What would you do? (Housing situation)

[bestcatlife]

I find myself in the fortunate position to have been offered 2 council/HA properties (one officially, one not official yet but hopeful) I'm in the North where availability of social housing is a bit higher than in the south but still very hard to get. I need help deciding which flat to take

1. The offer isn't official yet and I find out this week so I guess I'm hypothesising at this stage. It's a 1 bed (I'm single, no children) with the council, very low rent. The area is nice, the flat is down the road and I've lived in the area for a number of years now. However when the lady called me she said there had been a problem with anti social behaviour at the flats and I could bypass the offer if I want, I have MH struggles which was perhaps why it was mentioned.. they don't want to put vulnerable people in these situations. I walk past often and I've never seen anything but looking on the Police website there are at least 8 call outs a month, for drug offences, burglary and violence. There has been an ongoing DV situation with some residents and a person was stabbed. I think I'd be too scared to live there and if I moved in I probably wouldn't go out for fear of being burgled or encountering these people.

1. HA flat on right move. I was offered due to being the 1st to apply. It's a 2 bed, which is only a worry if I lose my job - I'd be liable for bedroom tax which would struggle to afford. It's in a rural area, mostly crime free. It's charged at market rent which is at the top of my budget. I can still afford it however it goes up yearly in line with inflation. I work hybrid and can still afford to get to work but if I ever lost my job I'd struggle to find another one due to the area, and the cost of train fares to get to the nearest city. My job is quite secure so maybe I'm worrying too much. I try to consider the worst case scenario.

Which one would you choose? I could decline both but I think that would be silly, these opportunities don't come up often and I need to leave my current situation.

Bump.

I would go for the second option, nothing is worse than bad neighbours and constant anti social behaviour.
If you had issue with affording the flat later you could probably do a swap.

I'd probably go with the second option too. I appreciate there's the affordability aspect but I don't think I could handle the potential anti social neighbours in the first option.

Go for the second one and you could consider a lodger to help with affordability. Peaceful area is much more important in your circs id suggest.

If you go for the two bed, are you allowed to get a lodger? (Not sure what the rules are with HA properties)

I'd take the second. I'm in the North and work with vulnerable people who get placed in some pretty bad areas where they don't feel safe but the housing authority have said it is an acceptable place for them. It must be very bad at option 1 if you are being pre-warned by housing. Feeling safe in your home is really important, if you don't feel safe it could have a really bad impact on your mental health and your work, not to mention the physical risks to you and your property.

Definitely not the first.

Is there any possibility a third would come up? I know you've said you need to leave where you are now.

I would only consider the second. That second bedroom could be lovely for you either as a den, an office or for guests. It could be all three with a desk, filing, small couch that is a pull out.

I've never lived in social housing but I'd never consider a place like number 1 unless it was that or homelessness.

Check if you could get a lodger for the second bedroom in the event of a job loss. Do you have small savings that would tie you over for 3 months if you had no income? After moving I'd work hard (even if slow) on having a good 3-6 month emergency fund that covered bills for that period of time. Slow and steady.

Good luck!

How long have you been in your job? Do you get perks like sick pay to ensure you could afford your bills if you became unwell?

The second option sounds much more appealing, living in an unstable area is awful. Aslong as it doesn’t put you in ‘likely’ financial hardship. If your job is stable, then I’d say go for that one.

8 police call outs a month is a lot, and I’d be worrying about behaviours that impact others but don’t quite merit police involvement meaning the level of anti-social behaviour is much higher than reflected in police records. I’d go for option 2.

I wouldn't go for option 1, anti social neighbours could make your life a misery.

My job is secure and I've been there 7 years. I get sick pay. There has been talk of AI being implemented and my job could easily be done by AI. But I think if that happened I'd be moved to a different role, or I'd get around a months pay per year worked as redundancy.

The council said I could carry on bidding if I decline the offer (of flat 1) because of the anti social behaviour. It won't affect my position and I won't be kicked off the list for declining.

2nd option or wait for another option.

I think in your position of having no dependents, I would work some extra hours evening or weekend (ideally doing something enjoyable, low stress) to gradually build up some savings.
It's difficult living in a situation where if anything went wrong you don't have much aside to fall back on. So I'd work as much as possible in addition to the normal job, to build myself some security and also have the side job incase anything should happen. As a safety net.

I'd go for the second option, if you find yourself in a position where you need to downsize could you put in for an exchange?

In that case I might consider continuing to bid. It's not often you get that chance. In many places you can't turn a place down so if you have that option I might be tempted to use it to avoid HA and stay with council.

Option 2 if it won’t be too isolated for you. If you did lose your job you’d get housing benefits wouldn’t you?

@MatildaTheCat yes I would, but because of the extra bedroom housing benefit wouldn't cover all the rent.

Do not under any circumstance accept flat 1.

You may never witness any of the awful things you mention but believe me, you will hear it. 24 hours a day. Anti-social people do not live like other people - there's no quiet time, there are no off limit times for music/shouting/violence. Try getting up for work everyday after being kept awake all night. Try working from home with your neighbours music blaring or them screaming and shouting.

I've lived it and just reading your post gave me chills.

Good luck with your move - choose somewhere safe at any cost x

I have lived in a HA flat for over ten years. Due to circumstances I have not been able to afford to leave until things changed for me very recently. Please, take it from me, living in amongst other flats where there is a large amount of anti social behaviour, drugs and violence, truly takes a huge toll on mental health.

Second option. If stuff happens, cross that bridge when you come to it.

I think it you experience MH issues already but still managed to work that is good. If you took the first property it would most likely impact your MH a lot. That may mean you couldn't work. I think the second option sounds lovely. I'd take that and as a previous poster said work hard on building up a little nest egg to tide you over in an emergency. Aim for 3 months rent.

I agree @caringcarer I don't think my MH could take dealing with the environment in the council property. I also wfh and not sure I could do this, if there was a lot of noise and disturbances. Ok, I'm ruling out Flat 1.
I've got a few days to think about flat 2 but my gut says take it and continue to build savings.

I would go with number two, in the past my family were moved due to antisocial behaviour which culminated with threats to our family who were just trying to live a normal life. It was also impacting our child's sleep. They moved us because to get the perpetrators out was a longer, harder process than just moving us. It is not worth the stress especially if you already struggle with your mental health.

Option 2, I think they were gently trying to tell you option 1 would be a nightmare.

It sounds like you’re in a sound financial position. I’d take option flat 2 and enjoy the space!