A MUM-OF-TWO has hit back after cruel trolls labelled her a “scrounger” and a “beggar” because she lives in a council house.
Student nurse Rianne and her other half moved into the Tyneside property alongside their two children in August.
The house has needed a lot of work, with Rianne documenting their transformation in videos on her social media pages.
However, doing so has opened her up to abuse from other TikTokers, and she’s found herself targeted in disgusting comments and criticism.
But, unwilling to accept the derogatory remarks, Rianne hit back in a video on TikTok, tackling one of the biggest assumptions about council house residents – namely that they get the home for free.
“I just want to start off by saying some of the comments on my previous video were absolutely disgusting,” she sighed, referring to a clip she’d uploaded which showed her removing some of the wallpaper the council had left behind.
Some of the comments included one person saying: “Free house, what you expect bro?”
“Beggars can’t be choosers,” another insisted, with a third asking, “Not happy with your free house?”
“And it shouldn’t be the taxpayers’ responsibility to house scroungers,” someone else grumbled.
“Looks ok for free as it’s not costing you anything,” another wrote.
Responding to the criticism, Rianne insisted she hadn’t wanted to take the wallpaper off, but had no choice because the council had rewired the house and “left a mess”.
She also hit back at the assumption that council house residents don’t work, as she said she’s a full-time student nurse – who is “getting myself into debt to go and work on the wards”.
She also doesn’t get any benefits and she and her other half, who works full-time as a restaurant manager, “pay full rent”.
Rianne added that she even had to pay rent on two properties for five weeks because the new house wasn’t ready to move into.
She also shelled out £2,100 on new flooring, and around £300 on paint as she tried to fix the work the council had arranged to get done.
“I’ve spent thousands of pounds on a house that isn’t mine and if it was a private landlord it would be a whole different story,” she sighed.
“But because we live in a council house people think it’s all right to get shoddy work.”
After calling out some of the trolls, Rianne concluded that “just because you don’t live in” a council house “doesn’t mean that you’re better than me”.
The reality of living in a council house
LEANNE Hall, Digital Writer at Fabulous, has discussed what it was like growing up in a council house, and why those living in such properties are often judged…
When I was a child I grew up in a council house, and was blissfully unaware of the discrimination that came with that, until I became an adult.
My younger years were spent running up and down the stairs of my flat, meeting with other friends who lived there and making the most of the communal garden.
But now, it seems no matter your circumstance, everyone has something to say about why you shouldn’t be there.
Living just outside of London like I did, rent prices are still high, and as my mum was at home raising three kids at the time, it wasn’t easy to find a job that fit around that.
People in council houses are often labelled as ‘scroungers’ or ‘lazy’ but it’s nothing of the sort.
Most families in council homes experience overcrowding, and let’s not even mention the horrendous amount of damp and mould that comes from living in old social housing that hasn’t had work done to them in 50 or so years.
It’s not ideal for many, but it does provide a secure home without the fear your rent will shoot up every single year, which I would argue is vital to children growing up on the poverty line.
“It does my head in, people that think everyone is a dosser that lives in a council house,” one person commented on Rianne’s post.
” I have lived in one for 35 years, always worked paid my own rent & council tax.
“People that presume we are benefit scroungers clearly haven’t got a clue.
“Yes some people don’t work and get everything paid but that not just council house tenants – that applies to people in private rent also!”
“Why do others think us who live in council homes get everything for free and we should be grateful for mouldy walls with plaster that just drops off or for kitchen cabinets that are hanging off of the walls?” another raged.
“We pay full rent and council tax yes it may be at a cheaper rate but this doesn’t mean we should then bow down and curtsy to the rest of society and say thank you very much for a home that’s sometimes in an in uninhabitable condition!”
