Is this normal??

[MegaPhone]

I went to view a house with my friend. She has been on the council waiting list for over a year and has been offered this house in a not too good area but if she turns it down she has no chance of another iyswim?

Well when we unlocked the door and went in, a young boy of around 5 or 6 was stood at the front gate watching. We went in to the living room and next thing we know he's stood behind us in the hallway saying "are you moving in?" We told him he shouldn't just walk into houses that were not his and he just stood there and looked really confused and then said "why? I'm not nicking owt".

We couldn't get rid of him. He was filthy and quite rude. Then when we went to look around the back garden, a couple of boys (aged around 9 or 10) were hanging over the back fence just staring at us! When they eventually left I heard one of them say "do you want a cig?" to his friend and none of them looked older than 10.

I'm NOT a snob but is this kind of thing actually normal in these areas? I feel so sorry for my friend, she was excited about getting the house and now she's dreading moving in.

Why on earth are the parents allowed to just let their kids go feral like this?? isn't it classed as neglect? Being short of money is no excuse for letting your kids end up like that surely?

Nighbynight - depends on the estate
On a country estate - yes, but this was 70's Bradford high density housing. Not so much farming cows as farming people. I'm sure I remember a sheep in our back garden when I was about 4.

Totally off topic point sorry. Just got me thinking of childhood days

I don't think you get 3 offers anymore.

If you turn down a property without good reason then you are taken off the list.

I ws offered a 3 bed masionette and turned it down because dd2 is asthmatic and the place only had one gas fire to heat the whole thing.
I was thrown off the list as my reasons weren't deemed good enough to warrant me turning it down.

Tbh your description of it sounds typical of alot of council estates. Where I live can be a little bit like that although not as bad, but I have found that if you keep yourself to yourself and don't get drawn in to things like buying from kids flogging stolen stuff on the doorstep then it is fine.

It is interesting that some people could not believe the (very mild) OP is not for real. It just shows how wildly different lives can be, depending on where you live.

Unfortunately there are children living like this not far form us all. It si not funny, I hope OP is not a troll.

Agree DoubleBluff. Never far away in the small town I live in. But it would be just embarrasing for the OP if it is a troll rather than anything else.

My worry for the Op friend is getting offered something like a flat 30 storeys up and a broken lift, or something equally horrid if turns down the house. Awful to be powerless like that, and reliant on a 'system'.

Normally, refusing an offer of tenancy will not affect your application. However, it may be a long time before you are offered another property, so make sure you are certain before you turn down a property.
The situation is different for homeless people. If the Council has a duty to find housing for you, we wil only have a duty to make you one reasonable offer of housing. If you refuse this, you will have to find your own accommodation.
If the Council has not yet carried out a homelessness assessment on your situation and you refuse an offer of tenancy, this may affect what help you are entitled to

I bought an ex council house in a small estate which is in a nice area.

When we arrived with the moving van there was a little boy in the house with the people who were moving out. I assumed he was their son. They got in their car and drove off leaving the boy in what was now my home.

I chatted to him and suggested maybe it was time for him to go home to his mum as this was my house now. He climbed into the moving van and was in and out of the house all afternoon, at one point he wet his pants but still didn;t go home.

I've lived here for over a year now and kids are out on the street all day unsupervised, kids from age 3 up, no coats out after dark.

The wee boy who was in my house lives a few doors down and is always knocking on doors asking for biscuits or if he can come in to play. My DS is three and I am not keen for him to hang out with the other kids round here.

So that sounds just like where I live. My house is fine and it is what I can afford, I;d rather live in a nicer area but that's life. I am just polite to the local kids but tell them to get out of my garden and to leave my son's toys alone. They have no idea about personal property. Ds and I will be watching TV and look up and two of them have their noses pressed against our front window (ie have jumped over our fence and are in our garden) and frequently climb over my 2 meter back fence to get into the back garden.

Not ideal but could be worse I guess.

If your friend wants the house I would say she should take it and just see how she gets on, the next one could be worse!

Upwind, it's got nowt to do with the description of the area, it was the statement on the end making a correlation between money and rudeness/ unkemptness that made me think .

Slackrunner - but there is a correlation, if not causation

Like it or not, feral children with no boundaries are a feature of some council estates where most of the residents rely on welfare. Political correctness might mean pretending the problem (if it is one) does not really exist, but that just means it cannot be addressed.

Neglected kids in more expensive areas do not behave like this IME, though they may be neglected all the same - in fact, they may be worse off in their isolation.

OK - fair point upwind, taken on board. However, I don't think it's fair to assume that because we suspected someone of trolling that we have no personal experience of such areas.

I was living in an old 2 bed house iwth very steep stairs and needed a large 2 bed flat with a dining room (to convert into a bedroom) or house that could be converted, as Ds1 has cerebral palsy and was pregnant with Dd1. The council (in their wisdom) offered me a tiny 2 bed flat, the second bedroom was so small you couldn't even swing a cat in it. I refused it. I was lucky not to be bumped to the bottom.