I pay £380 a month for my council home & can’t wait to buy it cheaper than anyone else – I deserve a discounted pad
HANGING a framed brightly-coloured painting under the stairs in her rented two-bed flat, Lyni Green, 25, feels a sense of pride.
For the mum-of-two knows that within two she’ll be able to buy it for much less than the going rate and she’ll own it outright.
While most women her age are no where near being able to afford a deposit or mortgage for a house, Lyni, who is a single mum of two and doesn’t work will be able to buy hers with neither under the Right to Buy scheme.
She tells Fabulous: “I was offered the two-bedroom second floor flat in March 2023 just five months after I lodged an application and a month after my second child was born in February 2023.
“I am sure some trolls will say I only fell pregnant to get a council house, but I don’t care.
“That’s a typical and boring comment.
“It’s not true. I don’t care what people say.”
“I knew if I got a council flat it would ensure me a property for life and let me buy it for cheap under ‘the right to buy’ scheme.”
“I can get a 30% discount off the asking price once I have lived in a council house or flat for three years – and 50% for five years. It’s great.”
“I know some people think it’s controversial. Critics simply don’t understand everyone and anyone can apply for council housing.
“Trolls should realise you can get a council property if you have a full time or part-time job or no job at all.
“Anyone has the right to buy. It’s great we have these schemes. I tell people not to troll me but put their name on the council list. You have to be in it to win it.”
Lyni, a former project manager, who lives in Newark, Notts, with her sons, six-year-old Tommy* and one-year-old Seb*’ s fancy – pays just £380-a-month for her home, which she pays for out of her £1,450 Universal Credit.
Lyni says she loves ‘being council’ – and said people who weren’t didn’t appreciate it.
“I don’t have to panic over interest rate hikes and mortgages,” she said. “It’s sensible, especially in a cost-of-living crisis.”
She’s been trolled for her home situation, which she thinks is unfair.
I don’t have to panic over interest rate hikes and mortgages.
Lyni
“People said I only had kids to get a council flat,” she said.
Another troll said: “Typical single mum wanting everything for free.”
Others said I’d “jumped the queue” and was a “typical do nothing young mum council house scammer.”
“I always worked until I had Tommy,” she said. “My first job was as a burger van server when I was 17.
What is right to buy
Lyni lives in Newark, which is under Newark and Sherwark Council and refers back to the national government website.
The website says get a discount on the market value of your home when you buy it if you qualify for Right to Buy.
The maximum discount is £102,400 across England, except in London boroughs where it is £136,400.
The discount is based on:
- how long you’ve been a tenant with a public sector landlord
- the type of property you’re buying – a flat or house
- the value of your home
There are other stipulations.
You’ll usually have to repay some or all your discount if you sell within 5 years.
You might get a smaller discount if you’ve used Right to Buy in the past.
Right to Buy was introduced by Margaret Thatcher in the 1980s and originally intended for council home tenants.
The scheme will aim to help a generation of first-time buyers locked out of the housing market because of rocketing prices get on the property ladder.
“I was with someone but we realised we were not suited.”
Wanting a clean financial break, Lyni moved back in with her mum in Peterborough and began looking for a flat to rent. But priced at £1.2k a month for a two-bed flat, they were out of her price range
In May 2022 Lyni discovered she was pregnant after a short relationship.
“I hadn’t planned the pregnancy, but I knew I wanted to have this baby,” she said. “My sister has three children and she’s 27. She showed me you can juggle children and work.
“The downside was I was sleeping on my mum’s sofa, and I was pregnant with a then-three-year-old. So I put myself down on the list for council housing.”
As Lyni didn’t have her own room at her mum’s house and was pregnant her application for housing was fast-tracked.
“The council did multiple interviews,” she said. “They confirmed my mum’s home was overcrowded. They were very thorough.
I am sure some trolls will say I only fell pregnant to get a council house, but I don’t care… that’s a typical and boring comment.
