to be pissed off with being offered a council FLAT instead of a HOUSE?

[OMFFG]

We have 4 DCs, youngest 16 months and they think this is suitable!! The flat is 3 bedrooms and on the 2nd floor of a small tower block and has balconies which I would be pretty worried one of the DCs may fall out of.

This is my worst frigging nightmare. We have been 'homeless' for almost 2 years and the council have housed us in temporary accommodation (private rented) which we have to pay market value for (£875 per month) even though we did not choose it and it's a complete shit hole. We could not leave as we would lose our priority on the council bidding list. We lost our house when DH was made redundant and could not afford to pay £1200+ to privately rent.

Now after all this they have offered us a fucking flat. I am furious because every week until last week, there were only offering 3 bed houses but we would always be 3/4 on the list. Now that a flat was offered, less people have bid on it so we got to the top of the list. I did not even bid on it, the council did. Apparently they can bid on 'our behalf' as we are homeless and if we refuse this flat, we will be taken off the housing list. How the hell will we cope in a flat???

The rent is 'only' £380 a month but a house would only be £20 a month more.

AIBU to tell them to stuff it up their arses?

oh sorry I misread your post

carry on.....

I'm moving from a 3 bed semi next month.... To a brand new 5 bed townhouse

I'm busy freecycling, because the new house is actually smaller! New build small bedrooms. Small garden.

I got a full house ages ago bups

usualsuspect, thats not fair. How is a 3bd flat a cardboard box?

Its nothing to do with being against council tenants. I grew up in council flats, actually we moved from a council house to a council flat at one point as it was bigger.

You can't have everything you want. I'd like more than one bedroom for my three to share, but I can't afford it. Such is life. OP seems to be pretty lucky, only two years waiting for this, and shes moaning about her trampoline? Come on, a little reality check maybe....

HuntyCat, I know you're having a very hard time at the moment so do accept my well wishes and I'm with you the insurance thing. We got no payout from insurance when DP was in hospital and in recovery as they found every reason not to.
However, there are loads of benefits not affected by savings...
Maternity Allowance
Child Tax Credits
Working Tax Credits
Child Benefit
Contribution-based JSA
Disability Living Allowance
Employment Support Allowance
Attendance Allowance
I'm not trying to be picky, just hope that others are aware that they may be entitled to an awful lot even if they have savings.

Im not judging just using common sense which thankfully only a couple of posters on this thread seem to think is one of lifes optional extras.

If OP wants a house and is so sure that she pays her own rent, why can't she just rent privately?

This has to be a wind up.

If you are truly homeless you would take anything you could get. It doesn't matter if it's on the top floor of a huge building, you make it work because you won't get any better and your DC's need a place to live that you can afford. Beggars can't be choosers and while it's disappointing, you live with it.

When I was homeless and pregnant I was housed in a hostel with abused women and then a flat. I was grateful for what I could get because it was all I could afford. When we got back on our feet with work etc we privately rented and moved in to a house but that took two and a half years and we know we can't go back on the council without a big fight now as we left our last property which was suitable willingly.

Bless you, Poisson. You think that because you're one of a number that your opinion is automatically the right one.

A reality check would prevent the fun of attempting to pick a fight though maybe so I doubt its likely.

"a looney liberal bleeding heart" vs "a judgy, Daily Mail-type foamer"
(MN at its best)

yes tell them to stuff it up their arse and rent somewhere yourself that is more suitible , where do you expect councils to pull houses out from their arse there is no social housing , 3 bedrooms with balconies seems fine to me , YABU and ungrateful

I'm getting bored of my voice of reason, middle road, sensible approach, maybe I'll go find something frivolous to froth about instead.

Gribble, I meant that other council tenants are unlikely to want to exchange with the OP as a few posters have suggested she take the flat and seek a council exchange.

I can't say whether it is suitable as I haven't seen it but I know that in the town where my family live the council have a policy of only housing families in ground or first floor flats as they consider anything higher to be unsuitable for families. So you could argue that the suitability of the flat is a matter of opinion.

I assume its just because im responding to you directly you are choosing to single me out Bupcakes seeings as most others on this thread have a similar viewpoint to me

Cly, if she takes this flat, the council will consider her permanently housed. Her kids will soon get to ages where it is not considered appropriate for boys and girls to share, so if she has one girl or one boy, that's a situation she needs to be aware of. The 3 bedroom flat can only work out long term if she has 2 boys and 2 girls or 4 boys or 4 girls.

If that's the case she will have reason to apply then for a bigger property.

The fun of picking a fight? Oh, do get a life Poisson.

You don't like being told that your attitude stinks. I can understand that.

I do love these threads, when people probably realise they're more right-wing than they'd realised, don't actually like it so feel the need to be critical of others choices to make them feel better about themselves.

I'm not trying to pick a fight , this thread is making me larf .

Good old council house envy , as long as you don't have to live in one like

bemybebe lmao

Yes, you are responding to me directly so I am answering you. There's no great science to it.

ah, karmabeliever, you see before I think through all the practicalities my aesthetic senses are being offended and it is a pain of different kind... and no, I do not have much sympathizers irl, least of all my dh (bless him)

Yeah, Paranoid. Stop being so bloody reasonable

I'm about as left as left can get, and I still think the OP is unreasonable. Its not exclusive to tory types.

You know me Chickens, tolerant and sensible all over, hey?

i think you are winding us up - but if not don't take it, leave it to someone who REALLY wants it, but stop whinging - they have offered you accomodation, if you do not want it stay in the private sector and pay the market rent