To wonder how people actually afford to move into council properties

[Niknick]

So, me and my dh have been offered a house with our local council after years of being on the waiting list. We have two son’s youngest of whom is autistic and we have been offered 3 bed meaning we’d all have our own bedroom at last. I haven’t had an official viewing of the house yet ie with the hosing officer but workmen are currently doing some repairs and they allowed me and my dh in the other day to have a quick look round whilst they were sat in the garden on a break.

Anyway i went equipped with my tape measure to measure up for carpeta, blinds and just to get a general idea of how things will fit. I’ve since gone to a cheap carpet place and been quoted £1500. Blinds will cost around £450-£500. Then there are things like decoration, removal costs, buying a new oven as our current one our landlord owns etc. The property isn’t in great condition and having viewed another of the council’s houses years back me and my dh are under no illusion that the council will do anymore than the bare minimum.

So far it needs plaster work doing as the workmen have done a rubbish job. It needs scrubbing beyond recognition, the garden is like a jungle so that will be more cost as we’ll need to pay someone to do it as me and my dh are busy with work and the kids. Plus parts of the fences are smashed and need replacing as it’s not safe with my son. I know it’s the tenants responsibility to do a lot of these jobs but usually, people moving into these properties aren’t well off so AIBU to wonder how do people manage to do all this? We have virtually zero savings due to paying high private rent, so long term moving to this house would be financially a good idea, but short term I’m panicking about where the hell we find the kind of money we are going to need to make this house at least comfortable for us all to live in. Moving to my current house paying a months rent up front plus deposit and referencing check fees is cheaper than what we’ll have to spend to move to the new house so I’m quietly panicking.

If your son is registered autistic then you need to inform the council that the garden needs to be escape proof. They have a duty to make the house appropriate for disabled children. You may need a GP letter in support of it.

Try carpet that sticks right down so you don’t need underlay and grippers etc, it’s usually about half the price (obviously a little
Noisier) but it can do for couple years while you save. Blinds I woukd go b+m I did my whole house for about £120 and they are easy to put up yourself. Cooker try Facebook marketplace for a second hand one for now, shops like
Home bargains and b+m are great for homely bits and bobs. Wickes is good for trade paint in big 5l tubs for you to give everywhere a fresh coat of paint, it will all start to look better then!

@Gancanny

It certainly does. I wish this myth could be put to bed, once and for all

Me too.

All the houses in our street were built in 1955 and have paid for themselves several times over, the rents received pay for the upkeep and any upgrades the council think are needed. They renew kitchens and bathrooms every ten years, last year was new boilers, the year before was new roofs, and the year before that was driveways and external doors.

Regardless of whether a property is rented privately, from a council, or from a housing association the incoming tenants should be taking on a home that is clean, safe, and in a habitable state. This is the bare minimum and it is not entitled or greedy to expect it.

Agree 100% It's only since being on MN that I realise just how much people hate the poor. Most people I know are grateful they have had the means to buy a house. The rest rest privately or rent from the council, but are definitely on the lower rung. It seem that unless you are grateful to sleep on bare concrete floors and scrabble around in a garden full of dirty nappies and needles you are an entitled baggage who doesn't deserve the privilege of a council home..Fuck me. Even Xenia has weighed in and she owned a fucking island! This thread represents pretty much everything I hate about this country. And I just know that every wannabe Lady Bountiful on here would think twice about living on my estate! They wouldn't feel so fucking grateful they'd be fucking scared shitless

What every single other poster has said.
Life isn't like the adverts, people don't all live in beautiful show homes.

I've got a good job and a reasonable income, when I moved in with my ex we had two really good incomes and no kids.
All my curtains were second hand, my oven was free as my boss was throwing out her old one, I do have carpet, but it's probably 20 years old, cheap and lots of dodgy stains.
My fencing also needs repairing.

Sounds grim doesn't it? Well actually I love my home, it's not very big, but I don't think I'll ever get round to decorating it all, and it's home.

It's understandable you want to make it nice, but if you haven't got much money you shouldn't spunk it all on home decoration/getting tradesmen in.
Little by little it will get done.

Christ

Nine years after I first measured and got a quote and I'm still waiting to be able to afford new carpet. No council supports, just a Mum doing it on my own with a mortgage and no free labour or savings to do all the things I want to do. Picked up free window coverings on a freecycle type group. Plaster done this year but needed doing 3/4 years before.

@Niknick sounds like your son is heading to Uni, you may find then you can work more hours and top up the house fund. Even an extra £30 a week can make a big difference to getting house goals met.

