How did you have to wait to get a council house (UK)?

Question

and what were your circumstances?I have been on the list for a year now, im with my partner and have a baby.

I've worked since leaving school 10yrs ago so have paid taxes & never claimed a penny in benefits (untill recently when we had our son as we get child benefit £80 per month and tax credits £80 per month)

We are struggeling to afford to pay our rent cos the recent rise in house prices also drove up monthly rental prices.

I'm sure there must be thousands of you in the same situation especially now with inflation, gas, petrol, food prices all going up.

What gets me is how a single girl of 16 can go out get herself pregnant then lie to the council that her parents have kicked her out and get a council house handed to her on a plate. These girls dont even pay the rent cos they dont work so us tax payers pay for it.

There r people like me and my partner who work hard but have a much worse standard of living then they do.

My local council keep telling us its gonna take 4 - 6 years

Answer 1

We had to live virtually homeless for 2years (mum & 2kids). We now live in a block of flats and the only people who seem to get the smaller flats are immigrants or single people with mental disorders/drug issues etc. A friend is in a similar situation to yourself and getting increasingly frustrated. They should make it easier for those who want to work and earn an honest living but it seems they're the ones who struggle most. I know they recently changed the application system (where I live at least) but it obviously hasn't worked and they need (yet another) rethink.

Good luck

Answer 2

had a baby got psychosis & got a flat

Answer 3

why don't you just try to buy a home instead of renting if you both work a mortgage is not much more than rent so i would look into it if you have got a good credit rating i am sure the banks will look at your finances if not look for cheaper houses i was a single mum for 12 years but still bought my own home and it was the best thing i have ever done i think it's hard to get a council house now people are on for a long time i know say your polish or whatever and you would soon get one have you tried a housing association and where in uk are you from

Answer 4

My parnter and i are on the waiting list - 4 years (lincoln, uk)

We have a 6 month old son, and live in a first floor flat... it's just not practical or safe for our son, but that's not taken into consideration

Maj

Answer 5

i think the council make a joy of making it as difficult as possible for those most in need

when i was homeless (and ill) they told me that i had to be MALE and/or pregnant or i wouldn't even get put on their 7 year waiting list

i knew of another chap who had parents in their own 3 bedroom house who managed to get his own flat from the council in just a few months

also i know of a family who got thrown out of their privately rented 3 bedroom house (4 kids aged 10 - 4) because of the husbands drinking their rent money away - the hubby splits and runs with another woman leaving the mother and 4 kids on the street with no where to go other than her sister's (sister has 2 kids and a partner in a one bedroom flat)

the councils verdict?  not eligible due to making themselves INTENTIONALLY homeless (the mother was not aware of the rent not being paid until the bailiffs and i doubt that her 4 kids made themselves intentionally homeless) so until the local MP was contacted the council (and social services) were not at all interested in 9 people living in a one bedroom flat

Answer 6

yep, me and my fiance   (without a kid...yet)

know how you feel, its tough

spending money....whats that then ???

.........waiting game   but yeah your right its cr@p system.

Answer 7

We were on the list for 6 years before we got ours and the only reason we got it was because the council awarded it on local connection and how long you had been waiting rather than a points system which I think is much fairer. It annoys me that people that are not local think they can just jump the queue because they have kids. I don't have kids but I still need somewhere to live! And most of all I actually pay my rent as opposed to most of the single mums that are on housing benefit so I am actually an ideal tenant!

Answer 8

it depends on where in the uk u live. im 21 single mum in cornwall. the waiting time here for a 2 bed house is 2 years roughly. ive been waiting 18 months but in cornwall its a list and you bid for houses. so whoever been on the list longest and they bid then they get it. we choose what house we want here. im on full benifits as my ex partner left me even though we planned our baby. and my family kive abroad so im totally on my own and not ready to leave my baby yet else i wud work and pay my way. i no people in ur situation and they find it hard. if you get a letter from a doctor or health visitor stating that your home is not safe or not  good for ur health then take it to the council then they should move you to somewhere better. but u do need a letter from a health visitor or doctor. good luck  i really hope things get better for u

Answer 9

I know you're not going to like hearing this but I dont know how your council can tell you its going to take 4-6 years because if you are that far down the list - the chances are you will never come to the top, for an offer of a property because there will constantly be people joining the list infront of you with a higher priority!  I think the council need to explain this to you so your expectations are realistic and you can get on with your life.  I know people do lie to queue jump but living on a council estate isnt all its cracked up to be anyway!  And you say you need one because you are struggling financially - who isnt?  Can we all have one?  Move on!  I'm sorry if you dont like my answer but its an honest one.  If you are still intent on waiting for one, if you havent already asked the council to take into account of the mould affecting your asthma, you must do this, you can get medical points which can have a big impact on your position on the list - good luck - but please look at other options.

