Need help (renting)

smj43

I currently share a home with my partner and her family. We have a 4 month old baby and it's getting really overcrowded. We really need to find our own place but it's proving to be really difficult.

Currently I am working. I have been in the same job for nearly 3 years. My partner is a stay at home mum for the time being. I am on a low wage of £990 per month. I also receive a combination of child/working tax credit and child benefit which totals £475 per month. So in total, I have £1465 a month to live on.

Now, we have tried desperately to find a property to rent but no estate agents will accept me with such a low income. I live in London, which as I'm sure you know is really expensive. Average price for a 2 bedroom flat is just over £1000 per month. It's obvious that I can't afford this without LHA, which no landlord around here will accept. I've been told I need to earn around £30k before I would be considered for letting.

What can I do? I figure they have calculated this as 2.5 times the monthly rent. According to that calculation, I can afford up to £586 per month on my current income. Does anybody know anywhere not too far from London that I could afford?

BitterAndTwisted

I don't wish to sound too unhelpful but your planning could have been better. Like securing accommodation before you started a family when you would have had two incomes to finance it.

I can't think of anywhere at all in the whole of the South-East where you could rent a property for £150 a week. If you're going to stay in the same job the further you move out of London the higher your travel costs will be, so there is likely to be little saving overall.

smj43

Well ideally I would have done things the right way around, but the baby wasn't at all planned so there's not much I can do about that. Thank you for your advise though. I may be taking up a second job which would give me an extra £400 or so per month after tax. So I could go up to £746 per month. Surely I could get a 2 bed flat near London for that?

BitterAndTwisted

Depends on what you mean by "near London". For that sort of rent I suspect you may have to move to somewhere like Basildon, Luton or Gravesend. Once you've added in the rail-fares it could become totally unaffordable.

ruggedtoast

God cut the poor guy some slack. He's trying to work and pay his way, all he wants is a fricking 2 bedroom flat for his family.

Sadly mate, if you want to stay in the capital, you'd be better off quitting work and turning up outside the social with your family sticking your hands out.

It makes my blood boil. He has every right to a family life and adequate housing, exactly like Rupert and Camilla who will never do a days work in their life, or a family of recent immigrants.

Sorry not to have anything more constructive to tell you buddy. If I were you I would look at jobs outside London. I earned a fair bit more than you do, had significant savings, and still found myself priced out.

Not one day has gone by where I have ever regretted leaving.

smj43

I wish I could leave London. I mean, I love it here but the prices of property are astronomical. I used to live in Lincolnshire where £500pm would get you a nice family house in a good area. Unfortunately my job (albeit, not the best) and my family and friends are here.

BitterAndTwisted

ruggedtoast wrote: »

God cut the poor guy some slack. He's trying to work and pay his way, all he wants is a fricking 2 bedroom flat for his family.

Agreed but I doubt that he can afford one. No-one is going to be able to wave a magic wand and make a property available to him at a rent he can afford unless compromises are made. Like a much less desirable neighbourhood (N17 or E17?) or a smaller property.

I live in one of the least desirable post-codes in London and rents for a two-bed round here are about £200 a week

Annisele

I'd be very surprised if *no* landlord near the OP would accept LHA. If he goes into an estate agent that targets itself at the £500+ a week market, then they're not going to touch him. However, large chunks of London have a high proportion of LHA claimants, and they're living somewhere!

I'd suggest that maybe the OP wants to try some different estate agents. Maybe ask the local council if they know of anywhere that accepts LHA?

smj43

BitterAndTwisted wrote: »

Agreed but I doubt that he can afford one. No-one is going to be able to wave a magic wand and make a property available to him at a rent he can afford unless compromises are made. Like a much less desirable neighbourhood (N17 or E17?) or a smaller property.

I live in one of the least desirable post-codes in London and rents for a two-bed round here are about £200 a week

Thank you for being realistic. I realise a compromise will need to be made. I currently live in SW London so closer to this area would be preferable. I'm thinking areas like Tolworth, Surbiton, Worcester Park etc...

smj43

I have had a look around and there is no way I can find anywhere for under £600pm. The lowest I can find is £800 which means I would probably need to claim LHA to help me out for a while until my partner returns to work.

The problem I have is most agents turn me away the minute I mention LHA. I have a friend that was in this same situation and got around it by paying 6 months rent up front which the landlord was more than happy to accept.

Do you think this might work for me?

BitterAndTwisted

Yes, I think that it could. The only way to find out is to visit a few agents and be completely up-front about your circumstances. Some may want you to provide a guarantor as well