AIBU to think it shouldn't be so expensive to move into a council house?!

[FreshStarts00]

NC.
So we've finally been allocated a house! Viewing is really soon. They want first 2 weeks rent 6 days after the viewing, then they say they can give us the keys 2 days after that.
Few hiccups:
We'd be paying rent on 2 houses. Need to give landlord 1 months notice from the day we pay rent, which is the 1st of the month. We barely have anything left over as it is after bills. Let alone magically coming up with another £250+.
They don't provide flooring.... AIBU to think this is a hazard with a 3 Y/O?? Splinters and nails and rough floorboards
No white goods whatsoever... So we'd be without an oven and a washing machine. Also microwave ect but that's not vital.
No bath- LO will just have to get over her hatred of showers, this one isn't really a major issue.

Anyone got any magical ideas?
Or been in a similar situation?
AIBU to think it shouldn't be so expensive to move into a council house?!

we don't. We take the attitude to be grateful because for whatever reason some people are not able/have not made themselves able to support themselves, and are asking the rest of us to do it for them. So yes, be grateful that our earnings do this.

Erm when you said this.
You are assuming that the people that complain about the state of council houses are asking the rest of society to use their taxes to support them, ie benefits.

'On the ‘no flooring’ issue, I think, but am not 100% certain, that they by law have to fit kitchen and bathroom flooring, so you must at least have that, op?'

Haahahaaa! No, there's no law like that.

The places don't come with flooring because it could be riddled with fleas or not to the tenant's taste and then they have the task of getting rid of it as well as putting in new flooring.

Not all councils automatically rip up flooring. The council here will leave carpets and hard flooring down if it's in good condition and if the new tenants want it left, but they get them to sign a disclaimer indemnifying them from any liability in the event of problems.

I've had new tenants manage quite adequately with a camping stove and a cheap halogen oven for the first few weeks, until they could sort out their own white goods.

Freegle and Freecycle are great for free stuff, and if you start asking friends/family/colleagues, you'll be amazed how many people are either getting new stuff or know someone who is, and have serviceable second-hand stuff going begging.

Presumably, you'll be getting your deposit on the old place refunded before too long, and that will make it possible to buy the basics.

I'm loath to recommend it, but if your credit's good, you could hit your cards hard to buy what you need, then do a transfer to a new, interest-free card when the bills have all come in.

Ours didn't have a shower, just a bath with a couple of rows of tile up the wall, so had to pay to have one fitted and tiling, flooring, shelves, white goods, etc. When you view the place it's empty and gutted so you know it comes with nothing.

Sentimentallentil
Erm when you said this.

No, still can't find anywhere in anything I have written which says I assume those in council houses don’t have jobs or pay taxes which is what you have falsely claimed I think.

So you made that up. You'll understand then why I cannot help you or tell you why I think something that I haven't said, when you made it up in you head in the first place.

wild Why are you calling people dicks just because they don't agree with you? Because dick is probably the most polite term I can think of. It's not just not agreeing with me, it's about general sneering and lack of compassion for poor people

That’s deeply offensive, it was me you called a dick for no reason other than I said flooring and white goods was not a one off cost as you had stated. I grew up in council housing, so would be the last to sneer, not that it’s any of your business.. I’m unsure what planet you’re on or how you associate saying it’s not a one off cost with sneering at poor folk.

If you just want to throw insults out on line go for it, but we all know who is being the dick.

I had to clear a relative’s council property after a sudden bereavement recently.

I would have been very happy to leave flooring and white goods in situ for the next tenant but was instructed by council to strip the property back to its shell under pain of a fine if I didn’t comply.

They wanted all flooring, all light fixtures, all wall fixtures (ie, towel rail, bathroom cabinet, wall mounted toilet roll holder), fitted wardrobe taken out.

It felt like such a waste. On the other hand, new tenant will get the benefit of the vaire nice kitchen and bathroom that my relative, a long standing occupant, had fitted at her own expense.

Don’t think you should expect the council to supply white goods though.

Have moved into two council properties and both were empty and needed decorating, we had a voucher for a paint allowance on both houses, we would never have expected carpets/flooring or white goods. We bought 2nd hand stuff and had cheap rugs for a while as we couldn't afford carpets. It was lovely to have a home with affordable rent and a secure tenancy so I think YABU.

flowerpot

Well then if someone pays rent, has a job and pays taxes, how is that person expecting to be supported by ‘the rest of us’ seems like they’re paying their own way to me.

‘others provide you with grace. What we provide should be the absolute minimum.’

I can’t see how you are providing anything, with grace or otherwise.

Hahaha are you serious you think the council will provide flooring and white goods don't be stupid it's the council they don't have a never ending stream of money for things like that when they expect people to already have a fridge and freezer and flooring can be cheap to get. As for the over lapping rent welcome to the world of council houses that's what happens all the time. If you don't want the house don't take it but the benefits of a council house are a permanent home reduced rent things that you don't get with private.

Floor probably isn't a hazard. But if it is you could put old quilt covers down as a stop gap till you can get rugs/carpet? You will be able to get white goods on free cycle/local fb group. May even get rugs that way. Cooker might be trickier but microwave + kettle + toaster + slow cooker + cheap camping stove if you can borrow one will get you by for a month or so. We managed a year with no cooker (bbq, camping stove and microwave) when ours broke in the house we were renting. Enjoy your new home

Sentimentallentil
seems like they’re paying their own way to me.
I can’t see how you are providing anything, with grace or otherwise.

