I was a homeless teen mum & went through so much c**p to get my council home – I worked so hard to get it I deserve it
A MUM explained that she had to jump through many hoops to go from being homeless at 18 to get her council house.
She also explained that she finds it frustrating when others see a council house as a way of getting a place with cheap rent rather than leaving them for those who really need the help.
YouTuber Xanthe Hawker uploaded a video explaining her process for getting a council house in West Sussex.
She said: “Personally the system does frustrate me a lot and I think a lot of people end up with council houses who don’t need them because people see it as a ticket to get a cheap house.
“I’m not going to lie the rent on this house is far far cheaper than private ones in this area and that’s just the reality of council houses.”
She explained that she wouldn’t disclose the exact amount that she paid but said that the rent one her two-bed house was about the same as the cost of renting a studio apartment privately.
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The mum explained that the reduced rent has allowed them to save up towards buying their own place.
She said: “A lot of people have asked me if the house we plan on buying is our council house. The answer is no it is not.
“I would love to see this passed on to someone who needs it.”
Xanthe explained that she was living in shared student accommodation at the age of 18.
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She had planned to move into another shared house after the tenancy was up but found out she was pregnant.
The council told her not to leave her current accommodation as if she gave up the place she would then be voluntarily homeless and she needed to be involuntarily homeless ie kicked out of her current address in order to get their help.
The pregnant 18-year-old was then taken to court by her landlord who asked her to leave.
She was represented by a member of homeless charity Shelter’s team.
As her landlord didn’t show up for proceedings she was allowed to stay in the house for a while longer.
The council refused to add her to their housing list until the date of her eviction so the mum-to-be had to wait for a bailiff to remove her from the house before she was eligible for help from the council.
She said: “The council advised me to get to the point that I was homeless. And I wish that they hadn’t done that.”
Xanthe then had to go into emergency accommodation and was placed in a hostel which was one bedroom with a sink and a fridge and a shared bathroom and kitchen.
Her son Grayson was born while she was in emergency accommodation and after eight weeks the council moved her into temporary accommodation where she was forced to share with others, including a man who was taking drugs.
In order to keep safe, they stayed with friends and family a lot of the time.
The council kept them in the temporary space for three months.
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The couple decided to relocate to Dorset as they were so unhappy with their living situation in West Sussex where they moved in with her dad, sleeping on the living room floor.
Eventually they got their own two-bed house for their family after a gruelling 18 month process.