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?

op is in shock, and I suspect, panicking.

This is a situation I guess she never thought she would find herself in perhaps?

But it is now reality for her and she will need to adjust and toughen up.

op we have also lost our home due to the foreclosure/economy situation in the US. I doubt we will even be eligible to be homed.

I think your situation sounds daunting op , but be brave...and play the game!

So why am I getting singled out for swearing then? Are you only allowed to swear if you think op is NOT being unreasonable?

it doesnt matter how fucked off you are or how lovely and polite your dc are.
what are your options?

It wasn't your swearing it was you calling her a prick

Yes Petrean I agree 100%

There are advantages to living in a flat. Specially when you have young children.
Its easier to keep an eye on them and there are no stairs to worry about.

I love my little house but it took some getting used to. I liked being able to see the front door from my bedroom because it made me feel secure

A three bedroom flat isnt always going to be that much smaller than a house. A lot of the new builds have tiny rooms.

I dont blame the op for wanting a house. I dont blame her for being worried about a change in circumstances. It sounds like she has had a difficult time recently. I certainly dont think how many kids she has is anyone's business.

But her attitude stinks. She is making it hard for herself. She doesnt have a lot of choice and she needs to get on with it.

Yep, she is presenting as such.

I had a gorgeous three bed flat when I had first dd. it wasn't council, we weren't eligible as both employed. But it was all we could afford. It was a bit run down with some weird neighbours but we made it home. We often wish we still lived there!

You don't have to be unemployed to get a council house

Yes she needs to get on with it , but she can have a rant surely

Well, we couldn't get one is all I was saying.

I currently live in a flat. One that I HAVE TO PAY FOR. My mortgage is £530 a month - council tax is £120 a month...electricity £100 a month...and on and on and on. I would LOVE to live in a house, but I can't afford it.

Stop moaning. You're getting it for barely anything. I would have to presume (tho obviously I may be wrong) that you get benefits galore for things as mentioned above (plus lots of child tax credits) I would also love to have four children, but wouldn't, because...GUESS WHAT..i can't afford it.

People like you piss me off frankly. You always want something for nothing and complain when you think you've been hard done to.

Start using contraception. Start taking responsibility for yourself. And stop complaining at what you're getting. If you want better, make a better future for yourself by working hard and saving hard.

Sorry. YABU. Totally.

Everyone can have a rant Usual.

rant about the unfairness of being in a situation where you cannot choose where you live, rant about being worried about having to move to an unfamilar place.
But ranting about being offered a 3 bed flat on the 2nd floor?

If she was being offered a bedsit or a B&B I would joining in. But she has been offered adequate housing for her needs. Two kids in each room and a room for herself and her OH. A bit of outside space and only a couple of flights up.

I just dont get the fury.

I would love local authority rents they are more than half less than the rent we pay on our two bedroom house and we could save that money as a deposit for a mortgage. But the rent on our home is so high we can't save anything, and we will have to move soon as will need three bed when dd2 gets older. We just have to suck it up as there is no hope of us getting anywhere near a waiting list round here.

Usual give over with your 'tax payers' crap will you. The bottom line is people object to the entitled saying they NEED bigger houses/more bedrooms/a garden without the means to provide it. You are a terminal bore with your non existent conspiracy theories.

"How the hell will we cope in a flat?"

Absolutely OMFFG bizarre.

Put the trampoline on the balcony. You'll probably find you've enough rooms to go round after a few days.

Hang on nalubeadsgirl - just because you have to pay for a flat you dont like the idea of anyone getting subsidised housing? And your comment about contraception isn't fair either. Anyone can fall on hard times - faced with redundancy. Would you like that too??

I think the OP has a lot to learn with regard to manners but she does have a fair point in that she didn't bid for the property, and this may be her only opportunity. How do houses get allocated if not to families with four children? I've seen smaller families get allocated houses, so actually she has cause to complain somewhat, although I don't like her attitude too much, but hey she's in a state of shock. it isn't ideal accommodation but she's forced to take it. No need for the comments about contraception - uncalled for.

Come on OP.. you seem to be avoiding this recurrent question..

WHY CAN YOU NOT JUST RENT PRIVATELY IN AN AREA YOU LIKE, IN A HOUSE YOU LIKE?

Because you can clearly afford it if you are paying £875 a month at the moment...

I tuly believe this is a wind up btw,and apologise profusely for the above comment if I'm wrong.

Hmm. But surely the point is....he got made redundant - surely that is EXACTLY the time to ensure that you are not about to get up the duff again??!! Why on earth would you plan to bring another child into the equation, when you are already facing hardship/uncertain times/stress?

I"m completely ok with subsidised housing - what I'm not ok with is people moaning just because they feel that what they've been offered isn't suitable. I hope it does never happen to me, but if it did, I would hope that i would be grateful to just have a roof over my head. :)

Am sorry for the OP. I grew up in a London flat with a balcony and disappeared out to play all day, reappearing for food . Would I be able to do the same today with my own dc? No way. Area far too dangerous now. And I share her worries about stairwells in blocks of flats. If there have been houses available with a bit of a garden, then you'd think that a family with 4dc would be a priority.

If you turned down the flat and then presented as homeless what would happen? (not advising this, just asking)

Are all op's kids very small?

Thats probably why even with 4 children she was allocated a flat.

When you have teens and younger children sharing it can start get harder, doable but harder.

You know, you could take this to the paper. It is their fuck up with your rent that is rushing them to get you out of the private let. Could you speak to CAB?

If you are paying near enough £900 in rent, what about part buy/part rent schemes?