To refuse a council property

[Violetroseyjane]

My children & I have been in temporary accommodation moved around alot for 3 years. I have to bid weekly on properties that become available through the council.
I bid on a property in a town 3 miles from me , the town itself its absolutely lovely.
So I realise I was number 1 out of 128 people, got excited drove to the address , however the council doesnt not provide a house number etc so I walked around trying to find an empty property.
There it was in all its glory an absolute s**t hole 😭 there is no garden as it is completely and utterly overgrown and I mean like a forest, both front and back.
I looked through the windows and from what I can see it has been treated like some kind of drug den, dirty mattresses and rubbish on the floor, two of the windows are boarded up with planks of wood. It's a very old council property too. The pathways leading up to the front and back doors covered in junk and rubbish , food containers, boxes, old toys , one of the small windows has been left open and u can smell the stench off wee as you get close coming from the house!
So the thing is I dont expect a property to be perfect in the slightest, howeve rthe amount if work needed to get this property up to standard would cost an absolute fortune.
I am a single parent & I an constantly skint now ! I work as much as I possibly can with little help with childcare etc.
How would I ever get this property decent enough to live in?
If I refuse this house I may get thrown off the list , atleast I will be told I cannot bid on a property for over a year and we are sick of being in temporary.
I'm in a pickle really.
I have not one person to help me with the garden.
What exactly will the council do to this property before we move in? Does anyone know? Obviously they must have to replace the windows, but a friend of mine has just said to me that is all they will have to do & clear some rubbish, they wont do the garden or anything and that will all be left to me.
Any advice over what to do in this situation please?

You need to ask the council, not just some randoms on Mumsnet. I would take it, must be better than temporary surely?

Will it not be refurbished before being tenanted? Or maybe it was not that one being offered?

The council will remove all the rubbish and the house should be in reasonable order when you move in. You will have to tackle the garden yourself though.

When Council houses become available where I live, they are stripped out, kitchen, bathroom, internal and external doors, windows. All new are fitted before anyone moves in. You should contact the Council and ask what work they are going to do.

Before you move in, the council normally go in and strip out all contents (even carpets and lampshades) from a property, get in the garden with a strimmer/mower and a skip if needed so most of that stuff should be gone before you move in.

If you refuse it after you bid on it, you may find you are downgraded on the waiting list.

YABU - it will be as clear inside as any other council property. The garden is SO not a reason to turn down a council property! You can pay someone to clear it eventually or get some shears and a green bin and do it yourself. It will be hard work but doable.

If it is in a nice place I would take it. As PP have said the council will go in and strip it all out before you move in.

As above, they will sort it before you move in. Don't refuse it, accept and move in when they tell you it's ready.

I work for the LA and where I am that property will be stripped, interestingly the worse it is the better it is for you as a prospective tenant as the more damage the more they have to replace. Last place in a similar condition that I saw was entirely gutted, new toilet and sink ( previous tenant smashed them. New kitchen and boiler. Various new doors /floorboards/ plastering / painting as they were full of holes. Garden strimmed back to really short and cleared.

They aren’t going to give you keys to a house full of everyone else’s shit. Just keep going it will be fine.

The house will be cleared before you move in and if it's as bad as you say they might hack back the garden too.

Wow what an amazing job! Well done.
So the garden is alot worse than that. I should of explained better. It has over grown so much on both sides of the property that it is up to the windows, not just grass, bushes etc but trees also.
My housing association is Cornwall and I've been told by others they wont touch the garden, just put windows in and clear it.

Take it, they should make it safe and suitable to live in before you move in.

If you find any issues once you move in report them and use the complaints process. If you are really unhappy you can try to swap in due course.

Do not reject this property and risk getting removed from the list, council houses are like gold dust and it will be wonderful security for you and your children.

It was be cleared before you can move in. I wouldn't reject it on its current state

The property has to be fit for purpose.
Around where I live the Housing Officer will go into the property before you get the keys, s/he will make a note of what is needed to be done then will arrange the Council's contractors to do the work. If you are lucky you will be kept up to date with the progress, otherwise you will be notified of the date you can have the keys.

You would be a fool to turn a house down just because the garden is overgrown. The council will make good the inside.

Thank you everyone for your advice , I know deep down theres no way I can turn this property down. I just felt really upset and overwhelmed after seeing it and I wouldnt know where to start!

Livewest ? Westward ?

You would be incredibly foolish to turn down a potentially secure home in a town you describe as 'absolutely lovely' because the garden needs to be cleared.

Loads of people buy houses with overgrown gardens, they take on overgrown allotments.

A house is what you make of it.

A nice post on social media asking for people to help or lend you some gardening equipment so you can tame the jungle, and you can get the property looking really nice.

A little hard physical work isn't much to ask if it means getting your kids a stable home surely?

I understand what you are saying , however it's very well known in my area that the council do the bare minimum inside the property. I've known alot if people move into hurrendous places as we have a massive housing crisis in the area it's a very quick turn around.
I wont be refusing it , I'm just feeling a bit low after seeing it

Council won’t furnish, but they will clear all the rubbish. May even sort the garden of it is that bad

If you can read and watch videos on the internet, you will be fine.

You cut down a bit at a time.

You have the rest of your life to sort the garden.

Live west

Agree it’ll be stripped internally. TBH even if they don’t touch the garden, you can ask if they’ll arrange to remove the garden waste if you have to cut it down yourself. It’s not your waste. It’s theirs.