GETTING yourself on the council house ladder can take years.
So when mum-of-one Tenisha Newton was finally offered a council home after eight years of waiting, she jumped at the chance.
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But the Leicester City-based woman was unaware of the state her new one-bed flat would be in when she moved in.
Taking to social media, Tenisha shared her journey of moving into the rundown property and how it eventually led her to get an even better deal.
She said: “Although a one-bedroom flat wasn’t ideal, I was so excited to turn this into a home and finally have our own space.
“However, this was the STATE of the living room and it was like this throughout the whole flat.”
In the images, her flat had clearly not been looked after by the previous tenants and all of the white finishings had turned yellow from people smoking inside.
Every surface in the flat was dripping with nicotine stains, they were so bad that the blue walls had completely changed colour.
Attempting to fix the problem, Tenisha tried to steam off the wallpaper, which proved difficult as so many layers had been added to the wall and the nicotine began to drip down from the heat.
“After weeks of trying my best, I put in a dispute to the council, I couldn’t deal with this any longer,” she explained.
It wasn’t just inside the flat that was a problem; outside, by the entrance, was used as a dumping ground, with people chucking old furniture outside.
Tenisha said her appeal was first declined but managed to get a doctor’s note regarding how the nicotine was affecting her asthma and finally was listened to.
She also added that the wet room bathroom wasn’t suitable for her son.
Fortunately, not too long after, Tenisha was finally offered a home that actually suited her family and was liveable.
The new property was a home with two bedrooms and had a new kitchen and bathroom fitted.
If landlords have minimum requirements to make a house liveable, why don’t the council?
TikTok User
“This is your sign… don’t give up!” she ended the post.
Public Reaction
The video posted to her TikTok account @tenishanewton.x soon went viral with over 356K views and 4,700 likes.
People were quick to take to the comments, and many were stunned that the council had offered a flat in that condition to Tenisha in the first place.
One person wrote: “If landlords have minimum requirements to make a house liveable, why don’t the council?”
Another commented: “As a housing options officer, I honestly don’t know why they ever put you in a 1 bed when you have a kid?! I’m glad you appealed and won hun.”
“Wow, what a great result in the end,” penned a third.
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.
Meanwhile a fourth said: “Well done. That first flat was shocking. I don’t understand how they have the cheek to let them like that.”
“No kid should ever have to live in that first one .. pleased you got the house,” claimed a fifth.
Someone else added: “Congratulations babe you deserve it.”
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