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?

Some of us who were fortunaye enough to snap up property in the north for a comparative pittance are happy for our taxes to subsidise those in the SE.
I raise five children in the NW on 45K in a five bed OO property, OP can have my taxes to adequately house her three.
I DON'T NEED THEM.

@NoWayDidISayThat

**What would happen if you had another kid? Would you then be overcrowded?

Ha ha. NoWayDidYouJustSayThat 🤣 maybe I should try it. You never know 😉

@MustShowDH
**Didn't work the last 3 times she tried it!

Yeah sorry your taxes that you seem to think are the only one paying in, didn’t come through for me.

I have not said anywhere that I can’t adequately house my kids

You don't need to.

There's 5 of you in a one bed flat and you're looking at potentially continuing that overcrowding for longer.

You haven't adequately housed your kids so far and that's a fact, whether you say it or not.

I have trouble with this "I'm entitled" language that some people use. We all need to take responsibility for the amount of children we are having in relation to our home size. The council have no obligation to provide housing for anyone they cant magic somewhere out of thin air you need to privately rent.

@jessicawessica
I sympathise with you Jess
No luckily I am in the midlands, which private renting is much cheaper than London that’s why we originally planned to private rent when the tough gets going.

OP I personally wouldn't give up the security of moving from council housing to private. Do you have assured tenancy? If you go private you could get kicked out on the whim of the Landlord.

@WorraLiberty
Don’t worry about me! As long as you’ve housed your kids that’s all that matters! Let me live with mine in a 1 bed flat for a lot “longer” as you said.

Agree with @Crushedvelvetcouch there are some judgemental and nasty posters on here.

There but by the grace of God go you.

Shame on you ALL, with your snotty 'cats bum mouths,' sneering at the mum of 3 in social housing, DARING to want a better place for her children! ' Shouldn't have had so many kids then SHOULD ya?' What a truly nasty thing to say.

@Hereforhelp

Ignore the nasties on here, and go see CAB as soon as you can, because you deserve a bigger place. 5 people in a one bed flat is ridiculous! I don't give a fuck if it's legal or NOT, it's fucking wrong.

Good luck.

I would ask for this thread to be removed though, as there are some deeply unpleasant people on here. Proper nasty.

These type of threads always bring out the bigots.

As for the 'they can't magic a house out of thin air' comments...' ignore them. The local authorities and housing associations will find one when it suits them. So they can find one for you. (Maybe not right away, but soon!) There IS a property out there for you and your family.

Don't give up your social housing status though.

@jessicawessica
Yes! It’s the fact that private renting isn’t secure that’s my dilemma, I think in the end I’ll have to risk it and go for it! I’ve seen “long term” properties on the letting websites. Maybe they’ll be a good start

You're in the Midlands? Me too, but I consider myself very lucky even if I do sleep downstairs.
I have a bed, my DCs have a bedroom each, my rent is really cheap compared to private renting and we have assured tenancy.
I still think risking a bigger house is not worth going private for.

If I was you I’d stick it out. Get to your local councillor, health visitor, GP etc. Bombard the council to get you suitable accommodation for your family! Would you consider relocating to give you a better chance of finding suitable accommodation? That would even give you a chance if you and your partner have an “ok” wage to save a deposit for your own home. I know that is almost impossible to do in a private let with a family. Hope something gets sorted soon x

The title for my thread is “AIBU for leaving council for private rent” and that is my dilemma. It is NOT about “I had more children made myself overcrowded and now I can’t cope in my home

Good reply Hereforhelp! The difficulty with private renting is that you could be lucky and find somewhere ideal or just get you and your family notice and be asked to leave, if eg landlord wants to sell.

I know it’s not ideal but I’d try and stick it out at least until after Brexit. Have you tried House Exchange as well as Homeswapper? Definitely try and register for a shared ownership property.

'Why would you have 2 more children when you only have one bedroom?'

• That's OP's choice and none of your business

'I don't understand what you would continue to have more babies when you haven't got the space'

• you don't have to understand, it's nothing to do with you.

