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?

Prehaps workhouses should be re-introduced.

well i work in this area and i can catagorically terll you this

i only give houses to Eastern Europeans. I give them the biggest houses, i do not have to adhere to any rules or regulations, bidding system? pah! i just go round the streets and if i find someone talking a bit foreign like - i say "oi foreign person, come over her and take the house"

no one ever questions this, becuase as i said, there are no rules to ensure fairness, there are no laws, there are no regulatory bodies, there are no auditors, there is no reporting and certainly no collection of data to ensure fairness.

"Previous posters here have been a total pain in the @rse and should remember that anyone of us could end up homeless, and waiting on a council property - would you like your children to live on a second floor dangerous balcony? No not your precious children! Alright for somebody elses though innit?"

FFS, lady, read the thread! Plenty of people live in flats, council and otherwise. I have a balcony, as do 10 others who have posted. I also survived to adulthood in a COUNCIL FLAT WITH A BALCONY.

The posturing, the assumptions, the blatant disregard for facts and reality....AIBU at its finest folks, well done.

Custardo

I've only read the first page (cos it's 12 pages long )

Sounds to me like your not homeless in the sense I would descibe it - B&B type accomadation. Its called temporary because the council have to pay more for it and want you to move. Hence why they bid on your behalf.

Now there are grounds for refusing a flat, asthma and stairs, SN/ disability which makes high floors dangerous, inaccessable etc.

It will be a shock moving from a house to a flat because of being unable to open the back door and kick the kids out allow them to go into the garden whilst you get on with things. I know - I did it.

I would be very reasonable with the council. Explain that you don't think it's suitable for X reasons (they have to be valid - like schools location etc) and that you are willing to allow another family the oppotunity to move there and will continue to bid on properties that you think will meet your families needs.

Having said that - IF this is the only 3/4 bed property they'll have available for 6 months/ a year then you may just have to suck it up. You will get use to it. It may not be how you saw family life but it's that way for a lot of people who've been in your situation.

I think your expression of 'shoving it up their arses' didn't help you here because it did sound entitled and rude.

About that link that was posted above.

IN APRIL COUNCIL HOUSING WILL HAVE PAID OFF IT's DEBT TO GOVT AND IS CHEAPER BECAUSE IT IS RUN ON A NOT FOR PROFIT BASIS.

Brilliant, the scheme is sustainable. A scheme that now has far far less homes than it did 20 odd years ago. And all those problems that go hand in hand with that 'minor' point.

I don't know where the money goes when someone buys a council property, perhaps someone can enlighten me - does it go straight back to the people running it? If thats the case then I do have to ask whether the whole scheme is really profitable / self sufficient purely on the basis of the rents it brings in or because of the assets its sold off and have not been replaced? Or is this a minor point that the article has neglected in its venting at various people questioning how its run?

For me the article is still very biased and doesn't cover everything I do not believe the article fully covers every aspect of finance on council housing or subsidised housing issues, nor do I think it address a lot of issues about the quality of council housing stock.

If they are in theory 'profitable' or at the very least self-sufficient then a) why is so much council housing in such particularly poor condition? b) why haven't they restocked properties through right to buy? That not a particularly good situation to have. From April this year I really don't expect to see a massive difference and change in how things are being done. Mainly because short term planning at the expensive of long term planning ultimately means money has been wasted along the route.

If properties are not being maintained properly over a long period then the problems those properties have become worse and harder (and more expensive) to tackle. False economy idea. And thats ignoring the accompanying social problems with it. Thats bad planning. You don't look after your assets you loose money. And lets not forget, the issue over overcrowding / under occupied isn't a recession produced one. Its one that been foreseen for decades - due to a predictable rise in population and a change in demographic as people age. No one has addressed it and its been a time bomb that was always going to happen due to poor management.

