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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:
lastnightidreamtofpotatoes · 26/05/2018 11:03

socially housing is not for the destitute

Unfortunately if you live in a high demand area then it is unlikely that you will get a house unless you are in fairly dire circumstances; living in damp, crumbling, over crowded temporary accomodation. The OK and her DP are both professionals working FT, I'm gobsmacked that they got a place so quickly near London.

Kaykay06 · 26/05/2018 11:09

I’d take it, stay for s few years and look for a swap?...I’m currently in homeless accommodation so desperate for a house for my family, I worry about bad areas and have no idea what it’s like to live down in London (live in Stirlingshire) but if the area is that bad then I suppose I’d think twice but would you get offered again if you turn it down?...
That’s a big saving and your kids need space, good luck with your decision x

TheRealMotherGoose · 26/05/2018 11:12

Assuming it is a bit bigger, TAKE IT!

Three children to one room, expensive private rent with no real security (knowing the LL doesn't mean anything; what if they have to sell?)... there is no real up-side here.

With the council option, you will hopefully have more space, more money to save towards a deposit (an extra £500 a month is huge!), and also much greater security. You may be moving to a slightly worse area, but you are familiar with it and know what you are getting into. Plus, the children don't have to move school, so there will be continuity.

I live in a supposedly 'bad area' and find it absolutely fine; in fact I am really fond of it now and we have had only minor problems.

ijustwannadance · 26/05/2018 11:13

Would you realistically save the £500 a month though. It's very easy to start spending extra cash and as a pp said, unless you intend to move away from london you won't be able to afford a mortgage anyway.

ijustwannadance · 26/05/2018 11:14

I would take the house.

TheHobbitMum · 26/05/2018 11:16

Absolutely take the house! The children will be much happier having their own rooms and it's not that far away from where you are now. You may find you'll need to spend some of those savings on the council house though, they are very basic so we've redone most rooms Inc. Bathroom and kitchen is next. Good luck

daisypond · 26/05/2018 11:18

I'm gobsmacked that they got a place so quickly near London.
They've been on the list for ten years - I'd hardly call that quick.

Weezol · 26/05/2018 11:26

Take it. Especially as there are no changes of school - your kids are not suddenly going to drop their existing friends and start running drugs. It would be great for the oldest to have their own room to study in.

My cousin (single mum) lives in council housing in a fringe area often on the news for stabbings, gangs etc, her son has just qualified as a pharmacist. Most of his friends went to university and have qualified in optometry, medical physics and engineering. Others got good apprenticeships.

Picklepickle123 · 26/05/2018 11:26

Apologies, not had a chance to RTFT but will you realistically save £500 each month? I'm assuming the council house is bigger than your current property, which will mean increased council tax, bills etc. The children won't have to move school, but will there be a transport cost needed from the new house - even for both you and your DP to get to work? Bus/train pass, petrol for drop off? Think about not only school and work, but any clubs the kids go to, and hobbies or excercise classes you attend, even where you do your weekly shop ( you might be closer to aldi now, but closer to Tesco in new house - do you travel further or do a more expensive shop, especially for odd bits and pieces) etc etc.

I think you and your DP need to sit down and do your sums as thoroughly as possible...it may not actually work out that cost efficient.

CristalTipps · 26/05/2018 11:27

Will your children stay in their current schools? If their sets of friends are good now, and they can stay in easy contact with them there shouldn't be too much concern about local kids. I grew up in a very rough area but managed to avoid gangs and drugs.

lastnightidreamtofpotatoes · 26/05/2018 11:29

Daisy I was under the impression that for London and surrounding areas it could be decades before you get to the top of the list, so in that context and the OP's fairly comfortable circumstances I do think it is quick.

sausagedogsmakechipolatas · 26/05/2018 11:30

I would absolutely take it; your current rental is not big enough and is very expensive. The council place will be a secure tenancy where private rentals never are even if the landlord says so - if they change their mind there’s nothing stopping them giving you notice.

A mile and a half is nothing - kids from the council area will be in the current school as well. If there are gangs around the council place you can bet they are also active in your current area. Best way is to teach your kids to steer well clear (I grew up in Hackney, managed to not get sucked into it not did my brothers.)

sausagedogsmakechipolatas · 26/05/2018 11:32

*nor did my brothers

KarinVogel · 26/05/2018 11:40

You have been on the waiting list for 10 years and are renting a place that your LL is only 'fairly confident ' is for long term .

Take the council house !

More room for your family
Huge amount of savings every month
No change of school needed
Secure tenancy with right to buy in 3 years

I really cant see what is holding you (or is it mainly your DH?) back. Snobbishness?

GardenGeek · 26/05/2018 12:46

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

KirstenRaymonde · 26/05/2018 12:48

OP - take the house. I went the other way, moved out of housing association into private rent because I felt so bad having the property when I felt others needed it more. I’m now trapped in private rent in a hugely expensive other edge of London, I cannot afford to buy but due to very strong family and community links I don’t want to leave (the increase in childcare costs would outweigh any savings for a start!) I wish we’d kept the property.
I lie in a fairly affluent area, I still got into drugs as a teen, they are everywhere for those that want them. You’re only up the road so still close to the people you know. The security of a council house is not to be sniffed out, even if you can never afford to buy your quality of life will be significantly increased. This is a no brainer for me having been on all sides of it.

PuppyMonkey · 26/05/2018 12:56

I’d take the house too, the money you’d be saving on rent could be the thing that gives your kids a better chance in life.

Butterflykissess · 26/05/2018 12:58

I can't think of anywhere on the Essex/London border that is so terrible that I would refuse to live there

This.

LARLARLAND · 26/05/2018 13:00

I would knock at the neighbours’ doors and see if they are OK. If they are take the house. If not don’t move their because living next door to horrible people isn’t worth saving £500 a month.

LARLARLAND · 26/05/2018 13:04

There not their.

VelvetSpoon · 26/05/2018 13:14

I grew up on the Essex/ London border. Im trying to think where the OP is talking about - my first thought was Dagenham or Harold Hill but £500 seems very cheap for there. There are places I definitely would prefer not to live but saying that if it meant saving 500 a month and getting a bigger house you should go for it. Tbh even the village where I grew up which was quite nice at the time is now a bit grotty and plagued by moped crime etc. Unfortunately in the London area you are going to be near crime a lot. I think your idea of walking round the immediate area where the house is to get a feel for it is a really good one.

SaucyJack · 26/05/2018 13:23

Also agree that walking round on a Bank Holiday weekend is a good idea.

Try to be realistic in your expectations. You might find there is a genuine hard drug problem there, or it may well just be two or three perfectly normal people having a spliff in the garden after work.

Ditto the gang reputation. Try and find out if there's actually a real problem there, or if it's just a couple of chavs on scooters giving it the big'un.

FreudianSlurp · 26/05/2018 13:24

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

OohMavis · 26/05/2018 13:27

No question, take it.

hadenough · 26/05/2018 13:30

if this was buying i.e. you could afford a bigger house in a worse area, as opposed to a smaller one in a better area my advice would be to stay put.

But it isn't. Renting is a real pain and I hated it, but it does give you greater flexibility - when you buy you're stuck there until you can sell, with renting you're never trapped - if it doesn't work out, you can move again and privately rent.

I do think having their own space and rooms would be great for your DC, but your strategy is absolutely perfect - explore the area more, see what it's really like, and make a decision based on that.