Living in deprived/rough estate

[chloe9076]

Experiences? I've been offered a council property in a deprived/rough estate and have no option but to take it. Feeling quite nervous. 2 young DC. If anyone has been in a similar situation, would love to hear from you. Cheers, Chlo

Can you get a private rental somewhere nicer? Even if not where you particularly want to be?

Hi Janedoe, after trying that route for over 1yr unsuccessfully, I would say the answer is sadly no :-(

Very hard to find a landlord who accepts housing benefit 😕

That’s a shame. I work in a deprived estate. It isn’t all bad. Get involved in an community activities if you can- helps to meet nice people.

I lived in a rough estate many years ago when I first had my dc. The people there were some of the best neighbours I've ever had and the community spirit was fantastic! Don't judge a book by its cover.

I grew up, and still have family, in a notoriously rough estate. It was recently in the news for riots.

People in deprived areas do quite literally have harder lives. But they are not bad people, they are not unkind because they are poor. There might be some wrong sorts but generally speaking, there is a strong sense of community in more deprived areas, they’ll help you with the school run without thinking twice, check in on their elderly neighbour who doesn’t have anyone else etc. They know their neighbours names.

I live in a much more ethnically diverse area now, have done for years. Lots of immigrants, different cultures/religions and a real mix of working/middle class within that. I’ve found that having money speaks far more quietly than being a part of the community does.

If you go into this open minded and non-judgmental (at least not openly), you and your children will be fine.

I’m currently bidding for a two bedroom council flat for the kids and I. All flats are in rough areas and I know we’ll all be fine.

I’ve grown up in South London so this is the norm to me. It depends on where you’re moving from and how much you anticipate that it’ll be a big change for you. I’m sure everything will work out.

Just a fyi to the pp. Those that are relying on the bidding system to get a council property usually aren’t in a position to private rent. There’s a deposit to pay, high amount of rents and most LLs do not take people on UC. It’s not as easy as you think to get a private property

@Janedoe82 sorry last paragraph was to you^

We private own in a mainly social housing estate with a rough reputation in a deprived area. been here 20 years. The term ‘they don’t shit in their own back yard’ is true.

It’s usually the same couple of families cause all the trouble (between them ie arguments in the street, some late night parties etc) get evicted, new ones move in, same happens. We’ve had the same troublesome few properties over the years, many many different families. We generally just stay out of their way and ensure we report everything to the council. Us and our property have never had any problems.

Mostly though, our neighbours have been here for decades like us and are lovely. Things like dog shit and litter and people having no pride in where they live really really irritate me, but they aren’t the sort of things that you’d worry about re safety.

We lived in what was supposed to be one of the roughest areas of a big city. My kids certainly knew some who were trouble, and there was a local problem with drugs, but as long as you weren’t doing drugs, no-one bothered us. It was noisy at night with youngsters racing stolen cars in the roads not far from the house, but a couple of brutal speed bumps put an end to that. On the plus side, it was a close-knit community where people looked out for one another, it was a very cheap area, both for housing and shopping, the schools bent over backwards to give the kids the best possible education, and it was wonderfully multi-cultural. I loved it, and was sorry to have to move when I got a new job.

I know it isn’t easy at all to get a private rent- just think sometimes people can fixate on an area because they either grew up there or know people there but it isn’t always the best option and sometimes moving a few miles away is the better option.

It doesn't sound like you have an option really, it can't be any worse than being homeless so I would definitely go into it with an open mind. I've worker in the community before & found 'rough' council estates to be the place where I was always made welcome, offered a drink & I found most of the people to be very warm & friendly. I think it can be overwhelming moving to these areas if you don't know anyone, you can be marked as an outsider, but in my experience the neighbours all look out for eachother. I suppose it all depends on you as a person too, I've been to estates that are apparently a 'no go' area & was totally fine. I get along with most people though & meet people where they're at so they don't feel judged. I hope the move goes smoothly & you're settled in soon.

It depends where it is really. I lived on a deprived council estate with my ds in a 2 bed flat in Central London. It had a reputation for gangs and all our neighbours had some issues in their lives, eg dependency, DV, MH problems etc. But overall I feel lucky to have had the chance to live there. It was in an amazing location 8 mins walk to a zone 1 tube station, and I didnt spend much time there, we would go out visiting places in London all the time and do our shopping and after school activities elsewhere. Our neighbours were fine but we kept ourselves to ourselves as I'm quite introverted. I never felt unsafe there though, and the council were excellent at maintaining the flat (new windows and door, bathroom and kitchen fitted). The most difficult thing was the local schools were not great and I couldn't travel too far to a better school as the good ones were oversubscribed. At secondary level there were other options though like grammars. I own the flat now and rent it out but live elsewhere in London.

Lived on a rough estate before moving to our current house. I still miss my immediate neighbours, but not the family at the end of the street who would have loud parties.
It is luck like anywhere else. You might get great neighbours. Good luck.

Private rents that take housing benefit are hard to get and are often in worse streets than council estates. Because when council tenants get evicted for anti social behaviour, they end up in these private let's.
The idea private is better is not true at the cheaper end of the market.

I think it depends very much on the estate.

Many years ago I had to use social housing for a couple of years & was offered somewhere in an area that had the reputation of being incredibly rough, people said a murder had happened there, it was incredibly deprived etc...