And you definitely can't say a scheme is self sufficient when you have so many people in temporary accommodation or the government is forced to pay more to private landlords through HB due to poor planning and making sure there was sufficient stock of housing in the first place. Its just one department shoving the cost elsewhere imho. I think its technically what is known as either blame shifting or worse creative accounting...

The OP has an exceptionally bad attitude. Thats the biggest issue about this thread. She's being unrealistic. She's not in the best situation, but she's lucky to be given this opportunity that others are still waiting behind her in the queue for. I wouldn't say what she's being offered is good and frankly there is a lot of be answered for in the political planning and budget decisions to get to this point but thats where we are at now and one way or another it needs solves. She needs to make the best of whats on offer (ie take the flat) and there does need to be changes to the tenancy agreements of council property - which may include non-permanent status so we aren't forking out in other forms of benefit which ARE grossly subsidised by the tax payer.

I quite like my balcony actually - gets a lot of sun in the summer

A balcony comes with an option.... Use it or lock it and don't use it. Presumably families with children have lived there before or in identical properties
Christina
They are fine. 3 bed properties ate unlikely to be inhabited by families WITHOUT children

I can't see the 'deprivation' of having a three-bed flat without a garden, as my husband grew up in one, and I can't see the 'deprivation' of being on a council estate as I grew up in one. It's not a forever home, it's to house you for a few years until you get back on your feet and buy/rent through the usual ways. On this basis, I would think it was ok, not ideal, but ok.

And this balcony thing, in most European countries, where the majority live in flats, they all like balconies, get a bit of fresh air in, put the washing out there, and when they want their children to go out, they take them to the park. Millions of them, all living in this apparently unacceptable way.

fearofpenguins Margaret Thatcher brought in the 'Rights to buy' scheme,back in 1980.Which was great for those people at the time.But the council weren't allowed to rebuild any new houses.It was only last year that councils were allowed to start building again.Any money made from 'rights to buy' went to the goverment.Not sure what they used it for,but the councils didn't get much.HTH

Christina

I live in a two bed flat with three children and no balcony! Somehow the kids have survived.

SIL lives in NYC in. 1 bed with and area for her DD which is curtained off the kitchen.

Many people live like this

@ fearofpenguins Money from rent and right to buy went back to govt and was not always invested in repairs and new homes.

Temp accom and HB for private rentals are not part of council housing. They are a result, though, of govts being ideologically opposed to replacing stock.

And actually the European thing is interesting. I lived in a 3 bed apartment (1 floor up) with now X-DP and DS and never thought a thing about it, and if he needed for run around room we went down to the pool!

Then we moved (when XP and I split) and lived in 1 bed apartment 4 floors up, with a balcony - never even thought about it!

Some 3 bedroom high rise flats are much sought-after.

OP - Taken from Shelter's website:

What if I don't like the offer?

If you are offered a council tenancy that you don't think is suitable, get advice before you turn it down. If you refuse a final offer that the council thinks is suitable for you, it may not have to give you any more help - the offer will be withdrawn and you will have to leave your temporary accommodation. In some cases, it may be better to accept an unsuitable offer because:

You can ask the council to review its decision about whether the accommodation is suitable after you move in.
You will have somewhere to stay while the council reviews its decision.
You will have somewhere to stay if your review is unsuccessful.
You may be able to request a transfer or exchange your home with another  council tenant.

Get advice before you make a decision to turn down any offer. An adviser can check whether the council has followed the correct procedure and look into whether or not you are likely to get a better offer. S/he can help you to negotiate with the council and may be able to help you arrange an exchange.

Thanks for answering that query.

However it still doesn't answer the issue that whilst council housing may well be 'self-sufficient', its not really if its not keeping up with demand and its simply pushing costs elsewhere to another department...

I don't agree. I would have kept up with demand if cosequetive govts hadn't stopped building it. Even if you subsidise the build the rent will eventually pay this back.

hey op,

i would wait until you can actually get in to view it, but i know when we were sharing with DH parents and all 3 of us were sharing one room we never even got a council property offered to us, to many on the list and too few properties - i think i would have taken anything until we were on our feet again, sharing with his parents was just awful. We have some flats here that are notoriously bad, and im not sure how id have felt to be offered one, but i do know i wouldnt still be there now if id got one. (they are very bad - i wont elaborate but when i was a special constable here i was forever going there on business iyswim!)

