How long are council housing waits for growing families?

[99Samblaze]

Hi
We moved to a one bedroom flat in Stockport a year ago. I had my son and now expecting again near Christmas. How long did people wait to get a council house of flat.
We can’t afford a two bedroom flat on the private market so having council house would help a lot.

Thank you

So it's not your income that is the issue with UC. Its no recourse to public funds...? Then you may find access to social housing is also restricted to you, depending on the policy in your area.

What sort of rent can you afford? People could then help advise you on more affordable areas. I get you want to be near your family. I would love to be near mine but sadly that isn’t always possible. If you secure a teaching position you’ll be on quite a good salary. Do you have any savings? Is buying an option?

There seems to be confusion because your posts not really clear.

Is it technical advice you want or social change?

Maybe a bit more information would be good. For example, you say you will be a teacher. That is a key worker in the UK. So this might apply :

EIM21735 - Particular benefits: housing for key workers - overview: eligibility - HMRC internal manual - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

I can’t think of many things easier to justify than handing over money to put a roof over your child’s head.

If age isn’t on your side fertility-wise you’ve had a couple of decades of work to build a career and save and so on. I get you’re annoyed you haven’t done so and can’t have the life you wanted right now but that’s true for most people with young kids, especially if they hadn’t yet achieved financial stability. Big house, garden, great neighbourhood etc……it’s all great but it’s not free. It’s hard to afford.

In your shoes I’d be going back to work as soon as possible to get fully qualified, whilst your husband works around you so he can take care of the kids.

There is no cheap easy route to secure pleasant spacious housing close to good schools.

The more i read the more I think its not real

My friend's sister was in a 2 bed house for 5 kids for 16 years. 3 of them disabled so she was top priority but couldn't get a bigger house. It's only getting worse so I wouldn't hold much hope.

Ignore these horrible comments.
You should gp on your local councils waiting list and upload evidence of your pregnancy asap for proof of being overcrowded.
Gather all evidence that you can to prove you need social housing , eg disabilities , children , mental health being affected ( don’t know what’s relevant to you from this list) .
I would also say going to see your MP who càn write a letter to your local councils waiting list would be hugely beneficial!
Good luck and enjoy your pregnancy x

Aw that’s so sad. Hope she finally gets it.

Who are you replying to ?

This thread is becoming very disjointed and difficult to follow. Remember many people in a similar situation might be reading this for general pointers.

If you are a teacher you really do need to be clear in what you are talking about.

If someone comes here and is sponsored to do so they will have had to prove they had sufficient funds to be self supporting.
I am not sure why that is still not the case. She was going to a teacher induction course. She could have requested an extension of her induction course the moment she knew she was pregnant. Something they could not refuse.
Her husband does not seem to have had a job when he arrived. It sounds as though he has hired a van or purchased one and seeking self employment via it.
I may have that wrong.
What funds were shown in the application we do not know. If the OP fails to be self supporting then the right to remain in the UK presently will be extended to ten years to qualify.

What did you do job wise before teaching? Can you go back to that line of work as it was well paid? Do you have high loan repayments for your student loans?

Exactly this. OP's family is a working family, they are contributing to society, and yet some on here would like to deprive them of a family?

I think those on this thread who have been baying at OP over her life choices need to step back for a moment and look at what our society is turning into. It isn't pretty, and neither are the responses threads like this have been garnering lately.

Wouldn’t it make more sense to call your local councils housing teams? The list is differs for each area and depending on the size required and the needs of each family based on your points.

if Stockport has surplus it will be easier if not then it could take years in London it can take a decade or more

OP, how were you able to sponsor your husband if you haven't been working? Regardless of how much he earns you as the sponsor still need to reach the minimum income threshold in order for him to retain his visa.

What do you plan to teach?

She required them to be sold at far less than the cost to replace, and ringfenced the income to prevent other funds topping it up. One of the purposes of the policy was to drasticaly reduce social housing provision. And yes, I worked in housing at the time so I do know.
Charities put money into Housing Associations to protect newbuild social housing from the sell off.
And then the government came for them too.
The bit that people conveniently forget is that every government since has either kept or increased the sell off of social housing. Labour was absolutely no better than Conservative on this.

