To accept a council house in a rough area instead of private renting

[sallyhenderson]

After years of waiting, I finally have an offer of a Housing association home. It's an ex-council house that's recently been recently transferred to a local housing association. The only issue is, it's in an area of social deprivation.

I am a nurse and I earn 25k a year before tax. I'm a single mum. I'm currently really struggling with private renting. I rent in a not rough but not glamorous area and I'm paying 650 pcm for my 2 bed house. I have commuting costs of £130 a month.

This leaves no disposable income after bills are paid. It's not just the money. My landlord is awful and I have had to move several times. There's no stability. I hate private renting.

My sons dad private rents and does not want me taking the council house. My parents are apprehensive and think I may not fit in in the area but think it's a necessary evil as I cannot afford to buy a house, I cannot afford to private rent indefinitely and cannot afford to wait forever in the hope of getting a house in a nicer area.

There are worse places than where I would be moving to. It's an inner city area with deprivation but boarders affluent areas and is close to all the amenities of those places/ the city it's walking distance to.

There's excellent secondary schools within the catchment area and an outstanding school a few feet away...but it is a rough area. It has crime rate and a lot of burglaries. Because it's so close to the city it has a large student population and is up and coming with young professionals now choosing to rent there. Private rent is £750pcm or over £1000 for an apartment. This makes me feel a little better about moving.

The place is right near my work and all ameneities so not commuting costs and is £350 pcm. That's over £400 a month extra it would save me by living there.

Would I be unreasonable to move my Son to a rough area to have a secure tenancy so that I don't have to private rent?Or should I let my Son live in a safe area and be skint?

Today 12:24 BubbleBed

Re the being burgled... My experience is they don't shit on their own doorstep. In our areas the crappy estates don't get burgled - those living there go and do it to the wealthier places. Never felt safer inside my house than living on the estate tbh.

my erm, streetwise friend told me this too

Do it. You may even be able to find a swap to move to a different area, there's usually always someone who wants to move.

I would probably take it, although there is 'rough' (not that bad) and truly rough, you don't want to be genuinely fearful or having to run the gauntlet of gangs of youths just to get in your own home. If it's not that bad, then go for it. Secure tenancy, no commuting, good schools, sounds ideal. I live on an estate and depending which way you look at it, it can look rough (some less desirable neighbours, odd drug dealing on corners) or really quite nice (mixed housing, plenty of lovely families, good schools, children generally feel safe and can play out). All estates nearby cities are going to be like that, and there will be none with no social problems whatsoever.

This sounds like when we moved to our house on one of the city's most deprived council estates after years of private renting in 'nice' areas. Only we had bought our place out of desperation, wanting to escape a future of private renting. We were shitting ourselves, for all the reasons you mention. But as a pp said, you adjust really quickly, and we found that our initial 'keeping our heads down' strategy just wasn't necessary. It didn't take us long to begin to feel more relaxed in our home, and eventually actually embrace our new area once the raised eyebrows from friends and colleagues stopped . Now we wouldn't be anywhere else. Take the tenancy, and good luck!

Do it OP. I moved to council house in a deprived inner city area 9 years ago. It has been great: secure, affordable tenancy and handy to everying. It can be rough at times, but I never feel in danger and have not been burgled or mugged.

It's actually a private house, not on a council estate.

The council bought rows of 'back to back' terraces years ago and use them as council houses.

The houses don't look good. They are rows of terraces with only a yard but this is typical for an inner city area.

Okay I will say where I live incase it makes a difference. The house is in MOSS SIDE. Notorious for gun crime and gang related crime.

The area has improved though. Lots of students and professionals renting there as it's walking distance of the city centre and much cheaper. Still over £700 a month for most properties.
I am going to be placed just off oxford road.

I would go for it. Secure tenancy, near to work which will reduce your commuting costs and it is, you say, an up and coming area anyway.

I would take it in a heartbeat for the secure tenancy alone.

go for it, just because its got some deprivation doesn't mean everyone there will be trying to rob you, those places have a pretty good community if you find the right people. a saving of £400 pcm is HUGE! if your shift patterns allow try to go to coffee mornings etc. (I bet they do lots of that sort of stuff) or a WI (they are everywhere now!) just to meet people. and with good schools nearby it sounds pretty up and coming.

You could fit a wifi burglar alarm like the yale easy fit - can get add on accessories like sensors on every door and window, so it will phone you if alarm goes off when you are out, and you can set it at night for downstairs. Would cost less than your monthly saving on rent. I live in a low crime area and we have been burgled twice - as the Baz Lermann song says, its not the things you worry about that blindside you on a thursday afternoon, its all the things you never thought about. I think I might take the house if I were you, but only if I felt ok in the area walking around it.

If you took it, and saved the entire £400 extra, you could have a decent deposit within 18m.

Definitely take it. £400 a month buys a lot of extra security. Buy an alarm, metal shutters, proper locks, replace door with a metal one.

Other people will have better security ideas than me though

Second everyone saying visit as often as you can. See what your son thinks. Would he be happy getting to and from school by himself? would you be happy coming back at night if you had a late shift? Does anyone you know at work live there?

Otherwise the money you'd save sounds as if it's a deal-maker.

My friend took a house in one of the worst areas of our city, no-one wanted to live there. By the time she moved out 10 years later, the area had completely changed, mainly because of migrants and students willing to take shit cheap housing. It is now more family friendly with lots of students and young professionals who took advantage of the right to buy when it was a shithole that no-one wanted to live in. It's a completely different neighbourhood. 10 years ago it was half empty and full of crack houses.

I'd do it.

Do it.

Rough areas can still have lovely people. You've said yourself that the schools are excellent.

You can decorate how you want and make it amazing.

Move. Get good security installed. Get to know the kids your son is spending time with. If you hate it, you can always move back to the private sector, but this seems like a great opportunity.

I'd grab it in a heartbeat OP. You'll have a secure tenancy, a significant amount of spare money each month, great school, and it sounds like the area is evolving.

Another vote to take the house, and as already suggested, if it's really bad you can always go back to private renting. Vice Versa won't be an option!

Ignore your ex.

I would not go off a former reputation. It's an area where lots of students want to live, increasing numbers of families live there, an outstanding school (great!) and has had a lot of money poured into it. I'm sure it's still got a lot of social problems. I'd still take it over an insecure private rental, because if your son goes to a good primary and then this outstanding secondary, that would be a lot of stability for him.

I have been in this area for work recently, it's inner city'ish, quite dirty on the main Oxford Road, but full of students, nurses/doctors and very busy, I would take it.

I'd tell all the naysayers unless they are prepared to stump up the difference in rent then its up to you!

Also, I live in a fairly nouveaux riche middle class area and my neighbours on one side sell weed and have yapper dogs and I'm fairly certain that the bloke on the other side is a serial killer.

The area doesn't always say much about the people in it...

Sod what your sons father says he's not the one who has to pay the rent, same goes for your parents really. I think I would give it a go. The fact the schools are good would swing it for me. I've lived in an area like you describe but without the good schools and thats what I wouldn't do again with kids.

Have you looked it up online? Is this the one? www.police.uk/greater-manchester/EC12/crime/stats/.

If you're ok with and can shrug off the more negative stuff you see and experience, go for it. Personally I couldn't deal with a very noisy place and others could, we all have our own limits!

Bite their hands off and move! But check for noisy neighbours at weekends. That's the only reason I moved out of my housing association house. I really miss it. Most of my neighbours were lovely.