AIBU to leave council flat for private renting? 5 in a 1 bed flat.

[Hereforhelp]

Hi. So I was housed a 1 bedroom flat with council when I was 7 months pregnant with my first child. Now theres 5 of us in the same flat me, dh, dd 5 yrs, DS1 3 yrs and DS2 4 months old.

Dh and I are both employed, him full time me part time (currently on maternity leave) & don’t receive any sort of benefit.

The plan for our family increase was to return flat and private rent somewhere bigger but now private rent have massively increased £300 more than it was 2 years ago 😅 so that plan failed, leaving us cramped, in a 1 bed 🙃

We’ve tried to talk to council but according to law we’re not overcrowded as living room could be used as bedroom too and according to my room measurements each room can fit up to 2 adults (that’ll be 4 kids in each bedroom as they count a kid as half an adult).

Shall I hang in here and hopefully be rehoused after couple of years or stretch our finances and rent privately? People are calling me mad to be thinking of giving up a council home & I’d hate to give up the security of our home tbh but we are so desperate!!

Has anyone here left a council home for private renting? Or has anyone got a success story of getting rehoused due to overcrowding?

In my LA there hasn't been council housing built for years and instead social housing companies have been on the up, with great care given to mixed housing. Due to land prices this often means apartments rather than houses, and although the standard and finish is extremely high many are reluctant. The mixed element has caused problems too; many pensioners don't like the noise and disturbance that families with children brings.

In every development there will be several units that are wheelchair accessible (which is great)). It's important to note though that many (especially severely physically) people have differing access needs, there is no one size fits all. Sometimes a new build is made to measure for a specific person and when they have left it requires structural changes to accommodate the next. This obviously requires a lot of extra time and money.

In the nicest possible way - take some fucking responsibility. Why is it up to the housing to provide a bigger property?

You both work, get a bigger property. That's no life for you all to be cramped into a 1 bedroom flat

Search “ikea hacks” and “studio into one bedroom”. Great way to divide a living room into a sleeping area and living area.

Found these interesting posts from an old thread. Posted by someone who said the same thing ive been saying for years. But her DH works/worked on HA homes.

LEMisafucker Thu 12-Dec-13 10:23:27

It is not ridiculous - my father worked all his life, my mother still lives in the 3 bed council house that they would have paid for ten times over in rent. It is not about moving pensioners out of their homes its about the money being paid in by people renting these properties being put back into the system and invested properly. Its about efficient repairs and moneies not being squandered going through middle man after middle man before the guy turns up on the doorstep to fix the boiler. My DP has worked on social housing contracts, subcontracting for a subcontractor whos is subcontracting for the main contractor who is farming all of this work out with god knows how many back hander with every little cog in the wheel syphoning off their money so where a job that DP would charge £150 for a days work (hes a carpenter) to a private homeowner, the same job is probably costing the council (the tax payer) £400 while everyone else creams their bit of money on top. He was astounded at the lack of organisation, waste of time, three people sent to do a job that could be done by one person etc. THAT is where the failings are, well, one of them, not allowing people who have paid into the system over the years to keep the homes they have paid for. Many pensioners CHOOSE to downsize, but even then suitable places are not available - you cannot put a pensioner for instance in a 1 bed flat on the fourth floor

same poster

There wouldn't be that problem of the maintainance costs if it wasn't such a lucrative business, contractors fall over themselves for SH contracts provide substantial "perks" its money for old rope. They pay underqualified workers a pittance of pay to get the work done quickly to a pretty poor standard and charge more than a premium job. So that argument for selling off the council properties falls a bit flat - there are people out there making substantial profits out of people falling on hard times

www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/residents-near-tottenhams-new-stadium-18864998

Residents near Tottenham's new stadium fear they're being 'pushed out of area'

Plush new £1billion stadium couldn't be further away from Love Lane estate as tensions between club and locals grow.

Outside, you are standing on streets that are among the 5% most deprived in Britain.

The stadium redevelopment was an opportunity to lift the prospects of the people who live here.

But, instead, as the regeneration surrounding the stadium continues with a development known as High Road West, many families now fear they will simply be swept away.

A new walkway proposed to bring fans from a new station entrance at White Hart Lane station brings its own statistics. 297 social housing homes threatened with demolition in a borough with a severe housing shortage

Where 10,000 households are on the council’s waiting list and 3,000 families are stuck in temporary accommodation.

Meanwhile, 30 small manufacturing businesses on the Peacock estate, providing hundreds of decent local jobs, are facing eviction via a ­compulsory purchase order.

The proposals will also mean the loss of a library.

I know someone in a similar situation. Couple with 3 kids in a 1 bedroom. If possible i would definitely private rent.

speyejoe2.wordpress.com/2019/08/09/affordable-social-at-497-83-pw-for-a-3-bed-25976-pa-rent-is-it-unlawful/

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Hi guys. Just a quick update.

We decided to private rent! I Increased my hours after I got back from maternity leave & DP got promoted so that option became much more desirable.

We’re moving in next week, to a large 3 bed semi in a decent area. Couldn’t be more happier. I’m still edgy on the fact that we have left a secure tenancy but we both realised life’s too short to spend most of it unhappy and cramped, & that the tenancy could actually be offered to someone else who needs it.

To those who said “don’t have kids until you can afford them”, F*ck you .
thanks for some real sound advice from others though!

N.s

Hope it goes well for you, OP, and that you enjoy the new house.
Some people on here were really mean and judgmental. What I see is two parents working and doing the best for their kids.

Good for you, you've clearly both achieved what you set out to do.

Best of luck to you and your family in your new home, I hope you will be very happy there.

my plan is to hopefully private rent in the future so that my boys can have a room each rather than have to share a room

That's a great update OP; good luck!