In answer to your question how long does it take to get a council property

It will depend on your housing need as to which band/grading of need youre put into

so homeless DV etc will often be in band 2 (with band 1 being top priority) and someone already housed n private accommodation renting would most probably fgo into band 4

then you can look on your council website for the average time that it takes for you to get into a property - for my area in band 2 its an average of 3 month, for band for an average of 8 months for a single person looking for a one bed flat an average of 10 months

Our system is you have to bid every week as then the algorithm picks up you are serious about being housed - if you don't bid for 12 months you are evicted from the list.

a quick google for the time frame on Gorten, Manchester and the following appears

As of early 2026, the demand for social housing in Gorton and across Manchester is extremely high, with over 21,000 households on the housing register as of December 2025. 1]
Average Waiting Times (2026 Estimates)
For applicants in Band 2 (high priority), waiting times are significantly long, often exceeding several years: 1, 2]
1-Bed General Needs: Average wait of more than 5 years.
2 & 3-Bed Family Homes: Average wait of more than 5 years, and potentially as high as 8 years.
4+ Bed Family Homes: Wait times for applicants in Band 2 can be 8 to 20 years. 1]

Good grief, some people on here are being harsh and brutal!

I'm sorry you are being spoken to the way you are (by some) on here @99Samblaze Of COURSE you are entitled to social housing, as long as you (and your partner's income) isn't higher than the required amount according to your local authority. (I think my local authority allows you to have £45,000 as a gross household income.) Not everybody can buy a property, and many people with average or below average incomes are quite entitled to want affordable housing with a lifetime tenancy.

Short answer to your question OP, is that there is no definitive answer. It's like 'how long is a piece of string?' But if you are overcrowded, then your chances of being housed is far greater. If you're in a 1-bed flat now I would have thought you were already overcrowded... And your chance of being housed is quite good.

All you can do is get on the social housing list, and explain all the reasons that you want to move, and why you think you should have (or need) a social housing house.

Good luck, and try not to let the beraters get you down. Make sure you are getting all the benefits you are entitled to too. (Even if you're working - and your partner is too, you could still qualify for extra help. If you're not on a high income.)

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Please, can people stop saying that a MP can influence the decision of the housing department at a local authority? We would get this all the time when I was working. MPs can't override the legislation and policy of the local authority, if the local authority have behaved according to those 2 factors then all it does is take up a person's time to respond, to investigate whatever has been said, to provide details of how they reached a decision. It's really not going to help a person be housed faster. The applicant will have been given a decision in writing advising what factors have been taken into consideration, the applicant has a right to request a review of that decision. If there are factual, legal errors that is what the applicant needs to focus on.

What I would suggest is that you apply for council housing.
You are pro active in making sure you follow the system comply - so for example if you need to bid each week for properties - then set an alarm on your phone and bid each week for everything you can.

I've had people say to me they've been on the "list" for 2 years and not got anywhere - then you ask if they have been bidding and they haven't been bidding and were evicted form the list 12 months ago....

Ive had other people be evicted from their property and then go into temporary accommodation and due to them bidding every week on everything an anything - they've been housed in 2 months - yet other in the temporary flats are still there as they don't understand the process or can't seem to bid weekly

There is a lot of "I wants" in your post. if you want then you pay for it yourself not expect the state to pick up the tab. why wait until the kids are 2? get them into child care when the youngest is 6 months and go back to work. If you think landlord rents are high and council housing scarce now just wait until next year when the changes that came into day really take effect.

@mummymeister where is the OP saying she expects the state to 'pick up the tab?' ie; fund her life?

Are you one of those people who believes that ludicrous myth that council housing is free? And people live in it 'at the taxpayers expense?'

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Terminations are horrible. But a necessary evil in some circumstances, sadly.

@LikeWhoUsesTypewritersAnyway no I absolutely am not. but her posts, if you have read them all are peppered with things she wants. well if you want them you get them. nowhere did I talk about funding her life. this is about council housing of which there is a tiny fraction of whats needed, its not that much cheaper than private at the moment but thats going to go through a very rapid change in the next few months. why should the council house her? with a one bedroom flat she wont be in statutory need until the oldest is 11 because the lounge counts as a sleeping room. does she realise this? if you arent band a in our area you dont get a look in ever.