Aibu to give up my council house?

[Beautyisintheeyeofthebeholder]

Okay guys...bear with me might be long but i could really use some wisdom ...😰
As in the title I'm considering giving up my social housing property and moving into private rented.
Reasons being, I find living with my neighbours tough. They have dogs on both sides which bark sometimes nonstop morning noon and night. I'm starting a degree in healthcare and will be required to work shifts and I don't se how this will be doable trying to manage assignments etc on little/disturbed sleep. Next door has bought their property so no chance of them moving, and they have had walls knocked through and laminate fitted so every bloody noise travels you can hear coughing talking etc so clear it's unreal 😩.
Other next door have had the property in the family (passed down tenancy) since house was built in 1920 so no chance of them going either.
House itself is in poor decorative condition it was meant to be sorted out when my x partner lived here but when he left he refused all help. I'm a single mum on benefits so can't really afford professional decorator etc.
House is damp mouldy inspectors from the housing say it's condensation (it isn't) and have installed those air vent things which are bloody useless.
I have virtually no kitchen cupboards and worktop space it's impossible cooking.
Bathroom is from the 1970s and the housing have refused to take it out as it "still works" .
I don't know fully how I can afford a private rental as the lha is around 450?? I'd be looking at a shortfall of 100-200 pcm and I have no idea how that will change when I go on student finance.
I just don't think I can put up with this house much longer I'm very down at a point in my life where I should be happy I'm about to start a professional qualification 🙁
Any advice appreciated

I know you say the bidding is difficult but haven't seen that you've answered the later homeswap queries (after you mentioned that you're in a 3 bed)

Would the extra bedroom override the issues with the bad area and noisy neighbours do you think? You might find someone who needs extra space that badly?

Agree with everyone else that moving into private rent seems like a bad idea. Unless you could get student accommodation?

As others have said, if you are staying put, find out your social landlords policy around Decent Homes. If you qualify but are told your kitchen/bathroom won't be upgraded, talk to your councillor, or contact the councillor in charge of housing! You may think your damp isn't caused by condensation, but it often contributes to it. I'm an ex housing officer, and have visited many tenants complaining of damp, mainly in bathrooms, but also streaming windows, behind cupboards. Heating on, windows open especially after a bath or shower, or if you've been boiling or steaming food, or drying washing indoors. Wipe windows/ledges, use a humidifier.

Noise can be an issue whatever your housing tenure, and I do sympathise, but there are no guarantees you'll find something quieter. I'd think carefully about leaving social housing nowadays.

England and wales - you can get long term fixed private tenancies if both landlord and tenant agree, and insurers allow. The last tends to scupper the idea.

But if you move anywhere, there is no guarantee against fuckwit neighbours with endlessly barking dogs.

Soundproof your home with acoustic ceiling and wall panels. I would be very wary of giving up social housing for all the reasons previous posters have said.

I've got a bag full of ear plugs I could send. I think they were £3 from B&Q. I've got emetophobia so if the DC are ill I put them in otherwise I'm a right state.
Also I picked up on a few comments, my BIL lives in a council house, they put a new bathroom in when they first moved about 12 years ago. Then they saved up to put a kitchen in even blocking up a door.
They've had gas inspections, the guy who did it commented on how nice the house was, plus that the gas fire was likely to be condemned in 12 months as something was borderline. So they put in an electric fire I think, with a fancy surround with a choice of colours.
So that could be an option, you could either do it BIL's way or ask them if they'd mind you replacing the bathroom / kitchen. Bathroom suites are £99 from screw fix, then you just need a plumber. Tiling is straightforward. Plenty of videos on YouTube showing you how.
Because you've been there so long you'll be eligible to buy, you'd get a massive discount by the time you qualify.
Are you in a terrace or semi with dogs each side in gardens?
You've got security where you are, a landlord can decide that you've got to pay more or that they're going to sell.
With DD's ASD you could say the noise affects her, which I'm sure it does. A letter from GP to support this & you should be band 1 for moving. But again you're not guaranteed the neighbours you desire. Main bonus might be its in better shape.
Plus with private you're not allowed to decorate or even stick pins / blue tack on the walls. If you get a dodgy landlord it can be hell to pay. A friend had a situation where they rented, the carpet ran the length of the place, one stain they were forced into replacing the whole carpet.
Which reminds me of you move you'll need to have money spare to carpet the place, as they generally rip it all up between tenants even if in good condition, in CH/HSH. But you'll still be faced with a kitchen that barely has cupboards as I think it's the norm in most.
What area of the U.K. are you?
Do you have an idea how much money you'll have a month? I'm not sure if healthcare students get paid monthly or 3 times a year like other students. In which case if the latter, you'll have to be hot at budgeting as you'll go April till Sept with no money.
Are you entitled to any benefits whilst studying? I think you'd be entitled to HB but as far as WTC, it's tax free so I don't think you're eligible. It's classed as training which is a shame, unless you have childcare to do bank shifts as a HCA.
So many different things to bear in mind. Ideally you need to be sure & act now as you don't want to be studying and face so many unknowns.