I think the mistake that people make is that they get a nice council property and then sit tight on it, the rent is nice and cheap and you have no worries as a tenant - people intend to stay for life instead of using it to get back on your feet and save to get your own place or whatever.

we ended up privately renting and then buying, try to think about the money you can save up and the peace of mind of having no repairs to fork out for in the meantime. I dont think council housing should ever be seen as a permanent solution.

Try and stay positive, and wait until you see it to make up your mind. If you really cant bring yourself to live there then your only other option is to privately rent. Personally, i think i would take the flat just for now, and save save save.

Im not sure about everywhere else but in scotland new builds have to hand over a quota of property to L A and H A which is great in theroy but the house builders were Building the houses In stages and not building the quota that was requred , a Builder where i live was caught doing this and prosecuted ,

I dont live in council anymore (well my house is ex council) but if I was a MN who did I would be seriously considering where I fitted in on this site.

It seems like many poster's worst nightmare to find themselves having to live in social housing. The expressions of horror and assumptions about what the OP's flat must be like are very telling.

I miss my flat. It was great. It was in the middle of town. The kids had a nice room to share. I had a nice kitchen and although we didnt have a balcony I could stand and look out on the communal one out the front.

I did have to kick crack heads off the stairs and yes there was sometimes piss in the lifts. But somehow we survived.

When we could we moved out and managed to buy our own little house surrounded by houses that look just the same but are still social housing.

Funny how so many are at the vair idea of this poor woman having to live in a council flat yet we have dozens of threads moaning on about poor people getting to live in 'free' flats in the city.

custy dont even bother, regardless of your real experience of actually working in the field people much prefer to belive what their uncle's friend's sister's grandma tells them about forriners getting all the houses.

Mrsjay, yes, they do that here.

6 new developments locally, so lots of housing coming through our bidding system

But also, we have new schools, gp surgery, shops and a multiple faith place of worship. All brand new.

OP, can you tell us more about the flat? What sort of area is it in, wil your dc have to move schools, are the communal areas acceptable, what are the room sizes like?

Don't turn it down just because it is a flat. It is your own roof over your heads, your own place where you can get to grips with life again and save money until you are in a position to privately rent or buy.

Flats are fab, I have lived in various flats in both the Netherlands and Germany as a child, anything from 12th floor flat in a huge block to second floor in a small block. Dsis and I survived. We thrived.

Please go and see it and have a think. It may not be a house, but at least you can call it yours.

Council officer probably bid on it for you as he/she knew you would be in with a good chance of getting it and they wanted you to be out of temporary housing asap (as this surely can't be ideal with small children)

I think he/she probably did you a favour. So go and look at the flat!

bibbitybobbityhat believe me council high rise flats are nothing like that.If they were everybody would want one.
Most do smell of wee and have 'druggies' living in them,or on the stairwells.
But if its the only place the council offer you,you have to take it.

So have lots of councils got the bidding system? I thought we were in the minority

OP - if you don't like the way your life is going... Change it. FGS! Council Housing is not a right, it is one part of this country's albeit inadequate support net for those who need a bit of a hand during a difficult time. I have worked in social housing for nearly 20 years (and lived in it for a while too) and yes, some areas and some properties are shit, but profanity on an internet forum isn't going to make it better. You need to take action. You CAN change your situation or your attitude or both or you can carry on thinking the whole world is against you! Take the flat, form a residents association, apply for some grant funding and make a difference to the 'sink estate', start a social enterprise or even your own business and work to make like better for your family and DC's or, look for work in a different geographic location where private rent is cheaper or..stop relying on other people to give you the answers\solutions and find some for yourself!