09 Mar 2015

A question about : Homeless Dilemma. Help.

So I became a single parent in November and my LL gave me notice in December (not related to my new circumstances).
Anyway, he got the first notice wrong and now I was served the second one which finishes in 2 months time.

Since December I am looking everywhere, it is hard to find places in my area for the same rent I am paying now and the cheapest is Ј100 /month more expensive. I could pay that with a push and sacrifice but no one will take me as I receive LHA to help paying the rent. I work full time in a stable job, have good references but the no DSS rule is everywhere.

I already had an interview with the council and they will help if I have no where to go when I am required to vacate the current property but this worries me a lot, all the demand and uncertainty.

I found a private LL who would probably be willing to rent to me, we haven't met yet but I explained my situation through email. My dilemma is, should I move out and pay Ј100/month more in rent plus transport (I now live walking distance to work and school) with the risk that in six months or one year time the LL will increase the rent or even evict me and I will be back to square 1. Or should I just accept that I am a single parent on low income and let myself go the homeless route?

Best answers:

  • Have you still not got this sorted!
    Extra travel costs will probably still apply if you go the homeless route as the chances of the b&b will be in your current area will be very slim. You won't have a choice of area but if you go the private rental route you can at least control the distance from the school etc. You may end up with higher travel costs plus the amount of rent you will have to pay towards the b&b.
  • I don't really think anyone can answer the question for you, just highlight the pros and cons. I suspect you already know them.
    Virtually all private tenants are somewhere between 2 months and a year from being served notice, with a 6 month tenancy and periodic (rolling) tenancies being the most common. It is very easy for any private landlord to raise the rent.
    And while you may secure social housing with the council, you may end up with a 1 year private tenancy as that single offer of accommodation is sufficient for them to discharge their legal homeless obligations.
    One pro of proceding with the new landlord is that at least you get a degree of control over deciding if you want to live there unlike the council who will control you. However, finding an extra Ј100 - is this really feasible?
    I suspect deep down you hope to get a council property? That would take away all the insecurity that many private tenants suffer but what is the likelihood of this? This gamble is risky but potentially rewarding.
    A more realistic long term plan would be to accept the inevitable - for many years now, the affordability of property in central London is out of the reach of most benefit claimants. Your medium to long term plan would be to move to a cheaper part of the city, or a cheaper part of the country. When you are dependent on the state for the bulk of your income, you get very limited choice - London and the south east are ruinously expensive for accommodation costs.
  • You've asked the same question several times.
    If this new place suits your circumstances, why wouldn't you want to take it? Near to your child's school and your place of work.
    If you wait and go down the 'homeless' route, how likely are you to be offered the type of accommodation in the location that you want ?
    I believe you live in London and will just be one of hundred's of other single parents chasing the same virtually non-existent properties.
    What if they offer you somewhere in a different part of the Country, would you take it ?
  • Thanks.
    Yes I still haven't got this sorted, can't find anyone to accept me.
    This new property is not a definite yes. The LL wants to meet me first, probably will want to go through my income and benefits. I don't have guarantors.
    So going the homeless route is not even a choice, is lack of choice if I am honest.
    I know that everyone thinks I should just move out somewhere BUT I am doing very well at work and I am very lucky to have my job (TA in my daughter's school). Is it the best option that I have to move somewhere totally out of my community and end up unemployed too?
    Also my exH won't be able to have as much contact if I move too far away and my daughter will lose out on a relationship with her father. So these are the 2 reasons that makes me wants to stay around here.
    Also around where I live there are lots of single parents or even couples with children who do not work and have it all handed to them. They also can't afford to live here but they do. Is it wrong to want the same?
  • And it is not central London. Is already a cheap part of London.
  • Which part of London is cheap ?
  • Cheaper in comparison to other parts, specially central London.
  • You are not going to get cheaper in CL! I have friends who work and live in CL and waiting lists for SH is years. One friend has a family placed 125 miles awa in emergency housing from school friends and work.
    I think gambling on your Childs education and your employment with odds of getting SH is not wise. Just my opinion.
  • BigAunty hasn't mis-remembered. You did claim that you lived in an .... ''expensive' area in London...' albeit in a '..poorer part..' and in another, you stated that your borough has the cheapest CT in the country. I think it would be easy to guess your location.
    Clearly rents in that area are astronomically high. You need to be realistic regarding social housing.
    If you can find a LL willing to offer you a place in an area you would like to live it might be the best option open to you.
  • Sorry I can't help you but I just wanted to say that I can't believe I'm still hearing all this No DHSS business in 2015. It's clear discrimination.
    I had a lot of problems with it about fifteen years ago whilst out of work, I'm surprised that it's being applied to people working full time as you'd think that would reassure them.
    It's ridiculous that you can have an immaculate record of rental payments going back 5 years as I did, great references, the deposit and the first months rent and they still won't let the property out to you.
    It's about time someone took one of these landlords to court over it and tried to get the law changed. I'm surprised this hasn't been done by now.
  • The problem is that landlords can reject any applicant and there is very little comeback unless the applicant can show there is discrimination on legal grounds such as race.
    When the landlords say "no DSS" what they really mean is "no unemployed", there is quite a difference. With so many people looking for rentals they can afford to be choosy especially if the property is half decent with affordable rent.
    The problem with LHA is that it is paid in arrears and can be stopped rather too easily leaving the landlord with rent arrears. This may not be a problem if the LL owns the property outright but if there is a mortgage that is not being paid due to rent arrears then having a tenant does not stop repossession in which case the tenant can quickly become homeless.
    I am not sure how the "no DSS" rule by the insurance companies or mortgage givers would stand up in court if challenged because if a tenant who is working loses their job and has to claim HB/LHA then they cannot be evicted on those grounds.
    I would like to point out that both rent arrears and trashing the property is not restricted to benefit tenants, it can happen with working ones as well. Fortunately there are far more good tenants than there are bad ones (and this applies to LLs as well)
  • *****When the landlords say "no DSS" what they really mean is "no unemployed*****
    This hasn't been my experience.
    I humiliated myself every time I went to see a property. I take employment contract, payslips, bank statement, landlord's reference, benefits award letters. I tell them I will pay everything in advance and my credit is clean, they can check.
    Still no luck.
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