# Council house or privately rented?



## lily123

heyy girls, just wondering about moving out... i'm not sure wether to go down the council housing route or to find a privately rented place, i'd really appreciate some advice because i'm completely confused about the whole housing thing lol.

Thankssss

xxxx


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## Jadeyydoe

I've gone down the council housing route, but I'm living with a hyper dog and a man who is a total slob (my dad)!
so I'm looking into private renting now cos it will take years until i get a house down here and I dont think I can deal with living with a man who cant even remember to put the lid back on the butter ¬.¬


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## flutterbywing

Council houses are hard to get, but generally if you can get one it's a good option as it's more like your own IYKWIM. If you rent privately there's a good chance you'll get housing benefit (or whatever it's called now)


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## Serene123

Depends entirely on your situation. If you go to citizens advice they should be able to tell you what would be best for you.


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## Panda_Ally

council housing alway takes longer to come around but with private renting you could be out in a couple of weeks. if ur desprate to get out you could rent while waiting for council but it will tae years to come round if ur already in secure accommodation. xx


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## 05wilkesm

the problem with renting is once you rent your stuck with it for life. personally i'd prefer to wait for council house but thats just me.
xx


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## Alexandra91

i am going to go private rent because u do get help with your rent in most cases if you go onto the direct gov website u can see all u are entitled to and i think tht once you get stuck in the council its harder to get out? plus all the council houses in my area are on horrible estates that i dont want my LO to grow up on. I found out that i would be entitled to £1112 a month when i looked on direct gov, thts including almost everything

when filling out the form do it as if LO was born yesterday as its less confusing.


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## trashit

i hear council housing is alot harder to come by but private renting is generally a pain in the arse if im being honest! Ive been in 2 private houses now, the first one i had to move out of after 2 months because the ceilings were caving in, windows falling out, there was severe damp and mould and no form of heating so i was getting ill and the landlord was an absoluute cockface who wouldnt do anything about it at all, he just cared about getting his rent. The house i have now is really nice but the landlords a dick once again, it took alot of hammering on at him to get the oven fixed and we had to live without one for about 2weeks and another thing is i cant move until may because thats wen my contract runs out but theres a house next to my nannas that wud be ideal cos she could come round to help if i needed her but i cant get it cos of the contract. so maybe ive just had terrible experiences and terrible landlords lol but id say council is more reliable and secure (they cant just suddenly decide to sell up and evict you) depends what the estates are like around yours, im not prudish but i wouldnt live on any near here cos theyre soo rough! Id be petrified lol. xx


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## Love Bunny

If you can afford a deposit, possibly a refunded holding fee, advance rent and admin fee's (ours totaled to just over £1000 to get in) then I would say DEFFINATLY go private! We have an absolutly gorgeous brand new barn conversion 3 bed semi and I couldn't be more pleased with what we have! If we had gone for a council house there is NO WAY we would have got somewhere as big and beautiful as what we have now :D I also get housing benefit towards the rent too which I didn't have to tell the letting agent/landlord about - it just goes straight into my account towards rent :) x


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## kimbobaloobob

i got a council house with in month, you just need a note of your dad saying you will be homeless as of dd/mm/yy. A council house is alot more secure than private renting aswell


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## Midnight_Fairy

I would say council as its more yours, I was renting in the past and I had 4weeks to move out when landlord wanted it back and I was buggered.

My house is in a private street in the national park. I love it!! Plus I also have right to buy which cant be wrong x


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## littleblonde

Get your name down on council list and see what private come up. We have our name down but are far down the list. But once daughter is born we will move up. Plus where i live now we cant have kids so as soon as she is here i will get proof that will help. Meanwhile look at what housing benefit you get as you may find a nice private rent house as well. Better th have all options open. Or you may get private for 6 months and then a council house come up.


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## princess_vix

OH and I will be going private because it'll take years for us to get a council house plus the estate i will be put on is fowl and i do not want my child growing up there.

Private is fantastic if you can afford deposit ect ect..also you just need to look out for permanent in the ad which means your contract is you can rent the place as long as you want meaning you wont get chucked out....or you could go through a company?


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## RainbowDrop_x

It's alot harder to get in to council housing. Me and my OH are currently on the council's bidding system and we've been on it quite a while but council housing is more secure.. Once you're in it you're in it for life iykwim... With private renting you always have the risk of the owner selling and you having to leave.