Lyni
When Lyni got the keys to her two-bed flat she discovered it was an empty shell
“It had no floor coverings, just concrete,” she said. “There was no oven. The bathroom was a tip and stank.
“There was paint and wallpaper falling off the walls. Mould was growing in the kitchen cupboards.
All I got when I moved in was some council vouchers for paint.
Lyni
Anyone has the right to buy. It’s great we have these schemes. I tell people not to troll me but put their name on the council list. You have to be in it to win it.
Lyni
“Many people think a council home means all the mod cons. It doesn’t.”
Lyni said she was just grateful to have a place to call home. “I can’t work at the moment due to my youngest being 15 months and the cost of wraparound childcare being more than £1k-a-month.
“So I have used my Universal Credit to turn the council flat into a fabulous little home.
“All I got when I moved in was some council vouchers for paint. “I had to budget upcycle and think outside the box just to put down the flooring and put in an oven.”
I have used my Universal Credit to turn the council flat into a fabulous little home.
Lyni
Lyni and family friends cleaned all the walls and painted the room in shades of grey and white.
I paid £550 for a carpet I found on Facebook, Marketplace a local builder was offering.
Lyni
She says: “I paid £550 for a carpet I found on Facebook Marketplace a local builder was offering.
“It was grey and new. I have project managed building sites, so I laid it myself with the help of a friend.
“I splurged £400 on a new oven and hob. I needed it to cook meals. I installed it myself to save money.”
Lyni's top reno tips
- The cupboard under the stairs can be a room.
- Sell everything you have stored in it and use money to decorate the ‘secret room’
- Use colour changing lights and cushions to make it a ‘moving space’
- Use barter sites and swap old items you have for items you need.
- Time bank skills and use them like money.
- Local builders and decorators often have extra carpets and paints left over for bargain prices.
- Thoroughly cleaning an old sofa makes it look new – bicarb soda, vinegar, fairy liquid and water is a great hack.
Lyni got a black sofa for free on Facebook.
“I vacuumed it and borrowed a friend’s carpet cleaner kit. I used a mixture of bicarb soda, fairy liquid, vinegar and water with a few drops of essential oil to get rid of tough stains. It looked new by the time I finished.
Lyni found curtains and side tables at car boot sales for £30 and scoured charity shops for kitchen utensils and mirrors for her new home.
“I gave myself a budget of £150 per room.
I bartered for my queen size bed. I swapped furniture including lounge chairs and tables.
“It’s why I relied on free sites, swap sites, car boots and Facebook Marketplace.
“I bartered for my queen size bed. I swapped furniture including lounge chairs and tables I had in storage for a queen-size bed with a grey velvet quilted headboard.”
The single mum vinyl wrapped her kitchen cupboards, spending £70 on the makeover.
However, it is the cupboard under the stairs that has become her showpiece.
In many ways council housing makes you feel safer than buying privately.
Lyni
“The cupboard was full of junk and I knew the space had potential,” she said. “I cleared it out and sold the items including old clothes, toys, vases and books I’d stored there for £190.
“Now it’s got tiny cushion chairs for my sons, a specialised lamp that features liquid, bubbles and colour changing lights and soft mats for me.
“The touch sensitive lights allow you to change the room’s colour depending on your mood.
“It’s only 5ft by 3ft. but looks larger due to the lights and white walls.
Many of my friends say they’ll never buy because of fear of mortgage rates climbing. One day I will and I hope it’s a council house as I can get huge discounts off the price.
Lyni
“People go in for 20 minutes and come out relaxed. My friend’s children love it as well because it’s a calming space.”
Lyni said being in council housing is “brilliant”.
“In many ways council housing makes you feel safer than buying privately,” she said. “Many of my friends say they’ll never buy because of fear of mortgage rates climbing.
“One day I will and I hope it’s a council house as I can get huge discounts off the price.”