PICKING up the keys to her new three-bedroom house, Whitney Ainscough felt that flush of delight all first-time buyers have.
Having left school at 16 with just three at grade F and gone on in her twenties, she thought she would never have the means to afford to purchase a property.
Whitney Ainscough is continuing to live in her cheaper two-bed Housing Association property – despite becoming a homeownerCredit: Fabio De Paola
Whitney is even looking for the next rental property to buyCredit: Supplied
So becoming a homeowner was a “pinch me” moment for the single mum of three — not least because she had paid the entire £132,000 sale price in cash.
But Whitney never intended to live there. Instead, she rents out the home in Rotherham for £795 a month while living in her cheaper two-bed Social Housing property nearby with kids Cora, 13, Addison, eight, and Adley, four.
Her two oldest share one room, and she shares the other with her youngest, but her rent is only £490 a month.
She’s also hunting for a second investment property — using the profits from a social media career that brings in £30,000 to £70,000 a month pre-tax — at least double what Prime Minister Sir gets per month.
Meanwhile, there are around 7,000 people waiting for social housing in the Rotherham area, with only 1,000 homes becoming available to new tenants annually, according to council figures.
The area, which was last week ranked as the 35th most deprived local authority in , has lost 50 per cent of its in recent decades, making the problem worse.
She says: “I agree it’s a bit mad. But I don’t care. I’m in my children’s future.
“Being a landlady with no mortgage, while also looking for a second property and still living in a ‘council’ house, makes no sense. But it is what it is.”
‘I’m thick-skinned’
Whitney qualified for her Housing Association home when she moved in six years ago, although now her circumstances have changed.
Qualifying criteria vary between council areas but once you pass a year’s introductory tenancy, you move to a secure lease — for life, unless you break tenancy clauses — or a flexible one that usually lasts five years or more and the local authority needs a good reason not to renew it.
Some include clauses that require you to give up your home should you buy your own property.
The number of families on waiting lists in England has increased by 37 per cent in the past decade, according to analysis by the National Housing Federation, Crisis and Shelter.
In 32 local authority areas, the wait is longer than an entire childhood, while three in have waits exceeding 100 years for a family property of three bedrooms or more.
Whitney adds: “I got my ‘council’ house fair and square and don’t see why, just because I’ve been successful, I should give that up.
“It’s not my fault there’s people who need homes that don’t have them. That’s the fault of the Government for not building enough housing.
“You can’t just chuck people out of ‘council’ houses because they become successful, like me.
“And why would the council want to chuck me out? I keep it nice, I never default on my rent. You might remove me and get someone who’s constantly in arrears.”
Whitney shot to fame while still on benefits in summer 2023, after her , and accounts called It’sMeBadMom went viral.
At that point she was still receiving £1,200 a month in , after quitting her job as a chemist’s shop assistant after Adley was born.
She says: “I quit because my maternity leave ended and wraparound care became too expensive — I was better off going on Universal Credit. In summer 2023, I was on benefits and was making every penny count.
“I started posting on social media for a bit of a laugh. I didn’t think it would go anywhere, but it really resonated with people.”
I agree it’s bit mad, being landlady with no mortgage, while also looking for second property and still living in public housing.
Initially, she posted controversial “chav” content such as why Cora was allowed to go to school in designer shoes, flouting class policy, and how she let the then-11-year-old get her belly button pierced.
Her few hundred followers rapidly grew in number thanks to her outspoken, unrepentant posts — and now she has more than 234,000 fans on Instagram, 563,000 on TikTok and 145,000 on Facebook. Some of her videos boast 1.2million “likes”.
She is even discussed in newspapers and on TV — often critically. But Whitney never cares because all the publicity has been a goldmine for her.
She says: “As my videos went viral and more and more people viewed them, companies got in contact with me to promote things such as home furnishings, and .
“I’d get a cut of the profits and it became a business. I have had to put up with lots of criticism — people saying I take advantage of benefits, I’m a chav and horrible — but I’m thick-skinned so don’t mind.
“People say I look like a crackhead who is fleecing the system, even though I came off Universal Credit years ago. But no one ever says it to my face. You need to be confident to deal with this — and I am.”
Whitney has also bought a £50,000 Range Rover SportCredit: WHITNEY AINSCOUGH
Single Whitney shot to fame while still on benefits in summer 2023 after her social media accounts went viral
With four corporations listed at and an accountant who manages her wealth, Whitney started house-hunting in February this year and found her dream property almost immediately.
She says: “It’s about 15 minutes from where I currently live and it’s not new-build but isn’t old, with big front and back gardens.
“We’d completed by April and I spent £13,000 putting in new flooring, a kitchen with spotlights and getting parts plastered. Then in May, tenants moved in.
“I have a management company who oversee it for me. Naturally, I pay tax on my social media earnings and I pay tax on my rental income too.
“I just paid a bill for £60,000, which my accountant dealt with. I’m not annoyed to be paying so much, it’s just how it works. I see it as paying back into the system that I used to really rely on.”
Whitney is now so delighted with her new property venture, she has been looking for a second investment.
Her decision has split her followers, with some applauding her entrepreneurship while many others say her actions should not be legal.
She says: “There’s one really nearby for £160,000 which I like the look of. I saw one earlier in the week but didn’t make an offer — there was no parking.
“I’m doing it for my kids, and I may as well take advantage of it while I can. I am very aware social media fame could go overnight so I’m investing in their future.”
But she admits: “I’m a spendaholic. I get £60 orders from McDonald’s delivered by Uber Eats and buy loads of clothes from TikTok.
“I spent £5,000 flying to for a gastric sleeve and have gone from 15st to 8st 3lb. I also bought a £50,000 Sport, I’ve been on four this year and I go away on weekends — staying in hotels that cost £800 a night.”
But she says her children are her No1 priority, adding: “I grew up with nothing. My mum and dad were on benefits and there’s no way I’d have inherited a house.
“I want my kids to be financially secure, too. They deserve that as much as anyone else.” Whitney does intend to buy a bigger property for her family eventually. She says: “I find it annoying squeezing into a two-bed but it’s future-proofing. Plus, I feel like the ‘council’ house is my home.
“People are constantly having a go at single mums for living on benefits and scrounging. But here I am, trying to make sure my kids have a better way of life when they are old, and I’m slammed for it.
“I don’t want Cora to be an influencer, I want her to go to university and do what she wants to do, which at the moment is be a vet. I’m damned if I do, damned if I don’t.”
A spokesperson for Rotherham Council says: “In September 2025, Council Cabinet agreed to make changes to who can apply to join the Housing Register to ensure we give the greatest priority to those in the most urgent need. We do not expect our tenants to have other residential properties.
“We believe JJ Housing (also known as Johnnie Johnson Housing) [who own Whitney’s property] is a not-for-profit housing association. JJ Housing properties do not manage or subcontract properties on behalf of Rotherham Council.”
The bathroom of Whitney Ainscough’s new houseCredit: Supplied
Whitney spent £13,000 putting in new flooring, a kitchen with spotlights and getting parts plastered in her new homeCredit: Supplied 
