So I’ve been living in a council block of flats in my city that has become genuinely unsafe. I moved here when it was a new build, and the deterioration over the time I’ve been here has been extreme.
I’m talking about daily hygiene issues in the communal areas (including biohazards), rodents in the building, cars being set on fire outside the flats, police attending almost every other night and entrance doors that are constantly broken so anyone can walk straight in. As a result, there have been repeated attempted break ins to flats. I know that council housing isn’t the best but this is Gotham city levels.
I’ve applied for a council move and I’m also applying for private rentals but I have no idea how long either route will realistically take. In the meantime I can’t relax at all. I feel anxious leaving my flat in case someone breaks in while I’m out especially because my cats are there. The stress has got to the point where I’ve had to start medication.
I’m wondering if anyone has been in a similar situation, especially in Scotland or has any advice on what I should be doing next.
Is there anything that actually helps speed up a move or any routes I might be missing?
Any suggestions would really be appreciated.
11 comments
Being boring, but a lot of council accommodation will have similar issues. Councils have a captive market and limited budget even compared to the Scrooge-like generosity of private landlords.
Moving council housing is determined by the oversubscribed bidding process.
Private rentals will be faster, but if you give up your council flat you may have a hard time getting one again in the future. Private rental will be more expensive, but if it’s vacant and they agree a tenancy with you, you could move on Tuesday after agreeing it on Monday.
I don’t know enough about social housing to advise on that, but I’d imagine that like most public services, it will move glacially slowly.
If you choose a route that involves staying in the flat much longer, look into having some heavy duty locks added to your door and put a baby monitor (motion activated) pointing at the door inside. That way, if someone tries to get in, the locks should stop them or at least make it hard enough that they try someone else’s place. The baby monitor will give you peace of mind while you’re out that nothing is happening, you can connect them to phones such that you get alerts and can look at the camera to make sure it’s all ok.
Other than that, I’ve lived somewhere that was unsafe and prone to criminality in the past, our door handle got tried during the night every other week, it was unsettling to the point that, after the van got stolen off the driveway on Christmas eve (I hope the thieves contract ebola) I started keeping tools in every room that could be used to defend us if needed.
We moved as soon as we could, and frankly I’ve got nothing but contempt for that shite town and the shite people that live in it now. I went there with an open mind and left with it firmly closed.
I hope you manage to get something sorted out quickly, it took over a year for my mental health to recover and to stop checking where the hammer was before answering a knock on the door. It’s an awful thing to go through, don’t beat yourself up if it takes a while to feel normal again after it all. Lord knows I brought some of that to the new place, which is very low crime, and I exploded at someone who got mildly impatient with my mover’s van on day one, shouted at him so harshly that he literally tried to melt into his car seat. Not proud of that.
If you genuinely feel worried for your personal safety (eg victim of crime or hospitalisation sort of stuff, not worse case scenario but worried it could literally happen today) then I’d be contacting my MP if I’d already gone through the council and they were not helping. I’d give the council maybe a month or two to try to improve things otherwise I’m on to my MP to see if they can do anything to help. They may not be able to but they can usually add their weight to a complaint if you explain it clearly enough and that will hopefully at least make the council know you’re not messing around here and you need to be moved.
I totally understand that where you currently live is far from safe, but I strongly advise you not to give up your council accommodation too readily.
The situation you are in is dire. Your immediate instinct is to get out as fast as possible by any means possible, as anyone would, but if you move to a private tenancy you’ll have way less security of tenure than you do with the council. And if you are vulnerable in any way, the council have a quite extensive duty of care towards you, that you won’t get with a private landlord.
If you are bidding on other council properties, look carefully at your criteria, because relaxing just one of your preferences could open up a greater number of properties you are eligible for.
My daughter found herself in a similar council shite-hole a few years ago – living alone, also with cats – her flat almost falling to bits, doors and windows not shutting properly and unable to be locked, terrified somebody would come in while she was there, or when she was out and the cats escaping, and massive issues with gang members in the flat above, it was really awful. She eventually secured a bid on another council place, but she’d been bidding for ages, getting nowhere and feeling really desperate, so when somebody at the council advised her to not specify any particular area, she changed that, and secured a new flat the same week.
I’m not saying that will happen to you, but it could, and if you’re living in council property, you’ve got a lifetime tenancy – and that’s worth a lot!
I do so hope you find a new forever home very soon for yourself and the cats!
EDIT: typo
Info: what are you doing to move into private rental? As this isn’t usually a long process.
