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?

Do you currently have any access to a garden? That would make a big difference in my opinion as the space to play and chill out would make it seem less cramped. A one bed flat varies hugely in size so impossible to tell from your description whether or not your living situation is intolerable.

I would personally wait it out if possible, build savings until a part ownership comes up or you can afford to buy.

@prettyvase
Oh the kids love it here. It’s a ground floor flat, own entrance and a private garden from the living room patio door. They have the bedroom. Dd 5yrs on top bunk and ds 3yrs bottom bunk, baby Dh and I on a sofa bed in the living room with baby In his cot. There’s fields and a local park right opposit our place. It’s a family friendly area. I mean my daughter does say every now and then she wants a house with an upstairs lol she’s obsessed with stairs but that’s about it.

It’s obviously just Dh and I stressing over it atm especially with our dd starting year 1 in September. We might need to keep that cot in living room for a while longer so that her sleep isn’t disturbed in the night. We are somewhat comfortable but Of course a bigger (adequate ) home will be better, but we do what we got to do for now n life goes on

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.

What on earth gave you the impression I was worried about you? You're just a random on an internet chat forum

I was appalled by the stupidity of right to buy and depletion of the social housing stock. Having read about OP's problem, I'm inclined to support complete sell-off of council housing so that people take responsibility for their life choices. I don't feel I can comfortably afford kids, so haven't had any.

@WorraLiberty

that’s honestly such a relief! Got a bit worried there thinking you’re gonna loose sleep over me inadequately housing my kids you know!! Good to know you won’t! Good night for now, Liberty.

You would have had an “adequate” home, if you had planned. If you had triplets I would be sympathetic. I don’t doubt the council will move you, just hang on. Maybe have more kids?

And what would your sympathy give me, a larger home? Just keep it to yourself please. It’s as useless as the rest of the comment. But yes, having more kids might just cut it ya know .

I've never lived in a council house so I can't give you advice on that side of it however I do privately rent and it's a nightmare each year wondering if our landlord's going to kick us out or if he's going to put the prices up again.

We've moved around so many times over the years, fortunately we don't have any children to worry about uprooting.

If I were you, I'd stay put. Try and keep on pushing for a bigger place or put money aside for your own place.

Fair enough 😀 does any poster here have the power to give you a bigger house? So just rent a one that’s adequately houses you all. Or as you want to hear, hang in there the council will give you a larger house.

I do live in London which may be why rents get put up or the landlords move people out yearly.

Could you move somewhere nearby where you could afford to rent a 2/3 bed place and still be able to work? That is what I would do. If you are in London you could move out to zone 6 or just beyond where that would probably be doable? I know private renting isnt great but neither is being in a 1 bed flat waiting for the state to be able to rehouse you which in post Brexit recession is increasingly unlikely.

I gave up my 2 bed council flat for a 3 bed private house. No regrets. Only you know if you can afford the move.

Your flat sounds nice if it's got own entrance / own garden,OP.

Obviously
Space-wise, it's not perfect, but it is guaranteed to be yours for the foreseeable future, which counts for a lot.

Sounds to me like you're not in an immediate hurry - in which case, I'd give it another year or so. Brexit will create uncertainty , which may or may not work in your favour.

Staying out for longer doesn't seem to have a downside, other than not much spare space.
I'd take security over extra space until you absolutely have no other option x

@Crushedvelvetcouch

”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.

Sorry I pay my taxes too, silly.

@bbcessex
@Boom25
@WhenISnappedAndFarted

Thank you guys!

@Crushedvelvetcouch sorry I misunderstood your post!! 😅 these keyboard worriers got me in such a defensive mode!! thanks for the good advice too!!

As if you should use your lounge as a bloody bedroom!

Why not?

Someone is taking the piss out of you.

No, that's housing policy

Go to citizens advice, or social services or the bloody press or ANYwhere. 5 people (2 adults and 3 kids) in a one bed flat is shocking.

Social services? For having 3 kids in a one bed flat? Are you barking? And the press will not be the slightest bit interested. How could CAB help when it's housing policy?

• That's absolute crap.

As if you should use your lounge as a bloody bedroom!*

Actually not, this is expected.

Have you also registered to look into swapping with another tenant in case someone wants to downsize?

My OAP parents, they have (grown) DD there sometimes, but have a decent sized 3-bed SHA property. Their view is that because they've had the property for 40-odd years why should they be forced to move after investing many thousands into the property.

This, and the lack of new SH, is why living rooms etc are classified as sleeping areas.

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, how can I get the council to rehouse me ASAP”

Sorry, love, see this is a public forum and , so long as people don't break any forum rules they can say whatever they like.

Two years to wait to get rehomed from a LA property! Love to know where. Myself, DP and DD have been waiting over two years with mountains of medical evidence, weekly stair falls, one of us in a wheelchair and one of us blind for a flat.

And OP, you do come over all wanting a bigger property nows. There are people privately renting, in SHA, mortgaged, all over the country restricting their amount of children, but you sound immune and are bashing people, long-standing people, with accurate advice.

That said, under no grounds give up a secured LA/SHA tenancy. In this climate it's something you could very well regret.

I think you should move for your children's sakes. A friend when I was a teenager was always embarrassed about her brother sleeping in the living room, her mum and her had the bedrooms.

We moved into a 2 bed, private rent when I was pregnant with our 2nd and I'm so glad. The eldest is 8 and they share, both boys, and it is great having all their toys and things away in their room. And the eldest is happy to have friends around. He would be embarrassed if we were all sharing or it was crowded.

Private renting is not the end of the world and it would be silly to sacrifice your sacrifice your docs happiness out of fear of it.

No luckily I am in the midlands

Same, if the same part I see new private developments popping up all the time, including rurally. It's been 25-years since any new SH was built locally, but I am in one of the more deprived areas.

Silly to sacrifice your dcs happiness because of this fear.

Private rentals in the UK are still really insecure. The government has been considering changes to make them more secure, but I don't think they've got the edge yet on the tactics landlords use to try and maximise their profits which seem to have the effect of making private rental unreliable and expensive. I wouldn't recommend anyone move out of a secure housing situation into private renting if they have other good choices.

In your situation, OP I would try and stay in the 1 bed for as long as feasible. It sounds like, in another 5 years your boy gets old enough to be considered too old to share with your girls and you will qualify for a two bed. But, in any case, aggressively save (all that money you are considering stretching to for a private rental) to try and get a deposit so that you have a chance of buying at some point in the future.

If you end up finding it too much you'll still be in a position to privately rent next year or the year after, but your chances of getting back in a good council flat will not be so sure if the private rental goes wrong.

Read your PMs, OP,