So even though council housing takes longer I'd personally wait.. But that's just me

xxx


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## trashit

Love Bunny said:


> *If you can afford a deposit, possibly a refunded holding fee, advance rent and admin fee's (ours totaled to just over £1000 to get in*) then I would say DEFFINATLY go private! We have an absolutly gorgeous brand new barn conversion 3 bed semi and I couldn't be more pleased with what we have! If we had gone for a council house there is NO WAY we would have got somewhere as big and beautiful as what we have now :D I also get housing benefit towards the rent too which I didn't have to tell the letting agent/landlord about - it just goes straight into my account towards rent :) x

 
thats another thing! we really didnt have the money to get out of the house from hell so FOBs mum had to pay nearly a grand and now shes asking for it back but i dont have it :( x


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## djt

do you have 2 wait till the baby is here for the housing benfit 2 go up i need somewere fully furnished so think i will have to go private idealy i would have it b4 the baby is here but i dont think i could afford b4 the baby any advice pleaseeeeeeeeee


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## Love Bunny

djt said:


> do you have 2 wait till the baby is here for the housing benfit 2 go up i need somewere fully furnished so think i will have to go private idealy i would have it b4 the baby is here but i dont think i could afford b4 the baby any advice pleaseeeeeeeeee

I would seriously reconsider going for a furnished house as most of the time it is more hassle than its worth - the furniture is not your own so if ANYTHING gets damaged its YOU that foots the bill and that can be expensive! Its much better when you have your own stuff (you dont always have to buy it! you'd be surprised what you end up with once you move! you'll be given stuff left right and centre and theres also places like freecycle you can get stuff for free! :D ) That way you won't be walking on eggshells and if something does get a mark on it or broken - its no big deal, cause its yours! Especially with a baby too - you seriously won't want the hassle and pressure as you won't have the time and effort to keep stuff spotless.

As for the housing benefit, I got it before boo was born but you are only entitled to ONE ROOMS rate until baby is here then you will be entitled to TWO ROOMS rate which is a bit more - its worth looking into, get in touch with your local council :)


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## trashit

no, i get housing benefit now of 70 quid a week which will go up to 80 when babies here, but youll get more/less depending on how much rent is around where you live. Council properties dont come fully furnished, some private properties do but you have to be uber careful not to spill anything or break anything because they can evict/ take your bond away. With most, if not all, private properties you will need to get a bond and one months rent up front, it cost us nearly a grand to move in. Where as a council property you just move straight in, but with council you have to sit on a list for what can be months and months....


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## trashit

you are alot more secure in council properties but i feel more secure in my private house because the council estates in this city arent nice places for anyone, but definitely not for a girl living alone with a baby!! Go ask your social place (sorry i cant remember the exact name, but the place that deals with housing benefit and income support) They'll tell you what youre entitled too. And love bunnys right, its not worth the hassle, check out your local newspaper, freecycle.com and ask around to see if anyones got anything going, and ebay obviously. You will find you end up with TOO MUCH stuff!! xx


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## 05wilkesm

cos my mums bidding to get a place atm, and to cut a long story short we had to leave our old house with nothing so we had to get a fully furnished place but its only temporary you just tell the council that you have nothing and they give you a fully furnished place, but were only in here whilst were bidding cos like i said its only temporary but whilst we've been in here and bidding for a council place weve managed to get our own stuff (free-cycle, people giving it too us, ebay) so it hasnt turned out too bad and once you buy something of your own you can just get the landlord too collect theirs, but it is stressful getting a fully furnished rented place my mum was constantly like be careful with that drink etc, i would never do it for life!
xx


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## mariedeery

05wilkesm said:


> the problem with renting is once you rent your stuck with it for life. personally i'd prefer to wait for council house but thats just me.
> xx

You're not sttuck!!! you can sign a 6 month lease and you are free to stay or go after that!


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## sarah0108

im private renting :) luckily the owners of the house are family friends so it was pretty easy to get a tenancy here x


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## Midnight_Fairy

will you definitly get in a council estate though?

Maybe I am lucky lol there is no bad estates where I am. I am the only council house in my street x


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## Kellie Marie

I havent read previous post but from my experience and my OH ex who he has a child with we have our names down for the council (before I found out I was pregnant because Im entitled to one because of "unsatisfactory housing conditions") anyway....

If your a single mum you will be entitled to housing benefit (like OH ex) you could be waiting ages for a council house but put your name down atleast when you get something nice it will be yours.....however go into some estate agents and go rent privately until a council house comes up because the problem with renting privately is the tenancy can be for only like "6months" or "1 year" etc. and then you have to move again.

