Can’t afford to carpet my council house

[Florafloral]

I have recently moved into a council house with my 5 year old after being made homeless. It’s a new build so All rooms are painted which I’m grateful for but I can’t afford to carpet it. It’s concrete flooring throughout which is impossible to keep clean, is very powdery and dusty. It’s making our clothes and furniture dusty too. I applied for a grant for flooring with the council but was turned down because my DD isn’t under 3 and we have no health conditions. Does anyone have any tips or how I can try and get cheap flooring. I’ve been quoted over £2000 for the whole house. It just seems impossible

Where I live, the social housing authority doesn't just remove flooring between tenants, but every fixture and fitting, bar kitchen cupboards. Blinds, curtain rails, shelves, towel rails, even the toilet roll holder...it's so bizarre and means the next tenant ends up with a massive outlay when they can least afford it. Guessing it must be 'health and safety' (they don't want to be liable for someone hurting themselves on a faulty fitting or it falling on their head) but imagine buying a house and the vendor having to strip the place bare by law, people would be well pissed off.

been there myself and this is what i did;
scoured places like Marketplace for rugs they help a bit until you can carpet least you can do lounge by beds etc
sounds basic but I flattened out cardboard boxes and popped them down in places like kitchen they stop it being so cold and dusty when grubby you can dispose of them
if all else fails to stop the dust if nothing else put down old sheets or duvet covers

What a supercilious comment- I'm sure the OP knows she's not the only one, and would "save up" if that were a practical option. 🙄

https://www.instagram.com/alexandremiwren?igsh=NnY1dnIwOWg3N3hu

There's the loveliest young woman on Instagram who has been homeless. Her journey is an inspiration

Brilliant suggestions on charities funds etc.
Post on a local Facebook free page - might seem awkward but you may get offers of help from carpet fittings etc, someone getting rid soon.
Online carpets is the cheapest place I’ve found - cheap vinyl for downstairs £6-7/m2. They offer clearly/klarna but unless your house is enormous could probably do downstairs for £200-300. Vinyls easy to fit yourself also, YouTube, Stanley (ask a neighbour if you don’t have one!) and glue. I really feel for people moving into a home with no flooring - it’s a huge upfront cost. Good luck!

There are companies where you can pay it off your flooring weekly. Have a Google.

I love Alex, I think she’s great. I regularly support her small business. However, I don’t think her situation is realistic in the sense of she had a lot saved up, was able to buy things over time prior to moving and her carpets/flooring were expensive.

She’s done a fab job of her home but I don’t think it’s realistic for this lady to achieve the same when she’s mentioned she’s struggling.

Yep the op has been given countless suggestions yet seems to only want the grant! Funny that. She said it's going to cost "2k" when no actually it wouldn't especially not doing one room at a time with cheap carpet, I've carpeted my house and it was nowhere near 2k so she obviously isn't aware she could save up and do one room at a time! The only solutions seem to be grant or spend 2k!

This is absolutely crazy and those working in, or looking for a home, in social housing should campaign against it. Quite apart from the inconvenience to incoming tenants, what about the enviornmental cost?

Obviously there will be properties where what's there is unusable, dangerous or unhygienic and it should go. But not as a blanket policy!

Tenants in private rents and buyers don't have to face this bare shell option if they don't want to. This actually makes me mad.

A friend of mine got decent sized offcuts from the bins of the local carpet shop!

Put a post on FB. Many people buy new carpet and dump perfect carpet just because it's the wrong colour. I'm sure many would be happy to donate.

Get Yr measurements, take to any carpet shop, ask if they yave anything to fit a room cheap. Many have large pieces left from commercial jobs or carpets they buy in bulk which they know will sell well and are cheaper. Whereabouts r u? Grab some carpets even if u got for underlay and fitting later. Gd luck

Get Yr measurements, take to any carpet shop, ask if they yave anything to fit a room cheap. Many have large pieces left from commercial jobs or carpets they buy in bulk which they know will sell well and are cheaper. Whereabouts r u? Grab some carpets even if u got for underlay and fitting later. Gd luck

Have you tried a charity like Trussel Trust?My local food bank put me in contact with a group who bought by daughter a new bed frame...

Was it a budgeting loan you applied for? If not, perhaps try that.

Good luck

It's not ideal, and OP has already been given lots of helpful advise on how to get some flooring more cheaply. Not everyone in a council property is on a low wage; would you suggest that the council should provide flooring for everyone, and be responsible for it for ever?