Mother slammed after renovating her council house
A Scottish mother-of-four has been slammed online for showing off her newly-renovated council home that she has spent eight years slowly making over.
Sharing videos on TikTok as @abitofme123, the woman initially took to social media to share the DIY makeover she finally completed during the pandemic on the house that's been her home for 17 years.
While many applauded the mother’s hard work, her videos were also flooded with comments from people accusing her of taking up space in council housing that should go to the less fortunate.
"If you can afford to do all that, do you really need a council house? There are people living in poor conditions waiting for one of these homes," one user wrote.
The mother replied to the comment with a video of her home, with the caption, "Why would I give up everything I've worked for?"
"I think what they are saying is how did you get a council house if you have all this money to decorate it?" another TikTok user wrote.
The woman responded saying, "Yes I work, they're not given to people on low incomes, anyone can apply. I had this 17 years ago when I was 18 with a baby and nowhere to live.”
"Everything was done on a budget, sale items, discounts and over the space of the last 3 years," she explained.
"I understand people are waiting for council homes but we love ours, I can't give it up," she added.
After sharing a video of the transformation to her backyard, one shocked user called the renovation “actually disgusting”.
"Nice to see our taxes pay for your lower rent so you can make the garden look like a show room!!" one user remarked.
Another dubbed her "council Karen" and others made comments such as "get a job," "load of crap" and "paid for it using benefits".
Many of the comments questioned why the mother wouldn’t buy her council house, with the woman going on to explain that they'd been offered the right to buy a few years ago but hadn't been able to afford it and instead, secured lifetime tenancy.
Despite the divisive comments, the woman’s videos have helped to shine a light on the realities of eligibility for council housing in the UK.
Responding to the slew of negative comments, the woman simply said, "All the council owns is the bricks and mortar, everything else is my home. Please stop judging.”
Image credits: TikTok @abitofme123