If you are claiming housing benefit now, if you find your own place the housing will still pay the rent on that property for you (obviously it depends how much your entitled too) 

But def put your name down for council. Also I dont know where you live but in the UK you get the locator(for council) and you can bid online for 3 properties in your area at one time. If your in a high enough band I.e A,B,C,B they will give to priority "A" first but if your offered the place you will go view it and you CAN turn it down. I think your allowed to turn down 3 places that they offer you then you HAVE to take the next one you bid on and get offered!!

Good luck hun but you can do both but council takes longer xx


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## trashit

im just wondering, how old do you have to be to rent with council? just curious because im private renting at 16 and its been the hardest thing in the world to find landlords that would look at me twice! When i was in the house from hell i was consiering all options including council but when i rang the list of numbers i had for all the different agencies that deal with council properties they all shut me off as soon as i said my age and said i'd have to be 18?x


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## Kellie Marie

trashit said:


> im just wondering, how old do you have to be to rent with council? just curious because im private renting at 16 and its been the hardest thing in the world to find landlords that would look at me twice! When i was in the house from hell i was consiering all options including council but when i rang the list of numbers i had for all the different agencies that deal with council properties they all shut me off as soon as i said my age and said i'd have to be 18?x

Me and my brother were living in a 1 bed place with my nan for2 years when I was 17 when my nan moved to her new house she asked the council if I could stay in the 1 bed place and take on the tenancy they said if I was 18 they would but because im not an "adult" they said im not responsible or reliable enough yet!! I couldnt get on the council until I was 18 x


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## littlekitten8

I am on the council list right now but here the list is so long it could take over a year, even being a single mum. Its always worth getting your name on the council list cos you can always do private renting for a while until you manage to get a council place?


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## Nosy_Cow

Not sure about the age but I know my friend got a flat at 16 on the council but she was living with her boyfriend so I'm not 100% sure how that happened/went. If a person is 16 and homeless (I think) the council do house them so I guess you'd be ok. The same friend (who happens to be private renting now - because she can't get a council house) now works for the council (ironically) so I'll ask her. 

As for the question. I'd say council. We rented for 7 months (privately) and it was so expensive (we weren't entitled to housing benefit). We had no life literally just sitting in the house 24/7!! Now we're in a council flat and it's beautiful. It's big and spacious. It wasn't perfect when we moved in but we've decorated and put carpets down - now it's brilliant! 

As for the bad estates you can opt out of them. We have 2 estates we didn't want to be on and so we told them in our application we didn't want to be there! They don't even think about you for them estates. We got put on a brand new estate in a flat less than 2 years old. Yeah the neighbours aren't brilliant (well they're ok not druggies or nothing just not really friendly - 2 single men, 1 single woman and a couple with a baby that don't speak to us) but it's a nice estate! 

Go into your local council and ask for an application form. Put down your situation and ask your midwife to write to them (she will do this for you). They are also doing a major improvement sceme at the minute (well in our area they are not sure about elsewhere) where they are doing all the old council houses up with new bathrooms and kitchens. So you might get a really nice one too!

Hope this helps :hugs:


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## 05wilkesm

mariedeery said:


> 05wilkesm said:
> 
> 
> the problem with renting is once you rent your stuck with it for life. personally i'd prefer to wait for council house but thats just me.
> xx
> 
> You're not sttuck!!! you can sign a 6 month lease and you are free to stay or go after that!Click to expand...

No i ment you cant just say one day, i cant afford it and i wanna go on council.


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## lily123

Hii everyone.

Thank you sooo much for all your responses, i went in today to get a council housing form and i'm just gonna fill it all in and see how long it would take, if i find a privately rented flat that i can afford then there wouldn't be any harm in looking into it :)

As far as benefits are concearned, i've not applied for anything yet because i'm living with my Mum at the moment, so i wouldn't be eligible for housing benefit or income support until i've moved out... it doesn't help lol because i really don't know what i can and cannot afford now, Grr.

