One bed flat

[lollypops321]

Hi. I'm hoping someone will have the answer.

Me, my partner and baby are currently on the council housing list band C and have been on it and bidding for 16 months. We are eligible for a 2 bed flat but seem to be going backwards.

We managed to come top 10 a few times in May but since then are coming top 50 again.

We are becoming really desperate for somewhere as where we live is becoming more and more unsuitable the older our baby gets.

I have emailed the council requesting to bid on one beds as we feel it will be plenty of space for the three of us (not planning on any more for a few years). I was advised they can take a while to reply so was hoping if anyone knows whether this is even allowed.

I know that they like to place people in 2 beds once they have children, but every week I see 1 beds that have been let with only 5-10 bids so I know we would get somewhere within a few weeks and like I say, were desperate!

TIA

It probably depends on your council - but ours refused to allow bidding on 2 bedrooms to my mum, myself and my brother on the basis that we weren't allowed to share a room.
We almost ended up homeless as barely any 3-beds came up so attracted loads of bids, our landlord evicted us to sell, and we ended up privately renting a 2-bed anyway...

Oh no. I'm glad you got somewhere, even if it is private. That's not an option for us as one beds start at £1000 so all our money would go on rent and bills.

It's annoying that they wouldn't let you bid on 2 beds. Surely if your happy to share then it shouldn't be a problem.

We have so many vacant one beds near us and I would love one of them! Just keeping my fingers crossed that they will let us

It was 15 years ago, but certainly worth asking your council - they may be more flexible now (although knowing how bureaucratic local councils can be I wouldn't be surprised if they still stuck rigidly to the rules).
We couldn't afford it really - we came so close to being homeless, luckily my mum found a landlord who would offer a good discount if we paid a year in one go, so she took out a loan, then paid the loan back each month.

I've emailed so now just hoping.

That's a good idea, mums always find a way!