I'm somewhat surprised by the information in this thread. I freely admit to knowing zero about council housing but find the contrast between what private landlords have to adhere to in terms of rules vs councils. Having a basic flooring in place in this day and age should surely be an absolute minimum. The fact that someone has said councils rip out flooring and shelving etc in order to avoid being responsible for it in the she of recycle, reduce, reuse is an utter disgrace. Why on earth would the council spend money paying a contractor to get rid of things like that, surely there is some contractual way to allow items to stay for tenants use all the time they are still serviceable but without the responsibility to replace at the end of their life. The property should also be secure so fencing damage should be made good before a tenant moves in - it would be required of a private LL.

The next time I read something about private tenants rights I will use this as an example as the alternative. Having to pay rent from the day you agree to a council house is once again in complete contrast to what would be expected privately. It's really interesting to hear about the other side and makes me think even more that private LL's get a really raw deal in many respects with everything they ate expected to do and provide. No wonder councils sold off all their housing stock, it's far easier to make someone else responsible and jump through hoops they would never jump through themselves.

Good luck OP. If you decide to take the house then I hope you manage to get it liveable even to a very basic standard as cheaply and quickly as possible. I would try and go down the 2nd hand route rather than cheap new front for things where possible. You can often get your money back by reselling things bought second hand once you are in a position to replace with the long term in mind rather than new but cheap which might not even serve you short term and will loose 90% of its value.

Why on earth would the council spend money paying a contractor

It’s in the tenants contract that they sign, they have to remove floor coverings and not leave them behind at the end of their tenancy- if they do they will be billed to have the floor coverings removed

There are no laws in England on any boundary having to have a fence or wall, the boundary can simply be left open. This applies to private housing, social housing and you could just string wire between the property on posts if you so wished

I think you have unrealistic expectations OP. We bought our house six years ago and are well off but there's still work left to do on it! It takes time you just have to make a list and chip away at it gradually. I would prioritise appliances like oven, dishwasher etc over carpets.

I would prioritise appliances like oven, dishwasher etc over carpets.

Seriously. Prioritise dishwasher over carpets?

I'm somewhat surprised by the information in this thread. I freely admit to knowing zero about council housing but find the contrast between what private landlords have to adhere to in terms of rules vs councils. Having a basic flooring in place in this day and age should surely be an absolute minimum. The fact that someone has said councils rip out flooring and shelving etc in order to avoid being responsible for it in the she of recycle, reduce, reuse is an utter disgrace. Why on earth would the council spend money paying a contractor to get rid of things like that, surely there is some contractual way to allow items to stay for tenants use all the time they are still serviceable but without the responsibility to replace at the end of their life. The property should also be secure so fencing damage should be made good before a tenant moves in - it would be required of a private LL.

I think you're comparing apples and pears. You can do lots to a council house that you can't to a private let and the tenancy is secure so it is worth investing if you're able to and can stay there long-term. It is more like getting your own home - which often does not come with flooring, white goods and curtains. The carpet/ shelving is tricky as I agree re: waste and re-use but some flooring is not in a decent state and to leave it in place leaves a job for the next tenant. I guess they'd have to find a way to clarify whether it is fit for purpose or not - and in this reuse and recycle culture, maybe that should. A garden does not need a fence and private LLs do not need to provide one, so I don't think they can be responsible for that though if there are hazards in the garden (used needles in one on this thread) I think they need to remove that.

Look for charity shops, which sell second hand furniture. When DD and bf moved into their rented unfurnished house, they had nothing - they bought their sofa from a charity shop. They seemed to think it was fine (I never saw it).

They renew kitchens and bathrooms every ten years
And this becomes something seen as a due rather than a luxury. I do not know home owner who buy new kitchens and bathrooms every ten years. Our kitchen and one bathroom are 11 years old and nowhere needing to be renewed. The other bathroom is 20 years old and probably needs it now as do our 20 years old carpets. We earn a very good joint income but no way would be consider new kitchen, bathrooms and carpets every 10 years anything else but utter luxury.

They're not luxury kitchens and bathrooms, they're basic ones and because they're basic they don't have the longevity of more expensive products. The tenants pay for these improvements via their rent because, as stated several times, social housing funds itself via the rents collected.

Moving house is very expensive and it’s completely understandable you are worried about affording even the basics.

For flooring would you consider vinyl or carpet tiles? Both much more affordable than fitted carpet. I have a friend who used wood effect vinyl throughout her house, with rugs down and nice decor it looks great. Easy to maintain too and warm underfoot.

Paint is a great way to unify mismatched or shabby furniture, you don’t need to use special (expensive!) furniture paint, ordinary emulsion is perfect - try to get a washable Matt paint. You don’t need to go shabby chic unless that’s your thing.....I never do as I don’t like the look.

Scour free cycle for fencing, oven etc. are there any places near you that sell household goods to people on low incomes? You usually need a referral but great bargains to be had.

Can you write a list of what’s needed then you can go through and prioritize. Good luck, you will get there, and it will be worth it!