We shall see :)

xxx


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## Jemma_x

Me and OH are renting privately, we put our names on council but the list was so long and there just wasnt enough room at my parents even though according to the council there was we decided to go private. We feel really lucky with the house were in, its 2 bedrooms both with bathrooms and the electricity is included in the rent. It does need abit of decorating but thats nothing really. If i could have gotten a council house i would have but renting privately is fine for us


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## stevon111

lily123 said:


> Hii everyone.
> 
> Thank you sooo much for all your responses, i went in today to get a council housing form and i'm just gonna fill it all in and see how long it would take, if i find a privately rented flat that i can afford then there wouldn't be any harm in looking into it :)
> 
> As far as benefits are concearned, i've not applied for anything yet because i'm living with my Mum at the moment, so i wouldn't be eligible for housing benefit or income support until i've moved out... it doesn't help lol because i really don't know what i can and cannot afford now, Grr.
> 
> We shall see :)
> 
> xxx

do me a favour and keep me updated on your progress becouse me and gf are in the EXACT same position as you but we both live in seperate houses and there is rrom at the moment but we would be looking to move out when baby comes along...its unbeliveable how unhelpful the council and also connexions and now also the job centre today were even when i went with my mother to see if i could try and get some advice they just gave me some forms and numbers to call...but we have just handed our application form in at council offices


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## stevon111

Alexandra91 said:


> i am going to go private rent because u do get help with your rent in most cases if you go onto the direct gov website u can see all u are entitled to and i think tht once you get stuck in the council its harder to get out? plus all the council houses in my area are on horrible estates that i dont want my LO to grow up on. I found out that i would be entitled to £1112 a month when i looked on direct gov, thts including almost everything
> 
> when filling out the form do it as if LO was born yesterday as its less confusing.

£1112 a month gosh! id love to get that much!


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## lily123

stevon111 said:


> lily123 said:
> 
> 
> Hii everyone.
> 
> Thank you sooo much for all your responses, i went in today to get a council housing form and i'm just gonna fill it all in and see how long it would take, if i find a privately rented flat that i can afford then there wouldn't be any harm in looking into it :)
> 
> As far as benefits are concearned, i've not applied for anything yet because i'm living with my Mum at the moment, so i wouldn't be eligible for housing benefit or income support until i've moved out... it doesn't help lol because i really don't know what i can and cannot afford now, Grr.
> 
> We shall see :)
> 
> xxx
> 
> do me a favour and keep me updated on your progress becouse me and gf are in the EXACT same position as you but we both live in seperate houses and there is rrom at the moment but we would be looking to move out when baby comes along...its unbeliveable how unhelpful the council and also connexions and now also the job centre today were even when i went with my mother to see if i could try and get some advice they just gave me some forms and numbers to call...but we have just handed our application form in at council officesClick to expand...

Hi hunni yeah i definitely will keep you updated :) The council are a right pain in the butt aren't they... they've just told me that they can't do anything for me whatsoever because i'm still a student and living with my mum... i'd have still appreciated their advice :( ba$tards.
xxx


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## stevon111

lily123 said:


> stevon111 said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> lily123 said:
> 
> 
> Hii everyone.
> 
> Thank you sooo much for all your responses, i went in today to get a council housing form and i'm just gonna fill it all in and see how long it would take, if i find a privately rented flat that i can afford then there wouldn't be any harm in looking into it :)
> 
> As far as benefits are concearned, i've not applied for anything yet because i'm living with my Mum at the moment, so i wouldn't be eligible for housing benefit or income support until i've moved out... it doesn't help lol because i really don't know what i can and cannot afford now, Grr.
> 
> We shall see :)
> 
> xxx
> 
> do me a favour and keep me updated on your progress becouse me and gf are in the EXACT same position as you but we both live in seperate houses and there is rrom at the moment but we would be looking to move out when baby comes along...its unbeliveable how unhelpful the council and also connexions and now also the job centre today were even when i went with my mother to see if i could try and get some advice they just gave me some forms and numbers to call...but we have just handed our application form in at council officesClick to expand...
> 
> Hi hunni yeah i definitely will keep you updated :) The council are a right pain in the butt aren't they... they've just told me that they can't do anything for me whatsoever because i'm still a student and living with my mum... i'd have still appreciated their advice :( ba$tards.
> xxxClick to expand...

again we had the same problem all they did was hand us a form and told us to fill it in and bring it back to apply for this...i really dont think we will get anything back for this to be honest nether as we are both living with our parents...


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## Midnight_Fairy

My mum had to evict me before I got tempory accomadation. I lived in my crappy flat for nearly 2 years and now I have a lovely house. x


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## Natasha2605

We were on the council list but knew we would be waiting ages. As of Feb we're private renting a beautiful flat. If you look into private renting take into account any benefits you'll be entitled to. Makes a big difference :) Good luck xx


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