Answer 10

hi im 23 this year i dont hav any kids its just me that lives in ma 2 bed flat  that ive had since i was 17, my bf has just moved in wiv me, i work full time and so doz he.

try get ur health vister or doc 2 write u a letter sayin the place ur living in is not good 4 ur child it shud help, it did 4 ma sister.

wish good luck

Answer 11

my hubby and I after having our son realised we can't afford to live in London any more so are moving to australia Im pregnant again and we earn great money but full time child care is like  a second mortgage  this country has  everything upside down when I go to australia we will get 95% off child care Family allowance for 420$ each fortnight and 5000$ when our next baby is born. its about time the UK woke up.. and started to reward hard working families!!!

Answer 12

yes good old Maggie sells all the council houses so now there aren't enough to go around, where we live (North Yorkshire) there is a waiting list to get on the waiting list and we can't even get on that. We have 4 kids so have to pay nearly £700 rent for a big enough house, get a mortgage, yeah right not our generation I'm afraid, my parents did OK in 80's but not a chance now. Rant over, I know exactly how you feel.

Answer 13

About five years if you are an honest working person. we have to give to all the foreign out casts first and any one else who has never paid their tax. Oh and if you are a white British national then you are in for a long wait.

Answer 14

you cetainly not the first who is going to struggle were all going to have to go through it , as for you claiming benifits you dont because every family gets tax credits and child benifit, in our house its just my other half that works he earns 21,000 we get tax credits and child benifit, as we have two children 3rd due in 7 weeks we have a mortgage and have to pay £700 a month mortgage £101 in council tax the £ 50 a mth insurances and we have petrol bill of £165 a month petrol bill and childrens clothes to buy and food shopping to buy our energy bills are hitting £500 per quarter, and then theres school uniforms etc to buy ! we have good quality things in our home! and yes we do struggle but as long as my kids bellies are full with healthy food, and were warm and we have food in the cupboards and the bills are paid which they always are then so be it!!! getting a council house doesnt mean you wont struggle any less than what everyone in the uk will have to as there will be a ressession hitting and it will get worse. try making a bit of money selling on ebay ie clothing, bits and bobs you would throw out to the charity , at least your making something back! just remember people who live in council homes will struggle with the cost of rent and the cost of living just as much as others or worse, plus council estates can be rough and full of druggies and gobby families do you really want to put your family through that

Answer 15

A much better option is DSS housing! See if you qualify for that (i'm sure you would if you qualify for a council house) it's much quicker and you can choose your house and just get upto 80% of the rent paid for you.

I don't personally have a council house or DSS but i have lots of friends who do and most of them find DSS much better (and quicker) and not such a 'label' as a 'council house' if you know what i mean!!!

good luck.

Answer 16

You've got very little chance these days. That ******* btich Thatcher sold most of them off and Tony Blair gave the remaining ones to foreigners.

We couldn't get one at all - when we were going to be repossessed and made homeless and I was pregnant we were told we'd be left on the street as repossession is "intentional" homelessness (even though I was unable to work  due to illness so our income had dropped - we had to choose between paying the mortgage and eating) and anyway, there were no council houses available and we'd have to rent privately from a slumlord - we couldn't afford to pay private rent and no decent landlords will take DSS (only the nasty slumlords).

Housing Associations are just as bad, you'd be on a waiting list for 10 years in this area before you get anything.

We're currently living in a house we bought for £72,000 but its in a serious state of disrepair, in a horrible area, the mortgage is really expensive and we can't afford it on our low income.  We get no help with this.  We can't afford to privately rent anywhere these days.

It depends on which part of the country you live in.  Round here in South Wales you can't get council houses for love nor money if you are white British and have a job.  If you're an asylum seeker or foreigner, have no job and are just on the scrounge you get one straight away.  Sorry if that offends anyone but thats true.

My partner's friend got a Housing Association flat in Kent after just 1 year wait but he's a single male with no kids and it was a one bed flat, they seem to have more of them than they do houses.