‘In reality, it was the only logical step for me. I was engaged to be married and no way could our wages buy a house, so it was down to the council Offices to complete an application form and go on the waiting list. We thought we would have a bit of a wait however, we married in 1974 and rented a furnished flat from one of my husband’s bosses and settled down to wait. We were lucky because a few months into our married life we got the offer of a flat quite near to my husband’s work, without even specifying areas. We got the keys and went to have a look and it was ideal for us so we accepted after doing the sums of our joint finances. The area was good and 45 years later I’m still here although I did lose my husband a few years back. Some things have changed but it’s still a good area with a mix of owners and tenants.
Personally speaking, being a council tenant has value as as a tenant you have a right to repair which is set out by your landlord as to what they will do and what the tenant is responsible for. The cost of replacement kitchen, bathrooms and windows is covered by your rent whereas owners have to find the money for all of these. So for people with limited means, social housing gives them an affordable home to live in’.
(Angus Council tenant).