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 ?

no, actually that’s not what I’m saying but I see this as a bad faith argument so I won’t even continue explaining what I’m saying.

@Rollwiththepunch yes, a lovely coastal town ☺️ I feel very fortunate. Though the ignorance and prejudice of many people on Mumsnet about social housing really annoys me!

Absolutely wrong. RTFT.

sounds amazing - I’m happy for you. As a pp said - single childfree people should get nice things too sometimes!

Yes exactly it’s frustrating. I think I’ve read about as much as I can stomach on this thread 😅

@loandbeholdd good luck with the bidding!

It depends what's available in your area. Priority will always be given to those with children or whom need the extra rooms. I know lots of singletons who are in 3 bedroom houses but mainly because there are no 1 or 2 beds available in my area

It could be difficult unless you were thrown out of your flat and made homeless you are not priority to them. You're 35 anything is possible. Good luck 🤞

Your chances are very slim of being allocated a 2 bed property as a single. Due to the housing shortage the majority of local councils now allocate by priority & not by number of years on a waiting list.

Here we go... 🙄

You get houses based on need. Some councils will reassess your need every so many years. Others do not. depends on your contract.

yours may change when you move. I’m on old style contract - tenancy tor life essentially and preserved right to buy. New contracts reassess your need every 5 years - 1 yr initial tenancy with affordability checks followed by 4yr one after. No right to buy. Every assessment period you need is assessed and you’re given financial incentives to move if you under occupy.

I think there is a benefit to downsizing when older, however, these properties need to be of a kind that you can age into. Properties with easy access, wide doorways, wet rooms/walk in bath tubs, grab rails etc and there needs to be enough of them. Retirement properties without support are few and far between so there actually needs to be somewhere to go before people are forcibly moved. Disabled individuals get priority.

the downside to insisting on downsizing is it breaks communities. You need people to put down roots in order to get the benefits community brings, stability, decency etc.

Should people downsize? Yes if they can stay in the area, of the properties exist, if they’re affordable, if a move won’t be detrimental to health.

You’ve had a tough deal on here OP! Good luck getting your house, I get it! Living in flats can be grim! Hopefully you’ll get one soon.

And the more kids (they can't afford to raise) they have, the more deserving of a larger home they are.

I had to fight for the entire duration of my high risk pregnancy for a two bedroom flat with my housing association and I was already in a 1 bedroom flat with a toddler and DP. I had to get MPs involved, doctors letters due to mental health, midwife letters etc, and even then it was a complete and utter challenge!

So no, I wouldn't count on it.

I'm I'm a two bed with my son. I fully expected to downsize when he leaves home, yes.

Are you taking the p*?! There is a huge shortage of affordable housing and you think you have a right to a spare room?! If you can’t afford it you don’t get it unless you NEED it. Wow you are entitled.

If it is a want not a need you probably need to pay for rent privately like the teat of us.
We can't afford to buy either so we rent privately so we can have the things we prefer.
Housing association in this day and age is not as it was 20years ago. The demand is high so your can't be picky.

What about the people from the nice area whom she'd be swapping with? Would they want to move to OP's area or is it a case of someone needing to downsize urgently with no other choice but to swap with OP? That's the question.

What does a Chanel bag have that others of good quality don't, besides brand name?

I get your point though about the house.

The lack of understanding of variance in housing markets regionally, sub-regionally and local is evident on this thread. It is also evident in government housing policy where policies such as the bedroom tax are brought in to solve a problem of overcrowding in high demand areas but had massively different impact in parts of the NE where local flexibility matching up fixed housing stock with moving demographics (often within specific housing market areas) was stymied.

M'bro will have its own market dynamics and the Op is operating within the terms of the letting policy to bid for these properties and may well be successful and if she is -as she says- she won't be taking away something from someone else.

good luck @loandbeholdd

@CheldonSooper no we usually find it's more than that. People have different expectations from a move. Often people request certain areas that others could find undesirable due to friends and family support in that area, transport links, work availability, ALN school placement or simply that they grew up in the area and are familiar with it. What doesn't work for one may work for someone else.

I recently moved from a not very nice area into a more rural area, I had really had enough of my last house. I've picked post up a few times though and my twenty-something buyers absolutely love it there!

It's not quite as simple as "rent privately". I am 42 and live in a room in a shared house because I cannot afford to rent a house or flat alone. I haven't tried HA because I was told there was no chance I'd get one. I work full time but on a low income and despite my best efforts have not managed to increase it.

I would say 0 to qualify for a 2 bed you would need at least one child over the age of 1 or another adult but not a partner to be entitled to the second bedroom. Also you would have to pay bedroom tax on the 2nd bedroom as technically you don’t need it.

You are obviously allowed to bid otherwise the system wouldn't let you but I'm not sure I agree with you being entitled to a 2 bedroom property.

Your want to not live in a flat and have somewhere for guests to sleep does seem a tad entitled. You compare your situation to someone who has raised a family and now has spare rooms, which isn't the same thing at all (and people are strongly encouraged to downsize in my borough)

Gosh OP you have received some shitty replies. Not unexpected on here tho where lots of posters think social housing tenants must be barefoot and destitute to qualify for any form of housing and even then, if its a rat infested cardboard box they must be grateful.

If your HA is allowing you to bid you are entitled to a 2 bed house so keep bidding. Homeswap is also a good idea especially if you are in a 1 bed because of bedroom tax and cost of a 2 bed house bills wise vs a flat.

I understand completely why you would want a house instead of a flat and especially in your area, it's not impossible that you will get one eventually. Just keep bidding. 7th is good, it means you aren't a million miles away. When I was consistently 7th/8th it took about another 12 months to get a property.

@Kim0987 why would she pay bedroom tax?

@MinnieL hi no there's also a limit
A single person can only bid on a maximum of a 2 bed (1-3 person house )
So if a 2 bed (2-4 house ) came up I wouldn't be able to bid.