I was on a council house waiting listing for 5 YEARS… but got offered one in 12 weeks after I changed tactics
A WOMAN has revealed how she managed to get herself a council house in as little as 12 weeks with a small adjustment to her application.
Mercy, who regularly shares her incredible DIY transformations of her home online, shared exactly what she did to bag it in the first place.
The mum has turned her council house into a home using budget buys from the high street and completing lots of the DIY tasks herself.
But this time round, she revealed how she got a place to call home after being on the wait list for five years.
In the clip, she said: "How I got my council house in 12 weeks.
"I was on my previous council's bidding list for five years, bidding weekly but getting no where."
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However, Mercy did a small change many people don't know about that totally changed her life.
My position was getting higher and I was excited.
Mercy
She revealed that instead of applying to the council where she lived for accommodation, she instead applied for the council where her workplace was.
After applying to the council in October, she was accepted and was able to start bidding for houses in the area in just two weeks.
By the time December rolled around her bidding position was getting higher and higher.
"I bid every week for two months, my position was getting higher and I was excited," she added.
By January, Mercy and her child were offered a place and she was 'over the moon.'
After years of waiting, Mercy finally had the keys to her own home and quickly began decorating to turn it into her dream home with the help of friends and family.
Bidding wars on council properties tend to take years due to a decrease in available council homes.
People already in council homes are also able to swap with other tenants so that the property matches their needs.
What is a council house swap?
A council house swap, also known as a mutual exchange, is a scheme for people who live in a council or housing association property who would like to swap their home with another tenant.
People often swap to get a larger or smaller home or to move to a different area.
When you mutually exchange your home, you are swapping tenancies with someone else.
Anyone with a full secure or fixed-term social housing tenancy in their name with a clear rent account can do a mutual exchange.
You cannot swap your home if you:
- have an introductory tenancy
- have a probationary tenancy
- are in temporary housing
The clip has gone viral over on her TikTok account @mkrispy and people took to the comments to thank her for the tip.
One person wrote: "Wait you can apply in the council where you work. I didn’t know that. Thanks for sharing so others can do the same. Bless you."
Another commented: "Thank you for sharing! Did you apply as a single person or are you a parent?"
"Parent," Mercy replied.
"I honestly admire how those with council homes have the determination and talent to make it look so good. I’m useless at DIY," penned a third.
Meanwhile a fourth said: "That’s so good."
"My wait was 18 weeks. So happy for you, getting council accommodation is HARD,” claimed a fifth.
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Someone else added: "3 kids in a 1 bed and been bidding for 6 years now."
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