Renting Quandary

lynzpower

It all depends whether the OP wants a property from the council or not.

If they DO , then they have to go down the applying for homelessness/ not reasonable to occupy route and hope they get lucky. otherwise for the landlady its court time.

If the OP doenst want council accomodation, then they can go off without the eviction process taking place. really the eviction process is to satisfy the state that the person is "really" homeless, as bob said above. This has no bearing from one private rented to another

ems2

To actually find a place to live once deposit etc is sorted try

https://www.gumtree.co.uk

They have different sites dependent on where in UK/World you are and genarally dealing direct with Landlords, so no agents fees.

or you could try packing early and selling any unwanteds you come acreoss on ebay...

zar

Could you perhaps try your local credit union if you have one? I think they are quite good for things like this, although I have no personal experience. You'd have to pay interest though, and if you have good enough credit to get an interest-free credit card that would be cheaper, as would borrowing off friends/family. The rules are different in different credit union organisations, you may have to save for a while first but that might help you save it up anyway. Don't forget its your money and hopefully you will get it back one day, which isn't much comfort I know.

There seems to be a trend with some agents to ask for more than one month's rent as a deposit, I'd avoid this at all costs if possible. Also if you can possibly find somewhere privately, you'll avoid high up-front fees.

black-saturn

lynzpower wrote:

If you have children there is now a 12 week rule of temporary B&B/hostel accomodation then BY LAW thecouncil have to rehouse you in a self contained "stage 2" accomodation. Doesnt apply if you dont have kids though im afraid.

Really? I didnt know that. I was in a hostel for the homeless with winos and druggies in it with 2 children aged 9 and 6 for 6 months. Someone else I know with a baby has been in the same one for nearly a year.

Luckily fate has shined on me now and I now have my own place with no mortgage but I wish I'd known about the 12 week rule at the time. Is it something they keep a secret?

lynzpower

I think you did know that black-saturn as I stated this in a previous post that you replied to

black-saturn

lynzpower wrote:

I think you did know that black-saturn as I stated this in a previous post that you replied to

No I honestly didnt know. I'm not lying about being in a hostel that long :rolleyes:

lynzpower

Maybe you forgot you replied to me some weeks ago then the law changed - yet another success from New Labour




"The Government has taken a number of welcome steps to tackle homelessness among families and children. This includes introducing Regulations legislation to end the use of bed and breakfast for families, except in an emergency for more than six weeks"
FROM HERE http://england.shelter.org.uk/policy/policy-967.cfm

Its not a secret where I work, far from it, Shelters no is given out to applicants to access further support and advocacy. Im hunting around for the regs will pm you with them or post here

lynzpower

6-12 weeks, will have a look at that, to see whats what...

The other thing to note is that "stage 2" accomodation can be provided within a hostel environment, but it must be self contained, ie not sharing kitchen/ bathrooms with other residents.

Your freind should speak with Shelter & get a case worker PRONTO!

missk_ensington

I'd refuse to move out. My mum has rental properties and is very cautious about women with kids because she had one a while back who moved in and never paid a penny in rent (despite receiving housing benefit!) and it took 12 months for my mum to get her out, and I don't think she ever recovered any money, and if she did it wasn't a lot. She played the 'single parent, can't afford the rent' card and my mum was powerless. This woman, was also working cash in hand and got caught from claiming benefits and working, and the council tried to recover the fraudulent Housing Benefit off my mum as the rules state that the Landlord is responsible for paying back any overpayment in Housing Benefit, despite the fact my mum didn't even know she had a HB tenant! The woman had the money paid direct to her and told my mum she was working!

The point I'm making is the tenant has all the rights, not the landlord/lady.
Good luck x

cariadai

Thanks so much everyone for your input and suggestions. We don't have children, and we don't want to go into council housing for certain reasons. I think I will have a word with our landlady (who is really, really nice) and ask if we can pay off the last month's rent gradually to help us save up. Also I will take up the suggestion to ask for a good reference that I can offer the next landlord in lieu of a bond. Thanks again everyone!

Troodle