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 ?

Your social housing must work differently than where I’m from as ours they tell you that you can bid on eg 2 bedrooms if that’s what they deem you entitled to, but if you’re able to bid and you’re getting close to the top of the list then hopefully you shouldn’t have much longer to wait! Wishing you all the luck in the world that you soon get to make a house your home!

some really nasty views here, should a single person get absolutely nothing at all? why are you calling her selfish? the poster has a right to some good things single or not and people who have four kids deliberately should not always get every damn thing.

Mmm... and that used to be hugely abused. Say it's not so if you want to, I won't mind but I will disagree with you.

It isn't OP's - or anybody else's - fault that housing stock is so insufficient for needs. OP isn't getting her rent paid, she's paying it herself and she deserves to be considered for the property she wants.

If you’re bidding for years and you’re finally within the top 5 (in some places you have to be top 20) then yes, you will get housed

lo and behold. say you are planning to foster and help the children of all those people who do not look after them properly but get the houses. you might be in with a chance

Social housing exists for a very good reason - to house those who for whatever reason cannot house themselves.

I think you are astoundingly cheeky in wanting a 2 bedroom home provided all for yourself when a 2 bed could potentially house 4 people with nowhere to stay at the moment. You want the bedroom so a guest can stay over whereas others don't even have a bed.

Do you not see who entitled and selfish you are being?

Exactly. The abuse is rampant and we all know it.

Yes it was abused for sure...but the reason women/families with children are housed i because in the UK babies and children do not sleep on the street....there is no other option but to put a roof over their head

Good for you. I'm sure you'd feel just as comfortable judging someone who had a congenital heart defect, or cancer, or was unexpectedly widowed, or had any number of things happen to them that they could not have foreseen when they had a very comfortable lifestyle, secure housing, and savings when they decided to start a family. God forbid that life deviates from what you had planned.

By your logic, they should keep properties empty until someone comes along who is homeless or significantly over crowded? Social housing isn't emergency accomodation. It specifically allows people who are adequately housed to bid on selected properties. It knowingly let on people with jobs and doesn't demand proof that they couldn't afford an insecure, substandard private let from a shit landlord.

LOL you can’t be serious? Do you think everyone has money to wake up and buy a house one day?

No harm in trying @loandbeholdd , just don't be too attached to the idea in the meantime, so you don't feel down. Do other stuff to keep your spirits up.

If there are any repairs needed to your current place, then report them.

And it could be utterly unaffordable for a lot of people who work full time too once you've got deposits and what not to cover first.
We could (well, before it all went to shit) afford a mortgage. What we doing have is the deposit. It would also mean moving into a rougher area / smaller home than what we currently rent.

It’s not about whether the OP can afford it or not though is it? No one in their right mind would move from a HA/Council property to live in a private property. The LL can sell the house, evict you and so many other things can happen. Why would you leave the security of a HA to private rent?

OP is extremely close to getting a two bed whether you agree with it or not, that’s just the way it is

I think you'll find that that's not what I said.

I think with housing issues as difficult as thry currently are no house would ever be left vacant waiting for someone to need it. They already are a queue of people waiting, a long time in many cases.

Social housing exists for a very good reason - to house those who for whatever reason cannot house themselves.

@ThirtyThrillionThreeTrees Lots of people could private rent but still go on the housing list, because they want the security and sense of 'ownership' of a council/HA place. Or they're in a council/HA place and looking for a particular thing like the OP, for instance a garden or whatever. The reality is that people like that are often waiting a long time though, if they get what they're after at all. But they're currently still allowed to have a try.

I'm back in
When did I say anything about social housing being bad? When did I say she shouldn't get a house? £100,000 could be achievable or could be a goal to strive towards! Yeah one day I woke up with £400,000 and thought yay I'll buy a house today!
Some folk on here are very good at twisting things onto how they want to see them
Life isn't perfect for a majority of people, some people like instant gratification eg the latest phone or something they have seen on Instagram! Some of people like to save,some people like to travel.
But yeah I'm the bad guy.. ok

Also OP, I wonder how it works on the bidding system for your LA. Even though you’re only one person, is there not a limit to how many bedrooms you can bid on? For example, the kids and I are entitled to bid on two bedroom properties only. If I tried to bid on a 3 bed, it wouldn’t go through.

Is there a limit with your LA or could you bid on a three bedroom if you wanted too? Obviously there’d be loads of people in front of you but I wonder how it works

I'm also in North East, my step dad got a 2 bed flat last year when he was only entitled to 1 bedroom. Just depends on your council as they all have different lettings policy and some are much less strict than others.

My dsis got a two bed HA house, she would have been over 55 by then, she privately rented before that. She didn't like the area (was also in the NE in one of the most deprived parts), not sure if that had any bearing. Worked full time and paid full rent. She's just retired to a HA bungalow in a really nice small town so think it was worth it.

Unless you have medical reasons,I would say zero chance. To be honest,you'd be lucky to get a one bedroom place or a studio flat if you're a single person with no dependants.

This is completely untrue in North East England.

I would imagine you're entitled to apply but you won't be prioritised over something with a disability or a child or a joint tenancy application. So I don't see you getting one unless it's one that noone else wants.

Would you reconsider the area you want to live and maybe moving somewhere new with lower rent costs? Some areas are harder to let for housing providers because they're rural so might be the case that a low demand area would give you more luck.

Alternatively could be worth looking at swaps, maybe someone living in a 2 bed who wants to downsize to avoid the bedroom tax would consider your flat?

Could you put a complaint in to your housing provider about their management of the asb in the flats?

On a side note you can put in your own kitchen/ bathroom etc provided you get their consent. Most are happy to give consent for you to do it provided you're using a reputable contractor.

Also just to say I'd recommend linking in with a housing advice service local to you. They can review your circumstances and see if there's any scope to increase your chances/ transfer points.

People are so mean on here. You work full-time and live in a one bedroomed flat in social housing, next to other flats rented to drug addicts. You'd like a small house but a) Can't afford private rent and b) Can't afford a mortgage. Why other posters are being so mean to you, I have no idea. In a decent, civilised society, there would be enough social housing that a single person requesting an extra bedroom wouldn't be seen as some sort of sin or entitled, grabby request.

You aren't expecting the state to support several children you've had without fathers who pay for them , or to keep you on benefits. You work full-time, pay your rent and would like to live somewhere you are not expected to live next door to drug addicts and to have an extra bedroom. What in earth has happened to this country that a) that is not possible and b) your hoping it might happen leads to people being so rude to you.