A DIY fan has given her ‘horrendous’ council house a mega makeover whilst on a budget.
And now, 26-year-old Celene Francis, a mum-of-two who lives in a two-bedroom house in Rotherham, wants to buy her council property.
But because of this, Celene has revealed that haters have accused her of contributing to the housing crisis.
Posting on social media, the savvy mum, who previously opened up to Fabulous about how she used bargain buys to overhaul her once ‘horrendous’ and ‘run down’ home, said: “So the question is, do you think a council tenant should be able to buy their council house? Let me know.”
The DIY enthusiast, who recently gave birth to her second child, Iris Valerie Duggan, then explained: “If you’re new here, I’m Celene, I’m 26 and I live in a council house, but I wanted to know what you guys think – do you think that council tenants should be allowed to buy their property from the council?”
The student midwife and mental health support worker highlighted: “So if you live in a council property, depending on what council you’re with, some councils don’t allow you to do this anymore, the council that I’m with do – so you can buy your property off the council after you’ve lived in the property for three years.
“You can put in to buy, it’s called the ‘Right to Buy’.
“I can see both sides of this. Personally, I think it’s amazing that I can buy my house after three years.
“I am like, yes, I’m gonna do that.”
Recognising the other side of the coin, Celene shared: “The other side of the story, a lot of people think this is why we have a housing shortage, this is what’s caused the housing shortage, by council tenants being able to buy their house and that it contributes to the housing shortage that we’ve got today.
“I can completely see both sides of the story, what is your opinion? I wanna know.”
The TikTok clip, which was posted under the username @61thecouncilhouse, has clearly left many open-mouthed, as it has quickly racked up 58,800 views.
[bc_video account_id=”5067014667001″ application_id=”” aspect_ratio=”16:9″ autoplay=”” caption=”I live in a council house and I gave my kitchen a mega makeover for just £70 – a £2 B&M buy was a real game changer” embed=”in-page” experience_id=”” height=”100%” language_detection=”” max_height=”360px” max_width=”640px” min_width=”0px” mute=”” padding_top=”56%” picture_in_picture=”” player_id=”default” playlist_id=”” playsinline=”” sizing=”responsive” video_id=”6361188530112″ video_ids=”” width=”640px”]Big divide
But social media users were left totally divided – whilst many thought council tenants should be able to buy their property, others were eager to disagree.
One person said: “Yes but I think whenever they sell the properties, they should only be allowed to sell back to the council to use for social housing again, no matter how many years after it is.”
[quote credit=”TikTok user “]No, they should be there for people who need them in hard times for them to be able to get back on their feet and then move on[/quote]Another added: “Yes but there should be something to help private renters too as prices are getting ridiculous for anyone to buy.”
A third commented: “I think it’s a brilliant way of getting onto the property ladder.”
However, at the same time, someone else wrote: “I think no, we are lucky enough to have it and they can’t keep up with building to fit the demand. Council cheaper rent allows you to be able to save.”
A second chimed in: “No, they should be there for people who need them in hard times for them to be able to get back on their feet and then move on.”
Whilst another snapped: “No. In Scotland you can’t purchase a council house now. It failed and housing wasn’t replaced and we have a housing crisis now.”
Celene’s home transformation
Celene previously revealed all to Fabulous on her mega council house makeover.
She explained that she often shops in high-street chains such as B&M, The Range and Home Bargains and by watching YouTube clips, was able to give her home a stunning transformation.
And while keyboard warriors tell her that her DIY work is ‘a waste of money’, Celene isn’t fussed and loves her gorgeous home.
Celene previously told Fabulous: “I moved in a couple of years ago now and it was a blank canvas essentially.
“It was really run down, it was left in a state, there was nothing on the floor, the garden was horrendous.
“I think the previous people who lived there were smokers as it had yellow ceilings.
“It was your typical council house, what they deem ‘liveable’ – there was some paint but it was what was left – so some of the doors were purple.
“Some of the walls had wallpaper but it was just what was left.
“There was no flooring down, there was an old lino that had been ripped up so it was quite bare.”
[quote credit=”Celene Francis “]I like to be on a budget and especially in this day and age, I haven’t got loads of spare money[/quote]Celene got to work on making the home her own and watched YouTube video to learn about DIY.
She explained: “I’ve done all sorts of DIY. I’ve painted it all white.
“I painted the kitchen cupboards, got new handles, and painted the tiles.
“Obviously I put down flooring and just got laminate and carpets.
“On the stairs I did a stair runner and just used what was leftover from my carpet.
“I did all of the DIY myself – obviously the carpet I had that fitted, but I did everything else myself, including fitting the stair rods and all of the painting.
“I watched a lot of YouTube videos but I’ve always been into DIY and interiors and doing things myself.”
As a single mother, Celene tried to cut costs where possible, and so bought a lot of her home furnishings from cheap high-street chains.
She added: “I like to be on a budget and especially in this day and age, I haven’t got loads of spare money.
“I’ve done everything gradually and I don’t really go out or drink [alcohol] so any spare money I have, I buy things for the house.
“I mainly shop at The Range, B&M, Home Bargains and IKEA, but my favourite shop is B&M. I absolutely love B&M. As soon as something is trendy, B&M have it straight away.”
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