A little help with housing options

needhelpJB

Hi all I am just after another bit of advice,
Myself and partner (now ex) both filed for BR in Dec 09 and in preparation we moved from our mortgaged property into rented accommodation we signed a 6 month tenancy which is due to finish next month, we have now decide to call it quits on our relationship, it has gone beyond repair (well for me anyway), so my predicament is how do we sort out housing etc?
At the moment we are both living in the house in separate rooms and try to keep everything as normal as possible for our daughter while she is awake, but I could not do this as a long term option it would drive me insane, so my first thought was for us to put the notice in on the house and move out at the end of the tenancy, but after I have spoken to my local homeless team they said not to do that because I would have made myself intentionally homeless and they would not be able to help me, so I have an appointment to see them next week to see if there is an option for me to keep the house alone (with daughter), but looking at my figures it would be very tight (rent £650 and nursery £620 the biggest costs for me to pay) even with claiming CTC and WTC and the childcare element, the biggest problem for me is it is a 4 bed house and is too big for me and my toddler, the rent costs more than I pay for nursery fees every month, also I was hoping to go part time because the ex is going to move to another town so I don’t have anyone to take my daughter to nursery and pick her up, so I thought I could reduce my hours and then I get to spend more time with her and take her to and from nursery, but if I was to do that I would not be able to afford to stay in the current house.

Also there is a problem as the bond on the house is my ex partners so how will he go about getting that, if the homeless team think I should stay in the property.

Sorry to bombard everyone with questions just finding it difficult to find answers to my problems!

kate252

im no expert but it seems like oull have to caryy on shring until the lease runou cans out and then look fr a smaller house- youll get hlep with housing beneft but only for a two bed house- not a four- so you can look for a 2 bed now- oming up with deposit and rent or when lease runs out if wkring youl pay a contribution to the rent not all of it and will get help with childcare- are you sure, sure, sure you cant stay in the same house but have seperate lives? no silly question then (lol) bt is that better thn poverty, homelessness. not sure what your question was really but anyhoo i sympathise- in same boat myself

Jowo_2

Generally, deposits are not returned until the property is given back to the landlord with vacant possession.

See the Shelter website about homelessness and the local council's obligation to assist you - councils routinely tell tenants to remain in place until the landlord has gained a court order but they should not do this - advice to local councils strongly advise against this when there is a realistic chance that the landlord will get the possession order against the tenant.

Ask Shelter about your options and the council's advice to you - they may have a drop in centre near you or they've got a telephone line or email support.

This practice is known as 'gate-keeping' and designed to keep down the strain on local councils resources - they tend not to act when either a tenant gives notice to the landlord or the landlord serves notice on the tenant.

However, if you get into arrears which lead to your eviction, the council may also refuse to assist you on the grounds that you made yourself intentionally homeless by not paying rent (though this should be aimed at the can't pay types rather than the won't pay). Again, you'll find the support of Shelter or Citizens Advice great for understanding your rights and the councils responsibilities.

princeofpounds

If you can't afford it you can't afford it. You have to put your notice in, find a new, cheaper place to rent you can afford.

Why should the homeless team help you when you have an income and multiple benefits to pay for your accomodation? You are either eligible for local housing allowance or not eligible (worth visiting entitledto.gov and similar sites to make sure you are getting all you are eligible for).

If you have an income but found yourself homeless all they would do is put you in temporary accomodation until you find another private let.

Jowo_2

Only housing experts like Shelter will be able to give you professional advice but my feelings are that you have 2 options which you can run together up to a certain point.

The first is to follow the council's homelessness advice and sit tight until the landlord takes you to court so that they are forced to advise and assist you. Assuming you don't have any arrears, they will be forced under their statutory obligations so will either try to get you into private accommodation, pop you and your daughter in a B&B or hostel or give you social housing. Obviously, you won't know what they offer until the court order is signed which gives you 2 weeks notice to leave or an additional 6 weeks notice if you beg the judge.

The second is to be proactive, take control of your situation, and try to find a smaller private property to move into at the end of this tenancy and keep your current landlord advised of your intentions and progress so he can market your current property for the next set of tenants.

I have to say I'm a bit baffled why a couple who recently experienced severe financial problems decided to live in a 4 bedroom house.

DVardysShadow

Jowo wrote: »

I have to say I'm a bit baffled why a couple who recently experienced severe financial problems decided to live in a 4 bedroom house.

But I am not baffled that a couple who do this after financial problems would experience financial problems in the first place.

needhelpJB. Horrid though it may be, you got into a mess as a couple and your best chance of getting out is to work at it as a couple. Splitting at this point is going to put you both in dire straights for years. So even if you don't give a danm about each other, you would both do better on a purely selfish basis to deal with it together for a few years, unti you can put toigether a plan that puts separate roofs over your heads.

Jowo_2

Well perhaps a 4 bed property is similar in cost to a 3 bed and they'd already figured that one of the adults would be sleeping in the spare room....

What is the situation with child support from your ex? Can he subsidise the shortfall between your income and your outgoings until you find a smaller affordable property?

needhelpJB

Hi there thank you for all your comments
just to say in my defence we moved into a 4 bed because it was same rent for a 3 bed (my ex’s decision and as he is a tradesman and has a full room if not more of tools etc he wanted somewhere to put them) hence why we moved to a slightly bigger house, I am going to speak with the housing people and find out what my options are but I do not wish to stay in this big house so if they are not able to help me (which you are right they do not have to) I shall save up for a deposit etc and move into a smaller rented house.
I think I just needed someone else to tell me how it is instead of having rose tinted glasses and thinking everything will come to me.

So thank you all you have gave me a kick up the butt and I guess now I know what I need to do to sort myself out.

Jowo_2

Do speak to Shelter or CAB - local councils are notorious for doing as little as they possibly and a mystery shopping exercise undertaken by Crisis showed that some don't even meet their statutory duties when dealing with homelessness applications. They will advise you whether the council are dealing with you as they should as the demand on their services are so high that they can sometimes give people short thrift rather than assistance.

needhelpJB

Thanks Jowo I shall do that.

Fire_Fox

Ask your landlord if you can sublet one or two bedrooms?