We were in a similar position so far as the house needed a lot of work doing before we moved in. I think they said it was classed as a "void property". It was mainly plastering work, new doors (the cardboard type 😄) . Even though they did plaster the really bad walls a lot of them still need doing to be honest, a lot of it has blown. The architrave and door frames are completely knackered and really should have been replaced but it is what it is. The council offered us the maximum amount in a gift card because the place was really run down. It was £300 or there abouts. I just bought textured wallpaper for the uneven walls and that sorted most of the problems although it now has drawings on it thanks to our 3 year old. I've only ever wallpapered twice in my life before and if you look close enough I've cooked up some if it, plus some of the paper is wonky. Only noticed after I stood back and looked and the pattern leaning and disappearing into the ceiling 😄
Bathroom and kitchen had new flooring, the kitchen was replaced as it had to be ripped out. I bought mismatched/end of line/seconds underlay and carpet grippers from a warehouse online and got a local company to supply and fit carpets and lino for the small kitchen (didn't like the flooring in there) and hallway. All in it was around £1,200 😬 for the floors, 2 large bedrooms, 1 dining room, hallway and stairs. We wanted them done ASAP as we had been living with awful carpets in our old rental.
We needed new everything really after the move so made do for a while and bought things as and when we could. BHF couch, cabinet, dvd case very cheap. Used tv stand from family etc. £200 fridge freezer and recycling the old one from AO as ours was a million years old. We paid two blokes from Facebook £100 to help us move and my husband helped them. Argos, ikea and whichever online place I could find that had a sale or discount going, lots of searching online for bargains.
They were planning to clear the garden but we didn't have the time to wait for them to do it. It was also a jungle, lots of brambles, overgrown hedge, random saplings growing. It was a priority for us as we have children but we did that when we could. The front door is old and was dirty but it's solid. I painted it (badly).
Charity shops are brilliant, got a pair of almost new curtains for £3! Found other curtains in the charity shop, had to get blinds fitted at the front (£80) and argos blinds for eldest daughter (£20).
You will most likely have to pay for the fence, we need a new one but it's not necessarily urgent it is just chainlink and needs replacing. I bought a 20ft picket fence kit online for around £200 lots of hand wringing from me because I'm tight, love a bargain and hate over paying but it had to be done. It's been sat in the garden, we just need to install it, somehow! I would ask your housing officer if they can help with the fence if it's unsafe and you are worried your son will escape or hurt himself. If you mention medical need they may well help you, it's always worth asking. They are usually very reluctant as it's expensive and we were told it is a shared cost between us and the neighbour.
We still haven't finished the house and we've been here over a year. Not our responsibility but the concrete path is badly cracked around the waste pipes in the garden, the outhouse needs looking at again as the roof is cracking and getting worse 😑.
Our housing officer was brilliant and pushed for most of the work to be completed, they said they needed to finish the painting but it was just painting over paint and magnolia/white. I'd had enough of that colour scheme!! I didn't care if it was paintedp. It's definitely not cheap to move, for most people of course but we'd saved quite a lot in the months prior. I was too stressed to spend anything. My surviving twin was on oxygen at home after months in NICU, we were being evicted because the landlord wanted to sell and had to move in the day we were due to be chucked out. Long story but we never saw the deposit, have no idea where it went but it was in exes name and was never moved into my name. I tried to access it with all the correct paper work blah blah. Never saw a penny even though I was the one who paid it initially!! I'm just so happy and grateful to firstly not be homeless, which was very nearly the case, feeling secure and be paying a lot less in rent! I grew up in a council house and they're good and solid! It does take a lot of time and it's frustrating but you'll get there eventually xx
(Sorry for the long, long, boring post! Try credit union if you have one. They do something called a child benefit loan. I think it's £500 the repayments are very low, you repay with your child benefit, hence the name. Very helpful if you're struggling x)