourself on bed corners.

I'm lucky that our council count the child as having a need for a bedroom from the 20 week scan, I was only ever offered two bedrooms wasn't allowed to move into a 1 bed as we'd be high priority for a two bed soon as she was born. Defo speak to the council

A flat in the centre of zone 1 London is most peoples dream. If it was just me and one child I would make it work. So you have to share a sleeping space. It's no big deal.

@Fedupbyit that's one person you know most people aren't like that at all 😭😂

“A flat in the centre of zone 1 London is most peoples dream.”

I’m going to hazard a guess you haven’t been to many council estates in Southwark

@anitagreen I never said everyone is.. read my post I said there are people who genuinely need help. I also maintain that some people know how to work the system and I never said anything about the OP other than suggesting that she finds a job..

OP I have no experience of council housing but assuming what everyone is saying is correct and you’re likely to be stuck there for the foreseeable, can we not help you to come up with ways to make it more liveable? Maybe post a floor plan? There might be a way to use something like a room divider to separate the sleeping area for example without losing floor space.

You will not be accepted as 'overcrowded' until baby is older.
Get a single bed and make space.

fedupbyit long may your cosy existence continue. However, life has a nasty habit of throwing obstacles in the path.
My mother was widowed, put of the blue at 33 with 4 kids. So, no matter how hard u work to avoid the shame of poverty which is what you see it as. the universe can turn on you. No one can guarantee anything.
I hope your prejudices keep u warm at night all the same.

I think you are going to have to accept that the decisions you have made doesn’t necessarily give you exactly what you feel you are entitled to.

You have mental health issues, you get pregnant and the father isn’t around, you state you cannot leave Central London and you aren’t working. I have to say you come across as very ‘entitled’.

@lolaflores stop being so dramatic... shame of poverty, when did I day that. My point was and I maintain it that some people know how to get the most of the system while some people who need it cant get the help they need. I hope you have a lively evening as unlike you, I do not wish harm on others.

I know someone who has just had baby number 5 while living in a 2 bed council flat with no hope of being rehoused. She sleeps in the living room. Those I know who are being rehoused are being shipped out of London and towards Dartford.

I live in a one bed flat (private rent) with my 3 year old and it's fine.

Why is everyone saying she won't be seen as over crowded until the baby is 1? each borough is different mine is overcrowded from the 20 week scan, my friends borough Wandsworth is from the due date etc. It's all different everywhere. Good luck OP.

@TeachesOfPeaches she obviously don't have a problem with loving in a 2 bed flat with 5 kids or else she wouldn't have had so many kids! I keep wondering where is the father in all this or fathers !

@Fedupbyit You can't just "work the system" everyone gets the same money unless the child or claimant has disabilities then it will be a higher award. So how she chooses to spend her money may be different but another person on benefits will receive exactly the same and choose to spend it differently I don't see how that's working the system? Someone might do a £60 food shop she might do a £30 one and spend the £30 getting her nails done does it matter?

**“A flat in the centre of zone 1 London is most peoples dream.”

I’m going to hazard a guess you haven’t been to many council estates in Southwark**

I grew up in Southwark, the dream thing almost had me on the floor laughing.

Fedupbyit, and may u also continue enjoying your peevish nasty little mind set in your lovely ordered world, with your ethics. All neat and tidy where u can look down on others and presume you know the 1st thing about their lives.

Really annoys you that anyone would have a shred of empathy for someone in such a situation?
U simply cant imagine giving 2 shits about anyone who isn't exactly the same as you?

@sunglasses123 exactly what you said. That's what I mean by some people do not want to help themselves.. they need help but do not want to compromise. So many people pay their mortgage but cant afford to live in an area they want to so have to move to where they can afford while others want free things when and where they want it!!

@chuttypicks they do in most boroughs now as there is no point putting a mum in a 1 bed knowing soon as the baby is here that child will eventually need a two bedroom, it's saving hassle from the start. I know sutton council, Wandsworth, Middlesex, Hounslow do two bed minimums for a mum on the housing with one child. I was only ever considered for two beds when I started bidding took me 3 months to get housed but I know this is rare. I have a friend who see how easy it was and is still in a b&b now four years later waiting for a 2 bedroom with her now nearly 5 year old.

@lolaflores Ooh the nastiness coming out... some people tend to be rude when they cant calmly defend their point.. hey ho each to their own. And I dont presume.. just going by the thread.