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?!

And in our area some housing associations only offer some houses to people who are working also there is no income requirement it varys around the UK I guess.

as it is hugely rare to find a private let without them

The last private let I was in had a cooker, but no fridge or washing machine. It did have ancient carpets, but the state of the walls was so bad we asked the landlord if we could repaint and she said yes (as it make it look better and didn't cost her). We also installed a countertop in the kitchen as there wasn't one. This was a two-bed flat.

The previous private rental I was in was a big shared house. One of the many, many things we had to install ourselves, as well as a fridge and a washing machine and lino in the kitchen, was a working toilet.... (It was a great house and very stupidly cheap, hence us being willing to do this.)

I lived in a HA house for 2 yrs in the UK 5yrs ago.
We both worked and had a decent income (DH 40k me 11k). This was fine.
We got our let searching on rightmove, yes, rightmove! That's where it was and some homes are still available on the HA's rightmove page (just checked). 3-10 become available EVERY month IME. The reason? Nobody who "desperately needs it" wants it, or there is nobody who desperately needs it... ours was pretty new with a new kitchen in a nice area next to a train station that was 30mins from Cardiff...
It was cheap (£350pcm) but so was every other house or flat in the area and we could've probably got it down to £300ish by going private... just to piss on some myths for you all there.
We certainly weren't on the list for 13 years and living out of a cardboard box while also being scrounging thieves (which seems to be the implication here).

Some of the posts here are utterly vile.

It doesn’t matter why the OP doesn’t have savings. Fact is, she doesn’t, so she’s going to struggle with dual rent and buying white goods at short notice.

I don’t think that it is unreasonable to expect an oven!! Every single house and flat I’ve ever lived in (and it’s been a lot) has had these built in it or already installed so I’d be surprised too. Yes, OP can buy white goods secondhand but she never said she wouldn’t and the actual element of surprise here is perfectly understandable.

The flooring issue is just a total waste of funds on the councils part, but OP, I imagine that they don’t bother with waivers or elective retention because so many council tenants are vulnerable people who cannot be expected to enter into legal contracts to accept personal liability for health and safety issues.

This site is so full of entitled, well off people that make such revolting comments - it’s getting worse every day. The irony is that so many of these people are complete champagne socialists when it comes to Brexit and voting labour, but the minute someone says anything isn’t rosy in a council house and they start a witch hunt.

Accepting help isn’t something we should be making people feel guilty about. Nor should we expect a lifetime of unfettered gratitude no matter how they are subsequently treated.

Morning,

Sorry to elbow into your thread, OP! We hope that you can get things sorted and that you'll be very happy in your new home

We just wanted to remind that not everyone on the internet is who they say they are - and remind folk not to give more to another poster (either emotionally or financially) than they could afford to give if something went wrong.

If anyone has any concerns at all - feel free to drop us a line.

Thanks, all.

hermoninny

Thank you. Nice to see some level headed people here. Can't believe how much anger has been generated by my surprise at not having a few basics 😂 I'm not entitled was just naive and shocked tbh

*FreshStarts^ this is the single cooking ring I mentioned upthread. It's gone down in price since I bought one! There's also a double ring they sell, too.

www.ryness.co.uk/lloytron-single-cooking-ring---e831

It's tough sure, but you can't expect them to just provide you a part furnished home. You will have to just save and have a look around to see if it's possible to get necessary purchases trough pay monthly places such as Very etc.

I moved into mine a week before DS was born, no flooring, all concrete, and I had very little in terms of furniture.

I'd had to save to get a cheap bed and mattress from Ikea, and to buy a secondhand sofa off Facebook. I struggled to save any more than that as I was trying to prepare for a baby as well as still paying for the shared house I'd been living in, I also had a useless partner who hadn't saved or bought anything for house or baby, needless to say he didn't stick around long.

I had to suck it up and go to Bright House to get things such as my washer, fridge and eventually a new TV too (which I'm still paying almost 3 years later). It took me a year to get the money for flooring in living room and DS's room (I just had large rugs before that, again bought through Facebook), and I've still not got any in hall and my bedroom 3 years down the line.

You have been given a home that doesn't require a massive upfront deposit along with a months rent, it is probably cheaper than the going rate of private rent in the area (my home is much cheaper but still about £10-£15 less a week), and you now have more home security than most, so you can't expect much more than that surely, the local councils aren't made of money.

Oh I just wanted to add, have a look trough your local Facebook selling page as there are now companies that offer carpets on a pay weekly basis, I've recently just found out about this and will be looking into in the Mew Year myself.

oh I meant to add that it is better to save up and get all the rooms you need carpeted at once, rather than room by room.

Getting my entire house 3 bed carpeted all in the same carpet (except bathroom and kitchen obviously!) cost around the same as my mums living room alone, as they were able to use offcuts for smaller spaces e.g. hall/stairs. I used a local company and was really pleased- much cheaper and better quality than some of the well known places.

OP

Sign up to free cycle, you will get a fridge and possibly some other goods.

Apply for a budgeting loan if you are on benefits and if they still do them.

Not read the full thread - got to page 4 so sorry if repeating anything already said.

