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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To want to accept this council house.

140 replies

TotallyChorkie · 26/05/2018 08:55

More of a WWYD?

We have been on the waiting list for 10 years. We currently rent at £1000 pcm and have never been able to save for a deposit to buy. The house is small and we have 3 children to one room.

We have been offered a council house at £510 pcm. The area is not a very good area with a gang and drug culture. I know it well and feel it is like any other London fringe town but I don’t deny that there are huge problems there.

My children would not have to move school and have some friends that live in this area. It would save us £500 a month which we could put towards a deposit and move out in 5 - 7 years time.

My husband feels that we should stay put. The LL is a friend and he is fairly confident that we are here long term. DH thinks we should put the children’s childhood first and remain in this area. This would mean renting long term and we are already in our early forties. I worry about retirement.

OP posts:
VogueVVague · 26/05/2018 08:58

Im sorry if this sounds really flippant but genuine question: have you considered moving outside of london?

FWIW, i would not take that council house, i would be looking to move out of london. The UK is a small place. The kids will have to adapt to a new town but will still be able to keep ties to their old mates.

jess6543 · 26/05/2018 08:59

I hate to break it to you, but if you are in your early 40s and don't plan to buy for 5-7 years it may be hard for you to get a mortgage unless your deposit is very large.

That aside, Saving money is always a good thing and better to spend £500 on rent than £1000. Obviously if the area is very bad you may want to think twice but I would still do it tbh. You can always move back to private renting if it really is terrible.

arethereanyleftatall · 26/05/2018 09:00

No, I wouldn't move to an area like that if there was a way of avoiding it.

jess6543 · 26/05/2018 09:01

@VogueVVague that's easy to say but some people can't move too far away because of their jobs. Jobs in some industries are hard to find outside London and the pay would be much less.

The further you move, the higher the train fare to London too.

VogueVVague · 26/05/2018 09:04

@jess6543
Yeah i know! Just wondering if op and her partner have the optipn of it, have considered it, even somewhere like manchester

Original poster
TotallyChorkie · 26/05/2018 09:07

Hi, I would love to move further afield but DH’s job is very specific and Eldest DC is due to take gcse’s next year so not a good time for a big move.

I agree Jess, our deposit would have to be huge which is why I am thinking more 7 years by which time the youngest child would be mid teens.

OP posts:
skychangehills · 26/05/2018 09:08

I’d take it if you have to stay in London.

cricketmum84 · 26/05/2018 09:10

Sorry if this is controversial but imo council housing is for people who cannot afford to private rent. If you are affording £1000pm rent now then that council house should go to someone more in need of it.
There is such a shortage of local authority housing that I don't think it's fair to take one if you aren't desperately in need.

And yes I would put your children's childhoods first and not move to a bad area for a pipe dream of buying a house when you are very unlikely to be given a mortgage at almost 50!

VogueVVague · 26/05/2018 09:14

@cricketmum84
She has 3 kids to a room, I'd say she deserves council housing.

I think council housing should be for hardworking people who are struggling to house their families which is the case. Shes in her 40s and has not been able to save for a house as a result of finances and housing.

ineedamoreadultieradult · 26/05/2018 09:16

I would do anything to keep my children away from an area with a drug and gang culture. I'm very surprised you are thinking of putting a £500 per month saving above their safety and I say that as someone on a low income.

Original poster
TotallyChorkie · 26/05/2018 09:17

Cricket, the house has been listed as available for working people only. We wouldn’t be able to afford to upgrade to a house in the size that we needed at the current rents available.

OP posts:
littlemssilly · 26/05/2018 09:19

If you take the council house you'll get right to buy after 3 years and then are on the ladder with a huge discount.
Depends on whether you feel you can be happy in that area

DelphiniumBlue · 26/05/2018 09:23

Where is it? And where are you now?
I'm just wondering for comparison purposes - can't think of an area in London where you can rent a house for 1000.

VogueVVague · 26/05/2018 09:24

Actually sorry op ive changed my mind and reckon you should take it.

Original poster
TotallyChorkie · 26/05/2018 09:26

Ineedmore the house is only a mile and a half away. Our children all go to the same school with our towns on either side. The only difference is one is largely council owned and the other is mainly private dwellings. I don’t see how safety is any better here than there and would take the same precautions as I do now.

OP posts:
Original poster
TotallyChorkie · 26/05/2018 09:29

Delphin, it is classed as London fringe (as in commuter territory) in Essex

OP posts:
ineedamoreadultieradult · 26/05/2018 09:30

Totally well you know the area better than me obviously but it was you who mentioned the gang and drug culture if the safety level is the same in both locations it seems odd you mentioned it as a negative of the area. I would just be careful you are not minimizing this aspect out of your understandable desire to save money. Your DH also seems to think it is an issue.

lastnightidreamtofpotatoes · 26/05/2018 09:32

No way woul d I move to an area that I knew had a drug/gang culture. As a child I was in the same sort of circumstances, we moved very quickly from a owned house in naice area to a council estate. I t wasn't a bad one but I remember some of my friends weren't allowed to visit me because it was perceived as rough and that always stayed with me. Now I wouldn't be happy for my ds' to visit an estate that had a drugs/gang culture so do b ear in mind the impact of might have on your dc.

Noboozeforme · 26/05/2018 09:33

For the love of god take the council house !

BewareOfDragons · 26/05/2018 09:33

I think you should take the house and start socking the extra £500 a month away and not touch it if possible.

Cutting your housing costs in half would make a huge difference for your family!

boho2u · 26/05/2018 09:36

I would take the council place. It's a secure tenancy and with the way renting is in london at the moment, there's the very real risk of becoming homeless.

SheSparkles · 26/05/2018 09:37

I think it would be really wrong to move to an area with a gang and drug culture with children the age yours are. I’m not for a second saying you’ve not done a good job of raising good kids, but I just wouldn’t want to put kids in their teens slap bang in the middle of that kind of area-I’d be so scared of my kids being influenced, raising teens is a hard enough job without taking them to live in that kind of area where temptation could be hard to resist.

MrsWombat · 26/05/2018 09:38

I would take it.

CecilyP · 26/05/2018 09:39

Cricketmum, the council will have its own points system to decide who needs the house and, in this case, it has been allocated to OP.

OP, I would take a look at the house, see what the immediate neighbours are like, have a chat with them about the area if you can. Look at how many bought houses, or otherwise, there are on the estate. Does it look unkempt or do people look after their homes? Often the reputation amongst outsiders can be far worse tha the reality. Did out as much as you can before making your decision.

What are your chances of being allocated anywhere on a nicer estate? From your OP, it would seem fairly slim. If you prove to be a good tenant on this estate, would there be the possibly of a transfer to somewhere better at a later date?

FissionChips · 26/05/2018 09:39

Take the house, you would be a fool not to.