How long to get council house?

[kvtie]

So i’m in the north east and I’m on band B, I have been on there since the end of November. I’m bidding atm and I’m usually coming around 10th for properties. I’m just wondering how long other people waited?

First time round we went on the list November 2014 and housed July 2015. Second time round went on the list May 2021 and housed August 2021. Was gold band second time round. In a high demand area.

Depends on tenancy, I have a lifelong tenancy so my HA can't do that. Fixed term tenancies they can.

Here it's mostly people relinquishing properties.

Because if he earns £50k he can afford private rent like many others have to

council houses - I thought - are meant to be for those who struggle with paying private rent as on a low income and have young children

as the children grow up and leave they should downsize so another family has a chance for a low rent family home

onv this can only be done if there are one and two bed places

they need to build many more smaller places

Is what fair?

a council house round these parts is a home for life ( if you want it to be) .... why should you have to downsize? And leave your home ...your garden that you have tended and your neighbours....thats bollocks...certainly doesn't happen here....my DD had just moved into her own home ( she was going to buy her housing asdocaiation prpoerty) but decided against.... she and her partner were paying £320 for a 2 bed house with garden on a newish private estate ( built 2015) ....she and her partner had been there 5 years and were earning 70k between them....her children were settled there....lovely community and school....why should she have to move? Council Houses are there for anyone....my DD was band A when she applied....however would be only a band D if she were applying now....but still eligible to apply....same as anyone else .....I just thought all LAs were the same as mine...but perhaps not after reading these posts

Yes...where I live....you get a probationary 12 month tenancy.....after that you have a life tenancy for anyone and everyone named on the tenancy

Why wouldn't everyone want that though? Why privately rent? Should limited stock should go to those in greater need surely?

But many people aren't the 'greater need' category when they get their council house ( which was why my DD was band A and my nephew and 2 of my nieces band B)......then they've spent a few years making the house a home....put down flooring throughout ( council houses come with no flooring...the council ensures its all ripped up before a tenant moves in)....
They have lovingly decorated every room....spend money on the garden....so they definitely shouldn't be turfed out .....that is very wrong

I got my council house 3 years ago, it was due to overcrowding. We moved areas for a job and when we moved back when we left the job we no longer had any "connections" to the area. My council run an "available now" section, they are all flats, most high rise, some smaller. The section ow for everyone, anywhere. Some of the high rise flats were 2 or 3 bedrooms.
We took a little 1 bedroom in a smaller building. A few weeks later we found out I was pregnant. Stayed there for a few years and then applied to the council, we'd have made do the flat but went on the list.
I won a property on my 2nd cycle of bidding. Other family members in the Borough (DHs side) who were lower down the list had similar waits.
But, my family live in the Borough next to the one we live in, and the wait is years! If there's no immediate need it'll never happen.
The differences between the housing stock between the 2 is massive. We even have a postcode of my family's Borough, that's how close we are.
We was told estimated wait times of a year or 2. So getting a property so fast was shocking.
I am forever grateful and appreciate it every single day after privately renting in substandard flats for years.
Basically, it's how long is a piece of string, narrowing it down to "the midlands" doesn't help, because they all have different stock, different wait times, different priorities and different bands.
Only time will tell, good luck.

Hi I posted abit ago I have been moved to band b and accepted as full statutory homeless on the 4/4/22 I have been bidding and at midnight Sunday just gone I have come number 11 out of 51 on one new build and 12 out of 45 on another, I was just wondering if I am nearer to getting a property soon? And also if being band b as full statutory homeless band they go off the date you have been in that band for allocating houses? Some advice would be really helpful also I’m in temporary accommodation through Salford council I’m in the north west!!! Is anyone in band B in the north west who can tell me anything about this? Thankyou xx

Took my DD and her DH and DD 10 years! She lives in South West London.

@Jlos depends on house size did your housing officers not tell you what the approx wait will be for your family size?….
we don’t bid here, you’re put on a list and then allocated speaking when you went on it. 4 years ago I went on it, still in temp so who knows how long it will be, I was very optimistic initially but 4 years on I’m pretty fed up. I hope things will be better for you, but I do advise speaking to your housing officer re timings and how things work. Saves disappointment and confusion.

I waited just over 3 years. Put in completely the wrong band (lowest, despite living somewhere unsuitable) and only got somewhere after constantly complaining that the reason for moving was because it wasn't suitable. They finally offered me somewhere to live and it was quick after they received a complaint, saying the same hing it had been for the last 3 years.

Just an update. A week after posting I was offered an adapted 2 bedroom house. It took almost two months to be ready and we finally moved in last month. So this time around I was eligible to bid November 2021, offered house April 2022 and moved in July 2022

Aw great news 🥰send some housemoving dust my way
5 bloody years in feb for us totally fed up but really happy for you and enjoy your new home 🏠

My son and his family got a brand new housing association 2 bed semi after just a few weeks, previously in private rented, they are both working so can afford a reasonable rent, that seems to make a big difference.
Other regions will be different, but the ability to pay rent puts you higher on the list.
Housing associations have to balance the books.

Yeah that's pretty shitty of her to be honest. She got a house cheaper and has taken it from people who actually needed it. She clearly didn't if she could afford to buy it. Should have bought something else even if that meant saving a bit longer.

I can only say what one HA do in NE but it's a fixed sum (last time I heard 12k) discount and theres a limit , say 5 each year across the entire housing stock of that HA. I think the criteria was in order of application, so if 5 houses can have the right and you applied first you get the right to acquire, if you were sixth to apply, tough luck, try again next year.

Just to say, theres a fair bit of council housing being built near me, and I believe it's making a difference . Theres quite a lot of one beds and slowly those who have lived 40 years in a 3 bed are seeing the benefits of moving to a smaller place and freeing up bigger houses for more families.

thats bollocks….the house was available to buying with a good discount as she had been a tenant for 3 years…..that’s the system round here ….that’s how it works..,.she’s got 2 little girls to raise and she doing her best by them….if theatres a chance of a leg up the ladder, you take it…..why the fuck would she spend a couple of years saving more money when the next person to take the house would likely have done the same…,,blame the system….you sound jealous and bitter

Still waiting but coming 3rd and 2nd now on 3 beds so hopefully will be soon 🙏

He should have to move because there are families in b and b's. It would be lovely if anyone could have one, but we cannot afford that. It should be a safety net. I would absolutely take back that house and house someone struggling.

Nah 🙄

Your attitude is why lots of people resent subsidising council housing.

North East hell hole Council 2 bedroom small house! I Put in for North Yorkshire council House and got a rural 3 bed house with big garden within 6 months.. Its lovely and I will stay here for the rest of my life! I now grow veg and have chickens.. I can't believe my luck! 3 kids and me (also a rescue dog and a cat) I would never in a millions years you be able to buy a house like this)

..

There seems to be a lot of unfairness, not to mention jiggery pokery.

I had a work colleague who had had a (nice) council flat since her teens. She said her mother had written to the council that her boyfriend was a threat to her dd. The colleague said many of her friends had used the same ruse. Worse still she was subletting her flat and was back with her mum.

I know someone who has just got a council house in a desirable village. I am at a loss to know how they qualified as she was living at her very large and comfortable home (including tennis court!) with her parents.

i don’t agree with being able to buy a council house - and certainly not after only three years - but you should not be ousted if you improve your circumstances. That’s a sure fire way to discourage people from working or maintaining their home or bothering about their community.