What are the chances of this landlord dropping their rent?

Mum-2-Be

Hun its not the same all over the country, for £1200 in Scotland you can get 5 bedroom, detached house!

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-to-rent/property-18111681.html

I know your wee one has not long started school but she is young enough to settle happily elsewhere, I would seriously look at moving to a different city as there is very little tying you to London.

silvercar

The landlord has a choice, to hold out for more or accept a lower rent. There are many people on benefits who are willing to pay a top-up on the LHA (either from earnings or from other benefits or maintenance). You have to decide if the house is worth it and if you can afford it now and in the future. Do you intend to come off benefits and work in the future? Would that make the rent more affordable?

If this is the best place you have seen, you have a difficult decision to make. TBH I wouldn't have looked at something way above my price limit - it only leads to disappointment.

EastMidsGal

Thanks but I wouldn't get £1200 in Scotland, it varies depending on the area. London is an expensive city so the LHA is higher than other areas. Scotland is a lot cheaper, so in London I get £1200 in Scotland I would get a guesstimate of £600. I have been looking at the LHA rates in Leeds, the LHA rate I would get there is £700. And even there I can't find anything under that where they will accept DSS. There was one place but it fell through as I have no guarantor.

This is her third school, she's only been there a year and though I will move if I have to, to have a new baby, move to a completely different area, my daughter start at a new school, not know anyone, it's just too much if I can avoid it. And I have been looking outside of London, it's the same everywhere, either over the LHA or they don't want DSS.

EastMidsGal

silvercar wrote: »

The landlord has a choice, to hold out for more or accept a lower rent. There are many people on benefits who are willing to pay a top-up on the LHA (either from earnings or from other benefits or maintenance). You have to decide if the house is worth it and if you can afford it now and in the future. Do you intend to come off benefits and work in the future? Would that make the rent more affordable?

If this is the best place you have seen, you have a difficult decision to make. TBH I wouldn't have looked at something way above my price limit - it only leads to disappointment.

I won't be able to afford the top up, I can't gamble my home on my maybe getting money in the future from my ex. If I use what benefits I am on now, we literally will be living off a barebones diet and not even have bus fare to leave the house, we'll have a roof over our heads but not much of a life

When I viewed it I thought it was under the LHA, it was only afterwards I found out it came under a different council with a huge difference in LHA rates.

I spoke to the lettings agent, the landlady hasn't got back to them yet but they don't think she'll accept £1200.

I spoke to a housing advisory service and they said that if I don't find anything then we'll be put into temporary accommodation and eventually social housing. So rather than introducing LHA to help people get into the private rental market which they say it was designed for, they've put it so low now that it is going to force people back into the social sector as it's too low for the private.

EastMidsGal

Mum-2-Be wrote: »

Hun its not the same all over the country, for £1200 in Scotland you can get 5 bedroom, detached house!

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-to-rent/property-18111681.html

I know your wee one has not long started school but she is young enough to settle happily elsewhere, I would seriously look at moving to a different city as there is very little tying you to London.

Thanks Mum-2-Be but I have just checked, I will only be entitled to £500 pcm in North Lanarkshire, but thanks for trying

ladymarmalade1970

EastMidsGal wrote: »

I won't be able to afford the top up, I can't gamble my home on my maybe getting money in the future from my ex. If I use what benefits I am on now, we literally will be living off a barebones diet and not even have bus fare to leave the house, we'll have a roof over our heads but not much of a life

When I viewed it I thought it was under the LHA, it was only afterwards I found out it came under a different council with a huge difference in LHA rates.

I spoke to the lettings agent, the landlady hasn't got back to them yet but they don't think she'll accept £1200.

I spoke to a housing advisory service and they said that if I don't find anything then we'll be put into temporary accommodation and eventually social housing. So rather than introducing LHA to help people get into the private rental market which they say it was designed for, they've put it so low now that it is going to force people back into the social sector as it's too low for the private.

I know its hard but this may be your best bet as you will have affordable housing. I had to do this when leaving a violent partner with 3 children. When my youngest child was brought home from the hospital our home was actually 1 room in a hostel. I lived in a housing association house for 5 years whilst claiming some benefits and doing my degree. It did cost me lots, approximately £18k in student loans but it was worth it as now we live in a lovely house (mortgaged) and i have a well paid job. Social housing and the system worked really well for me and it could do the same for you...

EastMidsGal

Thanks Ladymarmalade, that certainly seems to be the direction we're heading. As I said as long as we have a safe home that's the main thing. I am just feeling super hormonal and tired and it's the not knowing that is driving me mad. I've been doing my research and we'll get more points if we hang on till evicted by a judge so I'll do that to bump up my points so we are housed sooner. Doesn't do much to help LHA tenants in the eyes of letting agents and landlords does it? Will just make it even harder in future for tenants to find sympathetic landlords. At the end of the day though it's not my problem, not my fault either that the landlord wants to sell the house, I've been a model tenant, passing all inspections and with good references

BitterAndTwisted

I think you're out of your mind for a number of reasons and one of them is contemplating living in the middle of a council-estate in London. The other one is looking at three-bed houses. With a young child and an unborn baby you don't need three bedrooms by any stretch of the imagination and most probably won't ever unless you keep on having more babies.

ClareyFairy

I know some of the others said about moving area, I know thats not ideal and probably a bit scary in your current condition. Have you considered areas in essex such as braintree, witham, chelmsford and colchester seems to be some options available there,
braintree.gov.uk/NR/rdonlyres/915CFCA6-AB1E-4382-8B37-2DCB038E4059/0/LocalHousingAllowanceMarch2011.pdf

Hope u find somewhere before your baby arrives.

BitterAndTwisted

If this property is so attractive why hasn't it been snapped up already? There are people fighting each other to get into decent, affordable housing in this city. Perhaps all of the people who have rejected it know more about this particular neighbourhood than you do.