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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

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

999 replies

OMFFG · 16/02/2012 10:46

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?

OP posts:
LilacWaltz · 16/02/2012 19:20

Sounds like you've been housed in a place to match your attitude! How rude!

lostboysfallin · 16/02/2012 19:20

OP, I would be disappointed too. But you really haven't done yourself any favours with your ranting and swearing and entitled attitude. There are still some less fortunate than you.

Even if you take this for a couple of months couldn't you save to get deposit for private rental?

emskaboo · 16/02/2012 19:20

Oops apologies, obv

usualsuspect · 16/02/2012 19:21

Good luck OP

hotheels · 16/02/2012 19:22

OP, did you think that by previously working for the council you would be treated more fairly? you did, didn't you?

TheParan0idAndr0id · 16/02/2012 19:23

yeah good luck with getting on with your new neighbours with your lovely attitude.

usualsuspect · 16/02/2012 19:23

Plenty of ranting threads on all sorts of issues on MN , stick Council house in your title and you are fucked from the off

notveryinventive · 16/02/2012 19:23

Im sorry OP, but what did you expect from a council house or flat? If you want a nice house in a nice area then you do have to pay for it most of the time. If you want the council to provide you with somewhere then you have to put up with living somewhere that may not be great. I say this as someone who lives in a council house who absolutely hates the area I live in. We have police outside right this very moment as the people opposite us had their car and windows smashed by 4 youngish men earlier today.

I personally think that anyone who lives in a council property in a nice area is bloody lucky.

YANBU to prefer a house, but YABU if you think the council are doing it on purpose.

TheParan0idAndr0id · 16/02/2012 19:27

now now, usual, thats not the problem here at all, stop misrepresenting, we've already established you picked the wrong side!

OpinionatedMum · 16/02/2012 19:30

I agree usualsuspect.

I think she will manage fine in a flat with no garden, but can understand being pissed off if she had just missed getting a house with a garden. Ranting and swearing when under stress is normal too, even amongst homeowners! Being homeless and not knowing where you are going to be put next is very stressful.

usualsuspect · 16/02/2012 19:30

I've been on MN long enough to know what will get the outraged taxpayers going

TheParan0idAndr0id · 16/02/2012 19:35

But you've got it all backwards, wilfully or otherwise.

It is OP who thinks herself too good for the council flat.
Its the "I'm so liberal it hurts" posters who are backing her up and denigrating both council housing and those that live in them, while simultaneously throwing jibes at anyone who points out that its a tough old world out there and OP needs to grow up a bit.
Its those of us who grew up in council houses/flats and live in flats, council or not who are both being reasonable and having to put up with jibes about where we live and our opinions against the OP.

Its all fucked up and backwards. MN seems to have got lost up its own backsides on this one.

OhDoAdmitMrsDeVere · 16/02/2012 19:35

I thought the flat was on the 2nd floor?

That isnt high rise.

Ground floors are generally in very short supply and are kept for people who have to have them.

1st floors are really not that much different from 2nd floors apart from they are a bit less secure.

2nd floor is really not that bad.

Kayano · 16/02/2012 19:36

Bit of a victim mentality you got there
OP?

coraltoes · 16/02/2012 19:38

Workplace bullying with that attitude? I can't think why.

Wretched · 16/02/2012 19:38

This reply has been deleted

Message deleted by Mumsnet.

usualsuspect · 16/02/2012 19:40

I don't think the op said she was to good to live in a council house , she just doesn't want to live in a flat

See you are making shit up now ,paranoid

usualsuspect · 16/02/2012 19:40

Calling her a prick , ffs

coraltoes · 16/02/2012 19:42

Oh and I grew up in a FLAT with a BALCONY. Not council but in a rough area and pretty run down. But my parents couldn't afford more. So you know what? They cleaned and painted and planted flowers in pots and had a tiny BBQ and learned to make the most of what their money could get them to provide me with the happiest family home they could. Second hand curtains, carpets can make a massive difference.

Such a shame some parents can't see beyond their resentment to provide their children with similar happiness.

TheParan0idAndr0id · 16/02/2012 19:42

Well I'm just ignoring the personal attacks.

Like I said, she thinks shes too good for a FLAT. Did you read the OP? Not making anything up.

Wretched · 16/02/2012 19:42

Yeah, sorry about that. Her language was excellent in her posts of course.

usualsuspect · 16/02/2012 19:43

She said she was worried about coping in a flat

usualsuspect · 16/02/2012 19:45

Lots of posters fucking swear on here , are only homeowners and private renters allowed to fucking swear

Petrean · 16/02/2012 19:47

I was going to post about how I thought about this and try to offer some sympathy and maybe help you see the positives... How I could understand how you were disappointed... How I think it's not as bad as it sounds... How you will have more security for your children (as in a stable, cheap home with enough room)... How I grew up in an Army quarter in Germany (a 5th floor flat without a garden for a trampoline and a balcony I managed not to fall off because my parents took appropriate measures to keep me safe)... How I was sorry you were down on your luck but how fortunate you were to have been offered a home for your children...

BUT...

"the rest of you - meh - fuck off" has made me realise you are in fact an incredibly charming person with a big sense of entitlement and nothing I can say would make you realise how fortunate you are and how you are a lot better off that some people in this country.

TheParan0idAndr0id · 16/02/2012 19:47

She said she was fucking furious and a flat was her worst nightmare. And then some stuff about an odd attachment to a trampoline.