Help need advice re unemployed son moving to London

facingthefuture

Hello,
my son has been struggling to get full time work so has decided to move from hicksville to the big smoke...in this case London. Anyway, I am worried because until he gets a job/career he will have no income apart from unemployment benefit. So please can you tell me will he get help/benefit with rent for a room? He is a 24 year old single british male (er I know doesn't bode well).

stroodes

not happy answering this as am not too clever on subject, jus wanted not to leave u without any advice or response, hope someone else can give you advice.

MrsManda

If he puts his details into the turn2us benefits calculator it'll give him a rough idea of what he may be able to claim.
How is he funding himself at the moment? - is he claiming JSA or working PT? if he leaves a job voluntarily he may be sanctioned upto 26 weeks from receiving JSA.

What kind of work is he looking for?

London is an expensive city to live in and there is a lot of competition for jobs. Why has he decided that London is the place to move to? Has he started looking for a job in the area?

Benefits calculators:
http://www.turn2us.org.uk/benefits_search.aspx

https://www.dwpe-services.direct.gov.uk/portal/page/portal/ba/lp?_piref278_36249_278_36248_36248.__ora_navig=

facingthefuture

Thanks for your answers.

He is unemployed on jobseekers at the moment and just wants to have a future. Here there is nothing...but his family.:(
I don't blame him, I just want him to be safe and well.

Hammyman

Hope he has a good credit rating and £2000+ to cover a bond and first months rent or he'll be sleeping in Hyde park on a bench. He'll get help with accommodation but only for the amount that will pay for a room in a shared house.

London is about the most expensive place to live in the UK which is why employers pay a London weighting allowance to try and alleviate that.

MissMoneypenny

facingthefuture wrote: »

Thanks for your answers.

He is unemployed on jobseekers at the moment and just wants to have a future. Here there is nothing...but his family.:(
I don't blame him, I just want him to be safe and well.

He needs to find a job BEFORE he moves. London is very expensive and the housing benefit cuts means he may not have enough money to rent and eat. The cheaper areas are not nice and not safe. Why can't he travel to London for interviews?

Unless he can find a job on at least 35k in London, he will be poor.

Other cities also offer a good lifestyle; but he really should have the job before he leaves home, to ensure he will be able to eat well.

RAS

You cannot stop him moving to London but given the pressure on housing, would he not be better considering a city outside London where costs are lower or somewhere where he knows one or two people who will put him up for a week or two if needs be.

Moving to London without a job and a deposit for a room would be a nightmare.

CandyApocalypse

I used to live near London, and I would never recommend anyone moving there without a job. It is a very expensive place to live, not just rent, but food etc.

If he is determined to move closer to the city, I would advise him to live in one of the suburbs and do the commute each day as it does work out cheaper.

Housing benefit will give him money towards a place, but it probably won't cover the full rent, and also, if they aren't offering a bond scheme, he will need the bond plus a months rent in advance minimum. Also, with the amount of money he will have to play with, I can't say I envy the type of accommodation he will wind up with.

Has he also put in a search for the type of jobs that he is looking for to check how many they are compared with where he is now? Could he not apply for a few before moving and see if he gets interviews? If he does, then he knows he is in with a chance of getting a job when there.

puddy

he needs to save up some deposit now whilst he is still at home. if he arrives in london with his suitcase (or any other location for that matter) what is he going to use for his first months rent and the deposit? Housing benefit pays in arrears so he will always need to have paid in advance if he isnt going to be evicted

for a single person i would recommend spareroom.com, he wants a house share where he shares bathroom and kitchen. that way the deposit is not too bad and its unlikely the landlord will want a guarantor and things

he may just have to keep it to himself that he is claiming HB

he also needs to make sure that the place he rents will be covered by hb/lha because if he rents somewhere say for £80pw but LHA for that area wont pay more than £70 he will be out of pocket (this is for single rooms)