From my understanding, OP is asking for advice on whether it's wise to leave the security of council housing (which, once you're out, you aren't getting back in) in order to gain more space OR stay put in the hope that a bigger, more suitable property becomes available.

What I didn't see her ask was for anyone's opinions on the size of her family, her ability to house her children or speculation as to why she decided to have more than one child.

The judgemental, self righteous attitudes of people on here never fail to amaze me!

PLEASE DO NOT MOVE INTO THE PRIVATE SECTOR FROM YOUR COUNCIL FLAT.

I understand its very uncomfortable right now but you have a young family and the last thing you want is to be at the whim of a private landlord (there are many good landlord out there and there are many who evict for no good reason).

My advice would be to keep saving as much as you can and look keep looking for a shared ownership property (while also waiting on the council list).

Think about the long term. You will have an asset as well as a bigger home. You may want to look at looking a bit further afield. I have worked in housing for 10+ years so I have seen people make this mistake and regret it.

@Each2TheirOwn
Your username says it all! Each to their own!
Even had the first comment say how could I conceive my 3rd baby with the other 2 in the room. By far the most sickening comment, so sure that’s how it went as if she was there! 🤦🏾‍♀️

Nice to know some people’s common sense is still intact in here 😉

I feel like half the people on this thread genuinely think council houses are free? You guys do know council tenants pay rent, right? And council tax? You know council tenants aren’t actually being subsidised by your personal taxes, right?

But it doesn’t matter because the first mention of social housing will have put a large percentage of the users here into a frothing Daily Mail-induced rage.

@bluegirlgreen
😂😂😂 you said it! X

I agree with RSMLAC, the chances of finding a very long term Landlord is slim. Plus you'll never get back on the social housing list.

@WonkoTheSane42
Yes! Put social housing & overcrowding in one sentence that’s it all hell breaks loose. One user even saying I’m waiting for her taxes to give me a bigger house wtffff I pay around £600+ a month towards taxes and my full rent and council tax! Smh that’s why I said they’re very narrow minded & won’t understand other wise.

@Hereforhelp

Night night, and good luck to you!

Hi OP, not read the full thread, so sorry if this has already been mentioned a million times.

If I were you, I'd ask people advising if they've ever lived in council or private rent properties alongside their opinions and advice.

Personally, I've not lived in a council property, but have had friends who have. Again, I've had friends who've private rented.
It's only friends who've private rented who have ever had the panic of "my landlord is selling, I need to move" etc.
Couldn't tell you about maintenance of each etc as no idea and I do think depends on the council or the landlord, but if I were you, with three children, I'd stick it out with your secure tenancy.

@RSMLAC
Thank you so much, honestly.
If I choose to wait I’ll be in for a one hell of a ride, but atleast my rent will be cheaper and I can save more for deposit towards shared ownership etc or even a first home!

I would hate to be evicted from a private rent it’s terrifying just to think about it, that’s the whole point of this thread. To see if there’s anyone who’s done it and wether it was a good decision or not.

Thanks again x

You haven't adequately housed your kids so far and that's a fact

No. That's just your opinion. The actual facts are that both English law and the local council consider the DC to be adequately housed.

To put your mind at rest, if your dc are happy and it isn't stressful for you and your family (and your neighbours!) to be living like that then carry on.

If there is a park, shops, leisure centre, museums and good schools nearby then you can just use your home as a base while making the most of your environment to educate, play and entertain your children, especially as they get older.

If on the other hand you or any of your family are stressed out by your cramped accomodation or it is impacting badly on the quality of your family life then yes, it would be a very wise idea to try to move to a better place.

We all want the best for our children don't we? But we all have very different standards as to what is acceptable.

If you can make happy memories for your dc where you are then stay.

I left council to go to private rent. I had one landlord for 9 years then she gave us notice so she could put the rent up by 250 a month. Since then the property has been empty on and off so not quite the money spinner she hoped.

I am currently back on the council waiting list because the landlord I am with now is not paying her mortgage, despite me paying the rent.