I’m a mum & moved into a stinking council house – the kids can’t play – I’m turning it into a home but it’s a nightmare
A MUM has revealed how she has had to take on the DIY of her council house after finding it to be a “dangerous mess.”
After moving in with her kids and husband, Rebekah claimed to find that her carpets were smelling, floorboards were collapsing and her walls were in serious need of repair and painting.
Rebekah, 31, who shares her four children, two boys aged seven and three and two girls ages five-months-old and 11-months-old, with her husband who is disabled, was left in tears after seeing how much needed to be done.
Speaking exclusively to Fabulous, she says: “It’s safe to say we were devastated, especially because our children were going to have to live in a property we didn’t feel was safe for them.
“My husband is disabled after being medically discharged from the army due to a back injury, and at the same time all this happened, he had just been diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis.
“This was also a struggle, as neither of us was in a state where we could do a lot about it at the time.
“I also had a C-section, which meant I had to spend several weeks recovering while caring for my children and husband.”
Rebekah was offered a council house after her husband, who was previously an avionics technician in the army, was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis in June 2023.
At the same time, she was heavily pregnant with her youngest and about to go on maternity leave.
She says: “We were given three months to move out of our military accommodation and find housing.
“Because of this, we were not able to get a mortgage to buy a house, and we couldn’t pass a credit check for rental because my husband’s health was so bad he is currently unable to work, and I am having to care for him and my young children.
“Essentially, neither one of us had long-term employment, which was needed.
“So our only option was going through the council and housing registers.”
The day Rebekah moved in with her family to the property was the first time they saw the house other than photos sent by the housing officer.
She says: “There was a lockbox on the door with our keys inside.
“When we first walked into the house, it had a strange smell, which we attributed to it being empty for a while.
My DIY journey so far has definitely been filled with many tantrums when things don’t go to plan
Rebekah
“However, when we walked into the living room, the entire carpet stank; it smelled damp, like when a dog breathes in your face.
“There was broken glass all over the floor near the front window as well.
“We continued walking around the house.
“The kitchen was okay, but there were some sticky substances all over the cupboards, which I assume was vape liquid, along with pregnancy tests and various bits of trash in and on top of the cupboards.
“There was a random wire hanging from the ceiling in the hallway – which turned out to be a phone wire or something.
Floorboards collapsed
“The garden was a dangerous mess; the fence was falling down, and it was overgrown.
“When we went upstairs, there were hundreds of butterflies hibernating in the corners of every room.
“It smelled, and right away, my foot went through a broken floorboard in my children’s room.
“We literally broke down and cried at the situation we found ourselves in.
“As all our furniture arrived within 20 minutes of seeing the house, there was not a lot we could do at this stage.
“One of the first things I did was phone the housing company and ask if there was any sort of minimum standard the house should meet and put in a formal complaint about the glass, etc.
“The next day, two people came around the house to look at our complaints and said it was just cosmetic and perfectly fine.
“They organised a joiner to come and look at the main broken board my foot fell through and fix it.”
B&Q’s problem wall paint has saved me
Rebekah felt she had no choice but to take matters into her own hands urgently and begin the DIY process.
Now she regularly uploads helpful videos to her TikTok page @justbeckii to help others with their housing projects.
She says: “My DIY journey so far has definitely been a learning curve, and without my Grandad’s help over the phone, it definitely wouldn’t have gone so smoothly, that’s for sure.
“I am very proud of what I have achieved so far, even though I am still just at the very beginning.
“I don’t think DIY is a super cheap hobby, but it’s definitely cost-saving compared to hiring professionals.
“However, B&Q’s problem wall paint has saved me a fortune, as my walls look amazing now without the need to replaster the whole wall or use lining paper.
“With decent prep work, it transformed my bedroom from Barbie’s abandoned dream house to where it is now, and I can actually start decorating.
“I am learning a lot and proud of myself for what I have achieved so far.
“We are very lucky to have a house we can make our own, as this isn’t something we could do if we rented privately.”
Repairing the bubbling on the wall
Although, throughout her DIY process Rebekah has experienced some nightmares along the way including bubbling on her wall whilst painting.
She says: “I have had a few things go wrong.
“I have never decorated or done any DIY before other than a bit of flat-pack furniture building.
“When I first started repairing my bedroom walls, the paint I was using just bubbled everywhere and peeled completely off.
How to do your council house up on the cheap
- Take inspiration from pricier shops and head to B&M, Home Bargains for interior decorations.
- Head to YouTube for easy to follow tutorials on how to decorate rather than paying for professionals.
- For a quick glow-up for your floors or anywhere with tiles, opt for stick-on vinyl to save on costs.
- A lick of paint does wonders to make a room feel brand-new.
- Switch out kitchen cupboard knobs for modern ones instead of buying brand-new cupboards
“Although it did remove the hideous pink paint that I was trying to cover.
“This happened a few times, and I still have no idea why it kept happening, but I just used some ready-made filler stuff by Toupret on these areas and painted over it again!
“It probably wasn’t the right thing to do, but it worked!
“My DIY journey so far has definitely been filled with many tantrums when things don’t go to plan.
“The biggest nightmare we had was hiring a local handyman who didn’t seem to know what he was doing.
“Eventually, we gave up, and that’s when we decided to do it ourselves and start my TikTok channel.”
Rebekah has managed to gain over 19,000 TikTok followers as many DIY fans log on to watch her handy videos.
She says: “We want to hopefully help others moving into a house that needs a lot of repairs before it feels like a home.
“We try to keep it as realistic as we can, showing all my little disasters and triumphs.”
Head to Rebekah’s TikTok page @justbeckii for more insight into her council house renovation.
What It's Really Like Growing Up On A Council Estate
Fabulous reporter, Leanne Hall, recalls what it's like growing up in social housing.
As someone who grew up in a block of flats on a council estate, there are many wild stories I could tell.
From seeing a neighbour throw dog poo at the caretaker for asking them to mow their lawn (best believe they ended up on the Jeremy Kyle show later in life) to blazing rows over packages going missing, I’ve seen it all.
While there were many times things kicked off, I really do believe most of the time it’s because families living on council estates get to know each other so well, they forget they’re neighbours and not family.
Yes, things can go from zero to 100 quickly, but you know no matter what you can rely on your neighbour to borrow some milk or watch all of the kids playing outside.
And if you ask me, it’s much nicer being in a tight community where boundaries can get crossed than never even knowing your neighbour’s name while living on a fancy street.