Yes it’s expensive when you have very little money. If I where you I would scrape together the up front rent for the council property and hand in notice for your current place ASAP.

Washing machine - I would advise using the good will of family and try to find a laundrette. Hand washing small things like underwear and socks. That should buy you a few weeks / month or so to save up for something - even if it’s second hand.

Cooker - see if anyone you know has a camping stove or a table top job you can borrow for a while. That combined with a microwave (if you have one) might see you through.

Fridge - more problematic so I would prioritise getting this first.

Carpets - do you have rugs? You can put them down to make do. Most pound shops also have the sticky floor tiles. These would do for smaller rooms and don’t work out too expensive. I floored my kitchen for £12 and my bathroom for £8 (just do the main area initially and leave under appliances.

Sofas- any seating will do to start with. Check gumtree for free or very cheap. Ask around friends and family, you might not get something pretty but a couple of cheap throws can cover and ugly / busted sofa until you can afford to replace.

You will also need things like curtains which you can get in charity shops for cheap.

My best advice - check gumtree for freebies or very cheap. Scour charity shops. Check local Facebook selling pages and even post asking for the things you need (many people do give away things they don’t need if they know it’s going to someone who will appreciate it).

There is the other route of buying stuff and paying it up (catalogues and shops like brighthouse) but they are the expensive option as they charge a fortune in interest. I know a lot of people on low incomes that do this as you only pay a small weekly amount over something like 5 years. It is an option if you are really stuck but not one I like to advise much as you do pay over the odds in the long run.

I hope it all works out for you OP.

@FlowerPot1234

Wash your clothes by hand.

And end up with a massive condensation problem and possibly mold. That's helpful. Or have the heating on and the windows open and just burn money.

mirime
@FlowerPot1234
Wash your clothes by hand.
And end up with a massive condensation problem and possibly mold. That's helpful. Or have the heating on and the windows open and just burn money.

Oh please, that's just too, too funny!! You thinking suggesting someone washes their clothes by hands isn't an obvious helpful solution to someone who doesn't have a washing machine and says they have no money? Are you nuts? My mother washed all our clothes by hand and our house didn't have a massive condensation problem or mold"?

mirime I air-dry all our clothes indoors in my flat (no garden, no balcony, even), and we don't have a condensation problem or mould.

I did a large delicates wash by hand just yesterday come to think of it, it's all out there now on those standing frame dryers in the hallway and landing. House still standing.

hallway and landing.

thats a house Its a bit different with dripping clothes in a small flat.

And there is no way you can hand squeeze the water out of a chunky knit jumper which is an item many will be wearing at this time of year.

HelenaDove
hallway and landing.
thats a house Its a bit different with dripping clothes in a small flat.

Yes, it's different. In the small flat I used to do this in, including all done by hand, I still didn't have a problem with massive condensation and mold.

And there is no way you can hand squeeze the water out of a chunky knit jumper which is an item many will be wearing at this time of year.

. I've never dried a chunky knit jumper any other way than by hand squeezing the water out of them. I always do this, even now and I have a washing machine and dryer. Takes a while, work my way all along the jumper, if it's a nice day outside and I've had outside space, out it goes lying across the clothes lines, if it's not a nice day or I've not had outdoor space, then I lay it across the bath.

Anyway, OP is getting a house, not a small flat!

I have had two council homes. One was carpeted and the other was not. They won't supply white goods but there are funds for certain people to help them get certain items. If this home does not suit your needs you are entitled to say no to this house but I think you can only refuse once. I did that because the walls were black molded up to the windowsills and was a smaller house than the one I moving out of. The one Im in now is better but so much hassle with damp. the council does tend to hide these facts so think carefully before you move. Also try to speak to previous tennants if at all possible.

Gumtree, eBay, Facebook - look for secondhand white goods - usually pretty cheap.

Re flooring, I think councils tend to want carpet taken up but laminate flooring gets left behind. When we gave up our HA flat, we were told we could leave all flooring as it was either laminate or vinyl.

You are slightly deluded though if you think HA/Council should provide flooring if there is none and white goods. That isn’t going to happen. Moving at any point is expensive, you just have to make do until you have the money to buy flooring and white goods and start making it your own.

We gave up our HA flat and purchased a new build house, it didn’t have flooring. We had to spend the first couple of weeks with concrete and floor boards until we had enough to buy flooring and we just did it room by room.

The Affinity Sutton tenant has finally had full electricity restored after 83 hours of no use of the fridge freezer shower oven or washing machine.

They are not being reimbursed for the food they lost.

And before anyone starts about how they could have sorted it themselves and called their own electrician..........no because its a breach of their tenancy agreement.

If the council left white goods and flooring they would be obliged to maintain them, which they don’t have the budget for. Also, having worked in the community for some time I can assure you that you would not want the vast majority of flooring and white goods after a tenant leaves - smoking, pets, children etc all take their toll on carpets and flooring and unless cleaned regularly white goods will be vile.

Consider yourself lucky, so many families are in emergency accommodation with little chance of getting a council house!

I'm sure you can find £250 for the initial rent, white goods can be found for very reasonable prices through Facebook selling pages, rugs can work as a temporary measure until you get enough cash for carpets.

helena What does that have to do with this thread?