I see. Because you don't know something you think you can try and put words into poster's mouths and then attack them for thinking things which they haven't said, but you've made up?

You need to educate yourself on how social housing is funded, both construction and maintenance. You need to learn how social housing incurs lower rents and the subsidies involved. Then you might see, not that I think you want to.

But FlowerPot in many parts of the country the rents are the same or just slightly lower then private rents again we dont all live in London or the south .

I didn’t attack you flowerpot If I did please report it to hq and have it deleted.

I do know how social housing works. I also know how private rentals work and I don’t think that private rentals are any better, the council isn’t making money off those either, in fact quite often the tax payer is subsiding people in private rentals too. It might not be a direct subsidy but it’s the same thing in practise, but then instead of the money going back to the council it’s going straight into a landlords pocket.
If landlords are able to make money off housing then there’s no reason the government couldn’t also, except they don’t want to as social housing is in opposition to their ideology. Better to run it down, say it’s unprofitable and sell it on, like they’ve done with everything.
Like I said upthread, why can’t they run it like a business create great social housing charge the market rate for people who can afford it and cheaper for those who can’t. The land value would grow and create equity for the council.

It makes no sense at all to have all these private landlords who essentially just have poorer people paying off their second mortgage and creating a pension for them.

When we bought this house we ripped up the (perfectly fine but not to our taste shagpile) carpets and offered them on Freecycle. Someone moving into a council house was delighted to take them. Ask on all the local facebook groups, I see people selling carpets for very cheap all the time.

My friend and her sister both live in Housing Executive houses (in NI, equivalent to council housing here) and their kitchens and bathrooms both came fitted with that non slip flooring (altro?). I'm surprised the same doesn't happen here, I think it's fairly indestructable and not liable to flea infestations. Although years ago my parents' house came with no flooring apart from those multi coloured asbestos tiles downstairs. They moved from another council house and brought the carpets with them and the fitter cut and seamed them to the right size.

You need to educate yourself on how social housing is funded, both construction and maintenance. You need to learn how social housing incurs lower rents and the subsidies involved. Then you might see, not that I think you want to

I think it’s you that needs to learn all of that tbh. Council housing is not subsidised by the taxpayer.

I wasn't shocked at not being provided with stuff... I didn't expect to be. I was however shocked at the state of the place.

I don't think people quite realise it's not just not having stuff... it's the work you have to do/afford to make it habitable and safe

I had damp peeling wallpaper ripped purposefully in places... a ceiling they'd scraped tiles off but left the glue... a wall they had wonkily filled in a fireplace but not sanded or smoothed - tbh I could have thrown plaster at the wall and the effect would be similar, bare concrete floors which were freezing and rough on a crawling baby, and tiles that had been added by the council to make to required height around bath but not straight and not matching ones already there. And that's what I remember... lots of botch jobs to fix. On a low income

I'm very grateful for the roof... but I did feel like I had moved into an overwhelmingly bleak post apocalyptic underground shelter for a while and frustrated by how much there was to do.

5 years on... nowhere near finished. It's never ending and is a whole home renovation.

Gutting that if I left somebody else would not be left my hard work either

*Social housing SHOULD be nice
No, it should be the minimum.

it should be seen as a viable option for normal people who have been priced out of the house market.
No, it should be temporary and an emergency.

We should be campaigning to get more and better council houses.
On the contrary. We should be campaigning for fewer and more basic council houses, which are currently being built to higher space and finish standards than private properties*

Wow that's just nasty^

Entitled to benefits seems to mean entitled to everything else too! Live with bare floors for a while (done this - it wont kill you) or get a bloody job and stop sponging off us workers

You need to educate yourself about council housing, seriously.

My friend and her sister both live in Housing Executive houses (in NI, equivalent to council housing here) and their kitchens and bathrooms both came fitted with that non slip flooring (altro?)

Yes, that’s the flooring I was thinking of when I said I thought the HAs/council had to supply it. I thought it was because of health and safety; not because the local authorities were made of money or that the tenants were ‘entitled’ to it, or anything like that.

Anyone is eligible for a council property if they aren't already homeowners... reality is that unless you actually need one, and even then, you're likely to wait a decade on a list before one in most areas.

There's no check you're enough of a scrounger, and how many cans of wifebeater you guzzle daily while watching Jeremy Kyle test

It's funny - police, nurses, paramedics, teachers, foster carers, and social workers... amongst others, live in council houses. Shocking I know

So did bob crow and he earned six figures a year. Maybe a few more checks wouldn't be a bad thing!

What's the crime though? Renting a cheaper property. I can't see why if you earn enough to afford something of your choice in an area of your choice you wouldn't leave the property or try to purchase it from the council at market value morally

But why the stigma against council property on here?

gamerchick
I think it’s you that needs to learn all of that tbh. Council housing is not subsidised by the taxpayer

Oh dear god. Are there still people in 2017 who believe that? Read the Hills Report, work out where £6.6billion goes and so on. And housing benefit isn't left under your pillow by fairies.

I think it's about morals for me. If you earn enough, you shouldn't be taking up cheaper secure space that others need more than you.

NOT talking about the OP here but bob crow was a good example, as were the numerous flats in grenfell that were sublet for a pretty penny each month