It was silent at night, you might get an end of school term party that was quiet before midnight from time to time, but that was it.
The teenaged boys moved out of the way without making any comments if you walked down the pavement, the streets were a bit run down (as in could have done with a fresh coat of paint on things) but they were clean, never saw a police car in years, never burgled.
I left my front door open once with the key hanging in the lock & it was removed, door closed & popped through my letterbox (neighbour came to check was I okay after doing that), parcels left leaning against my front door were still there when I got home hours later, or taken in by neighbours.

It wasn't perfect, but it wasn't even slightly worrying to live there.
Some kids set fire to a bush one time & their parents had a right go at them, so that never happened again.

People were poor, but mostly decent, regular people just minding their own business & getting on with their own lives.
Turned out the murder had been a couple of decades before but the reputation had stuck.

They didn't have posh accents or expensive cars, they didn't take cruises every year or go on 5 star holidays, but they were nicer neighbours than my previously much 'posher' area ever had.

There are a few places in the UK I wouldn't move for any money, but the one I lived on for a few years was meant to be in one of the most deprived areas in the country.
Move with an open mind, you might be surprised.

Concentrate on the positives, getting a council house is a golden ticket to many, a decent landlord, a reasonable rent etc. Although there may well be some slightly dubious neighbours you will hopefully be lucky with your immediate ones. Be careful whom you and your children become friendly with, and look after your family and home as best as you can. I hope things go well for you all.

To give some perspective- I don’t live in a council estate, but a posh development. Many people here private rent, and it is expensive (think £2000 per month for a one bed flat).
we have anti social behaviour (parties and drugs), I am sure there is a drug dealer living at the end of the road (very expensive cars turn up throughout the day, stay for 10 mins and leave), a lot of phone muggings nearer the station… great community spirit though!
as with everywhere… be aware of your surroundings, don’t take risks, and lock your front door. You will be fine.

We privately owned a flat in a council estate south London, rarely antisocial behaviour, there was quite a lot of mess / fly tipping sometimes but usually got cleared up. Get to know other people locally through community events etc

Keep yourself to yourself (I would say this even in a lovely estate) and keep your kids off the streets if there is alot of crime.

I grew up in a council estate and had the best childhood, surrounded by cousins and friends, we all looked out for eachother and everyone knew everyone. But that was a different time, it's a much scarier world now. Drugs would be my main concern as I see alot of the damage it brings and while drugs are in every walk of life, sadly council estates and poverty usually goes hand in hand with drug use/addiction/house breaking etc. Make sure you have good security in place and always lock doors/windows - but again that's the same in any area.

You now have a council house and in the future if it doesn't work out (it may end up being much nicer than you predict) you can always swap - you do find alpt of people want close to family members and so a home swap is always possible in the future. But never choose a private landlord over a council property - this could potentially be your forever home. Private let's come with no security and on my experience never really feel like 'yours'

I’ve lived on a rough council estate. There were some lovely people, but also horrible families. My advice, is to keep your head down and not get too friendly with anyone. I know that might sound counterintuitive, but our worst time was when an ex-offender who moved In across the road tried to latch on to dh. The positive is that council housing tends to be spacious and often have good size gardens. Focus on making your house as nice as possible and you’ll be grand.

We were rehomed by the council last year after being served a Section 21.

We are in a well known "rough" area.

But we have dropped on lucky. We are in a corner plot backing onto nice gardens.

There is no traffic going past and I know all the neighbours names yet only been here 8 months.

I've had stuff left outside. Nothing ever taken.

There's a house at the end that like their motorbikes and they go up and down no and again.

We have kids playing football.

But after 9pm there's just no noise at all.

It's soooo much quieter and safer than the private rent we were in.

I grew up on a council estate though so maybe I'm not as apprehensive.

You will be fine OP.

Got to be better than being homeless or in a b&b.

This place was filthy too and bare floors but I'm getting there. Feels like home now.

Good Luck

We bought our house in a deprived area 13 years ago, it was cheap and big for the price. I love the area, yes there are a few people who are a bit rough and ready, can be noisy here and there but because it's a deprived area it's a focus for funding. We have lovely parks (occasional burnt out car but that happens at night and gets moved quickly) within a stones throw, the schools are all at least Good rated and run lots of free and low price programmes, for example breakfast club is free and they regularly run parent programmes in first aid and suchlike. We have 3 libraries within walking distance that run free children's activities and the big supermarkets run free buses twice a week so that residents can get to them.

People on the street help each other out, during Covid we had an active support network helping the older folks and people who couldn't get out and about, 1 lady bought round Easter eggs door to door for all the kids, everyone decks out the houses for Halloween and Xmas so the kids can have fun, there's a family round the corner that set up a bouncy castle on the front garden every weekend during the summer than any kid can use, my DD has several friends on the street and we all have open doors at the weekend so the kids run in and out of each others houses/gardens.

It's just a really nice, laid back community feeling.

It's your home and it's what you make it . Just keep your head down , don't get involved in gossip and steer clear of trouble makers .

I grew up in a tough estate and basically 75% of the people there are decent hardworking people. It's the 25% who let it down . They are no different to people who live on a private estate , trust me the same things go behind their doors and curtains. Its just top show . the people who originally came from tough estates populated the new private estates .

You can get neighbour's from hell anywhere. Good luck O:P .

When I got my HA place, I didn’t care about the area i was more having a roof over our heads.
My tenancy is secure and it turns out there’s an ofsted outstanding rated primary school round the corner.
transport links are good and my rent is way cheaper than private would ever be.

Home is what you make it 🙂