Sorry just to add with the damp have you or would you consider trying the special paint for damp/fungus?
If it's really bad and the above hasn't worked, I'm sure I saw somewhere that you can get an independent person, who comes in and checks it out to make sure it's not structural, or anything that could be prevented.
The rubbish thing would be is if it was on the bought side, as I don't think they'd be obliged to sort it. I'll have a Google and see if I can find this service for you.

If you can't afford to 'fix up' your current home how will you afford the extra rent for private?

Also have you looked into how any benefits will be affected when studying?

A visit to CAB might be helpful in regards to what can be done about your current situation, budgeting advice and finance advice.

Here's a link that covers poor conditions etc:

england.shelter.org.uk/housing_advice/repairs/poor_conditions_in_council_or_housing_association_homes

This link is specific to damp & mould.

england.shelter.org.uk/housing_advice/repairs/damp_and_mould_in_rented_homes

They can advise with reference to specialist surveying as I mentioned above. Plus if you write a list of questions they can help with applying to move with disabled DD, exchanging houses, general options.
I would say if you were to save to do up the place you're in, I can't see the council complaining as they benefit as much as you do. It saves them money and possibly puts the price up if you move. But I explained your options, ask or don't ask basically.
Is the neighbourhood nice, are the DC's settled at school & happy?

Do people really call the council to ask if they can replaster?
I didn't. I moved in, ripped off wallpaper turns out think the paper was keeping the plaster up lol. Replastered and decorated.
Plus if your someone that chucks up wallpaper how would they know?
Have changed loads over the years without discussion. Unless ours isn't batshit and have a reasonable tenancy that says cannot I am responsible for basically everything internally (few exceptions cannot rip out walls, do gas or electrics and a few minor things)

Do people really call the council to ask if they can replaster?

It was more a case of...husband was at work, half the fucking wall came off when the kids touched it. I panicked for some reason, rang the council (mind, maybe I should say at this stage that mine isn't technically council, its housing association) who said it was our problem. Fair enough..hubby sorted it. They then sent out a random guy to do the work weeks later..sent him away as husband had done it already. Got ranty letter telling us we weren't allowed to do that despite being told to do that! Follow up letter telling us we are not allowed to do any form of home improvement bar painting and flooring...as if repairing a fucked wall is a problem...honestly...

We have also had issues with putting in new kitchen benches a few months after we moved in...they were horrible and clearly very old. And a new sink. When they came out to do an inspection they noted that stuff had been done and that it apparently shouldn't have been done without asking permission. So we asked permission to do out the kitchen completely (honestly...if we moved out...surely this is adding to the value of the house?!) and were told no. Its a load of fucking bollocks really.

Hmmm...I agree that there are some shocking misinterpretations of what you can and can't do to a HA property wanking. Often, it's down to a bit of a lack of common sense in the particular HA officers you deal with. For example, I'm in a new build HA property, and am not allowed to decorate or screw anything into the walls until the end of the "defects period". I asked the HA person if I could anchor bookcases/ chests of drawers to the wall, seeing as I had a 16 month old. They said no! Of course I went ahead and did it.....I wasn't going to put my baby in danger, and if they ever say anything I will throw the fucking book at them .

That said, I can understand why they would be chary of giving permission for whole new kitchens/ bathrooms. There must be many tenants who decide they can install the whole lot themselves and leave an "interesting" mess that would have to be ripped out and replaced before new tenants come in!