I’m so sorry you are in this situation but I would try to avoid going to private rentals as you will have to pay so much more and you will put yourself in a very vulnerable situation. The security of being a council tenant cannot be emphasized enough. I hope the advice that others have given here will help you move. The only thing I can think to add security wise is to maybe get a security camera that is linked to your phone and place it in your own hallway pointing at the front door and get heavy duty locks for it. I’d have extra deadbolts added. And keep an ‘instrument’ in each room that can be used to defend yourself. In regards to your mental health please know that this may affect you for some while after you move but it will gradually get better. I hope someone here can comment on whether you have any recourse regarding this situation causing you mental stress. I mean surely the council has some kind of accountability if this all causes you to suffer PTSD.
Just to add, it’s unlikely you’ll easily find a private rental which will allow you to keep your cats. I know they’re changing the law, but even so. Private landlords can pick and choose tenants. You don’t have genuine housing security as a private tenant, whatever the law says. Ironically, it’s much easier to be in the private rental sector with a lot of money than very little. You could end up extremely vulnerable.
An uncomfortable truth having had first hand experience within social housing providers and councils on the buildings/repairs side.
Firstly, it sickens me that large sub-standard contractors continue to win contracts from these social housing providers when their performance is so shockingly bad – that is ultimately the reason why you’re experiencing what you’re experiencing, typically the housing providers are willing to do the work (mostly) – it’s the contractors that tend to severely mismanage work instructions ergo, welcome to Gotham City… with that said, you have only a handful of options available to you and for context I grew up in a council house and some of my family still live in social housing.
**Option 1**:
File a complaint and be persistent, this can be a bit of a process but those who shout the loudest often get heard first. The Housing Ombudsmen (I think in Scotland it’s the SPSO) will help you with this, have a chat with them if you haven’t already. Document absolutely everything, take pictures, record videos, keep a diary. Evidence is everything.
**Option 2 (Controversial):**
Set yourself a 3-5 year goal and do your very best to get out of social housing, move into private rented (the best you can afford) and then aim to buy a place of your own. I know this is easier said than done but I think social housing should be used as a stop gap given the poor standards they have people living in (for the most part), housing stock is super low, new-build stock is thrown up, your best chance of moving is via mutual exchange, but then you have to ask yourself, why is the other person willingly moving into what you so desperately want to get out of, and consider not what they tell you but their implicit motivations hiding beneath the surface. Sometimes their reasons can be super valid i.e. getting away from a dangerous environment, abuse, or a lot of the time equally poor accommodation and anti-social neighbours…
Buying a house may seem absolutely miles away or even renting on the private market with the hoops you have to jump through, but what would you rather spend the time doing, battling with a poor social housing provider, contractors that can’t organise themselves & dogshit tradesmen, or upskilling, obtaining further education increasing your earning potential and experiencing the gratification when you achieve something you never thought possible.
There may be real reasons why this is off the cards for you, I don’t know your situation, you may be unable to work or disabled, if that is the case then go for option 1 and don’t stop until your acknowledged and your problems are resolved (dog with a bone comes to mind) but… if you can use a computer to post on Reddit, you can somehow, someway escape social housing through utilising the power of the internet – even documenting your experience, putting it online and having people follow your journey could garner you an engaged follower base of people that you help and advise with a similar problem to you which you could then monetise, I’ve seen this happen time and time again in various different ways. It’s hard, but so many people have done it already, no-ones special it just depends how long you can maintain a consistent habit for, if a bricklayer keeps laying bricks they’ll eventually end with a house.
I’ve personally done this, I’m currently still doing it and I’ve seen many people around me do the same thing. Your environment and the company you keep can be your biggest motivation or your biggest restraint.
What we don’t change, we choose…
This is to be expected from social housing. Although private rental is expensive, you’ll be paying the premium for safety.
Look into mid market rentals plenty of companies in Scotland with housing a lot cheaper than private rentals. It’s a similar battle to get one but essentially if your first in the queue and can prove you can afford it it’s yours and usually move in within a month. I’ve lived in mid market rentals for years and had limited problems compared to friends in council properties
So sorry to hear this. I lived in a block (not council) which deteriorated in terms of safety quite quickly (besieged by crackheads, multiple break in attempts, ppl shooting up in the bin shed etc) I lived on the ground floor as a single woman and couldn’t sleep or relax there I felt so unsafe so I resonate with this. Feeling unsafe in your own home is a truly horrible feeling.
Whilst you try and secure somewhere new could you afford a ring doorbell? Get Verisure or someone in to install an alarm? It would at least buy u some piece of mind in the meantime…..hope u get this sorted.