My parents started with two armchairs, a bed, a coffee table and a cooker. When I was born they bought a rug and a cot and worked their way up gradually from there as funds permitted.

I started with a mix of mismatched handmedowns (including rugs - no carpet), bargains from second hand shops and a couple of items from MFI.

It is absolutely fine to do this. Children are fine with it.

My next door neighbours camped in one room with a mattress on the floor and a camping stove for quite a while with a toddler and a baby as they took their house back to the earth floors and brick walls and renovated it. I wouldn't want to do that, but the kids have turned out fine!

I dont think OP is coming back...

From personal experience, moved into a HA property nearly 4 years ago things take time. Lucky mine was a new build so not in disrepair at all but the fence panels, plastering and anything else broken will be fixed before you move in, it's the landlords responsibility. I had a few fence panels blow down and break in a storm HA replaced them in the very timely fashion of 48h. Remember you have officially viewed the property because the property is not finished yet. They usually paint all the walls white or cream and you get B&Q vouchers for decorating the house which you can use towards anything they sell.

You're getting treated harshly on here but I'm in full sympathy OP. I think at the very least councils should provide basic floor covering.
Ask if they gave grants/vouchers etc
Talk to local charities to see if they can help out particularly with your son's room.
Also keep an eye out on Facebook marketplace and eBay you can get some brilliant bargains - often almost new.
You'll make it your own and I'm sure will have many happy years there

I don't know any council tenants who have had kitchen and bathrooms renewed every ten years?! I've lived in my house for 21 years and have never been offered any updates from the council. I have replaced the downstairs toilet myself as it was so old and decrepit.

I did have one of my storage heaters replaced because it hadn't worked for months over the winter. They managed to rip some of the wallpaper off the wall surrounding it and pulled up some of my lovely flooring which I had saved hard to buy myself. I nearly cried when I saw it but there is nothing to be achieved by complaining. I have to put up with that and should be "grateful".

I did ask for some of my windows to be replaced as all the double glazing has blown. You cannot see out of some of them at all, they are so full of water and condensation. I was told the council will be reviewing them in ten years.

No way would we consider a new kitchen or bathroom every ten years to be anything but utter luxury

The words utter luxury can never be in the same sentence as council house.

Just wanted to add a few things to clarify.
Most people refer to 'council' housing, but as far as I know Housing Associations (and ours is a massive one) are NOT subsidised at all by any public funds. Ours is, for example a social enterprise and does not received funds from the public purse. Rents are partially ploughed back into the community to fund local services such as care and support for people who are vulnerable and can't do repairs themselves, initiatives to tackle mental health issues, get people into employment etc.

We had two air beds when we moved in, no carpets.

About the dishwasher, before Covid I might not have prioritised that, but in and around a pandemic I definitely would and i do have one. As a single parent with a messy teenager it has saved me on end of worry about hygiene and of course it is very hot water so anything and everything does in there.

I am also aware that if anyone in the family needed to self-isolate it would be important. Open it and everything air dries so no dishclothes necessary.

I have noticed on mumsnet how many people have misconceptions about 'how the other half live'. And stereotypes, we all have, however wanted to say that thing about social enterprises. As far as I know most Housing Associations are either social enterprises, businesses or charities and do not received funds from public purse.

Our council was in a terrible state when we moved in last year. In all honesty I've been extremely lucky that my family have helped me financially and paid for the carpets and flooring and the fence. They also contributed towards the moving costs.
When I viewed the property, I was told i had to move in the following week so I had no time to prepare.
I do claim income support and I got a budgeting loan for the white goods as the ones from my previous place were integrated and not suitable to take.
The walls were in a bad state and my partner (who doesn't live with us) has been repairing them for me. Decorating is something which will take time. The kid's rooms were done first, it's been a year and my room still doesn't even have carpets.
I'm working at the living room at the minute. I desperately need new sofas and some blinds, but will have to make do.
Some carpet places sell them on finance. And I used AO finance for the remaining white goods.

I bought my new build shared ownership property as a single mum, I could only afford to put the flooring in the lounge to begin with. It was a year later I could afford to carpet the stairs hallway and bedrooms and several months after that I could afford to put flooring down on the kitchen floor and downstairs loo. I felt lucky to be getting affordable housing tbh and didn't fret about living in a half finished house for a while.

OP I've read through some of your replies. One of my sons is autistic and has learning disabilities. They did have to move into our house as it was - no flooring, not decorated and with the walls badly damaged. It wasn't ideal but they both survived. Their rooms were the first ones carpeted and decorated.
We didn't get a plasterer in either. Well out of my price range. My partner filled in the walls, sanded them, put lining paper up and then painted them. No it isn't perfect, but it's a lot better than it was!
I do think you need to be a little more realistic, and I say that as someone who initially wanted to have it all done before the kids moved in, but I literally had a week from signing the tenancy to moving in.