Is there any chance of a single woman getting a 2 bed housing association house ?

[loandbeholdd]

I'm 35 and I'm currently in a 1 bed flat on band 3 (general needs )
I've been on housing list for 7 years now (same housing list my flats with )
I'm bidding on 2 bed houses and getting up to 20th position
Sometimes 15th ish
Do you think I'm wasting my time ?
What's the chances of me getting a 2 bed house ?

Yes they do! My council say 3 people can live in a one bed without classing it as overcrowded

Then rent privately.

My husband and I rented a teeny tiny upstairs flat (300 sq ft) for years to save for a house on the private rental market.

If you want a house then make it happen by bettering your career prospects and saving for it.

It’s ‘you’re’ not ‘your’.
If you’re going to be snarky about spelling, sort your own out.

Well yes that’s why we had the bedroom tax introduced.

Bedrooms are for sleeping residents of the home. People actually expect a housing form to ask after your hobbies “oh you like sewing, now where will you put that sewing machine let’s allocate you another room”….lord and they say people are entitled!

I'm surprised you're eligible to bid on them OP, have you checked the eligibility criteria? 2 bed houses are like gold here and are usually solely used to decant families from flats into.

Might be worth looking at mutual exchanges? Or a ground floor flat in a different area?

Yes everyone deserves decent living conditions. I'm not sure if the definition of decent living conditions constitutes having a guest bedroom?

@NeverHadHaveHas I'm only sarky with people who have a shitty attitude towards people and social housing

Why did you start the thread then @loandbeholdd? You've clearly already decided you know what the answer is

It sounds like you are moving up the list slowly over time. Position 15-20 sounds very good. In most local authorities you wouldn't be entitled to a 2 bed as a single person but it sounds like your LA works things differently and perhaps doesn't have the huge housing demand that a lot of other authorities have. You just have to be patient.

I work in the sector. Unless something comes up that they literally cannot give away, at which point you'll be assessed for affordability anyway, you have zero chance. You'll get to the top of the shortlist and they'll just skip you and keep skipping you. Too many families in TA or overcrowded at the moment.

Honestly OP I don’t think you should stop at a 2 bed house- go the whole hog and put your name on the social housing list for a mansion, you deserve it!

@Turmerictolly I think If I was in London /the south I would never have even got a flat /bedsit
Im keeping everything crossed
I know it's a really long process

You can go on the list, you just need to go into rented accommodation. Of course people with private homes can't go on the list. Why would they house you so you can rent your house out to someone else?

If there's a ton of two beds which they struggle to let, they may well give them to single people who are paying full rent rather than people who's get hit by the bedroom tax. It all depends on what's abundant. If the criteria states single people, X, Y, Z then op has as much right to apply as anyone else on the list.

@loandbeholdd
I didn't have a shitty attitude with you.you took it how you wanted.
I explained my housing situation.

Register on homeswapper too, this might help you move to a nicer area/bigger flat maybe?

A few weeks ago someone on here thought it was reasonable that their retired parents in a 3 bed HA had a guest room and a crafts room ffs because "they had worked hard" so why should they downsize.

The op is no different to those living in HA where their family has long flown the nest but feel like they need spare bedrooms. The whole system is a joke, we don't need to build more houses, we need a good reshuffle.

Ohh.nooooooo I should have used a capital letter and didn't I do hope you understand with my terrible error

@Lifeetc you posted a picture of a £100,000 house
When I had clearly stated I couldn't afford private rent hence looking for social housing
So please don't pretend that was you being helpful ....

That is certainly true, only the most vulnerable are being rehoused in London (usually after a very long stint in a hotel room or single room in a shared house). It's pretty grim. A lot of local authorities send people to the north to be rehoused as they have more availability. It might not feel like it, but you are in a very lucky position.

I never use this word but you're sounding entitled and unappreciative
HA tenancies are secure and with no DC you are not entitled to a 2 bed except in rare cases of medical need( for example Home dialysis)

Funnily enough, had I foreseen 20yrs ago that I'd end up unable to continue in my very high-paying job owing to severe PND, and that my exP would turn out to be a violent, abusive arsehole who left me & the DC homeless & penniless, I might have been a bit more 'prudent' too.

But don't forget to hoik your judgeypants just that bit higher up your arse crack. Believe me, the mild discomfort you'll feel is nothing compared to what we went through - and none of that was the fault of my DC. They didn't deserve less than what I've had to fight for for them.

They have at least turned out to be wonderful, decent, compassionate people.

@Comedycook I completely understand where you're coming from.
I live in a 2 up 2 down. My daughters share a room. One of them has DS and really ought to have her own bedroom with her disability. I consider myself lucky to even have a roof over my head though. It's almost impossible to get social housing where I'm from.

I honestly hate not having a room for visiting friends etc

Point them to the nearest air b n b like the rest of us. You are living in a dream world OP. I don’t know a single friend (40 now) who has ever been able to afford to live by themselves, let alone live by themselves and have a spare room.

Be careful of swap 2 friends did and big mistake for both they ended up loaning to move asap to a private rent there's usually a reason swaps are wanted. I doubt you will ever get a house thru council,home finder,housing association and will always be bidding tbh

I work FT
My mortgage and service charges are £600pm
Add on everything else from gas, electric, contents insurance, internet, car insurance, food, petrol etc and my bills including food come in at around £1575. Yes I'm paying off some debt but everything has gone up
Living alone and paying a mortgage on min wage is pretty tough sometimes

Last month after paying everything I had £5 left. People will say oh well you've paid everything but that was it, there was no money for a cinema trip or even enough for a bath bomb and I was "I've worked 40hrs a week to.. exist"