Housing options. Legally homeless

Sarahspangles

Try googling the words rent deposit bond guarantee + your town's name. That will help you identify if there is a scheme to help.

Or is there anyone from school you are still in contact with - facebook? - who might want a lodger for a bit. Plenty of young people ask around for these things.

Once you are working you may find someone who wants to flat share. We have a notice board at work and there are sometimes cards from people offering or wanting lodgings (we have a lot of young staff)

StrugglingApprentice

Im done with lodging. Id seriously rather sleep in the car at least i know i own it had 3 places as a lodger and always ended up on my ear with minimal notice. Ive never missed a rent payment but sometimes worked anti-social hours and it started to affect landlord/their families. Being locked out got old, especially with nothing in writing and not even a house key.

Crunching numbers, and based on earnings from my new job i can afford to rent. Barely. I just cant afford a month up front and a deposit. I am waiting for a call from a deposit help scheme, and found a place id like to rent, in addition to going to the council offices tomorrow to have an interview.

Fingers crossed.

brightbell276

Care leavers will receive assistance from the local authority up until the age of 21, or 24 if you're in full time education. If you are available for work and have no dependants or other vulnerability, the Local Authority may deem you to have no priority need for accommodation, under part vii of the Housing Act 1996, which deals with homelessness. The council should have taken a homeless application from you, when you presented. The fact that you appear to have no apparent priority need does not mean that the council can wriggle out of taking the application. You should have received a decision letter pursuant to s184 HA 1996, giving reasons for its decision.

You should enquire about whether the council has a deposit bond scheme, which assists those on low income to find privately rented accommodation.

On the face of it, you do appear to have no apparent priority need for accommodation. However, the council must fully investigate this .

In private rented accommodation you will only qualify for the shared room rate local housing allowance, as you are under 35 years of age.

Please pm me if you require further advice.

brightbell276

I can't reply to your second pm, as the spam system only allows one message per hour for newbies! I will reply in the morning. If you are paid, for your new work, it's not likely to be classed as full time education. Realistically, you need your s184 decision letter to request a review of the decision, pursuant to S202 HA 1996, within 21 days of receiving the letter. This can be challenged on your behalf, if your legal adviser feels there is merit. This would challenge the decision itself. If the adviser felt there was merit in challenging the way in which the council reached the decision, this could be done by judicial review.

You need to take full advice from Shelter and take the decision letter with you, so this can be looked at, in full.

BigAunty

StrugglingApprentice wrote: »

Crunching numbers, and based on earnings from my new job i can afford to rent. Barely..

Enter your employment income into the Turn2us online benefit calculator and this will identify if you are due any housing benefit at the shared property rate of LHA.

StrugglingApprentice

According to that im entitled to nothing at all

RAS

Once you have a secure job, have you considered being a guardian for a while.

Ok it is shared but it is also very cheap.

StrugglingApprentice

I have been looking. The problem is finding somewhere within a commutable radius to the new job.

Edit : The general jist of the meeting this morning is im entitled to no help at all, gave me a phone number for shelter and said speak to them.

So basically, im 24 with a job due to start, homeless but its ok because im sleeping in the car. How the hell is that right?

Sorry, im just ranting. This is stupid. I watched someone get a flat within a week because his parents wrote a letter saying theyre throwing him out. Boom flat, housing benefit then a couple of months later earning over £20k a year.

Il be earning less than £15k and not entitled to anything at all. If im a lodger i get evicted at short notice virtually no rights and cant save a deposit, or sleep in the car.

Sarahspangles

It's not what you want to hear, but you're 24, you're about to start a new job, you've got a car. We all have to start somewhere, and we all put up with some things to get started in life. I bet you look back in a couple of years and find you've travelled far from this start.

[Deleted User]

You have very very valid reasons for wanting your own, more secure place.

But however much you want it, it might not be possible right now.

So then you have to look at lodger arrangements and how you might be able to avoid being thrown out at a moments notice. Was there anything at all you said or did that could have caused problems or perhaps you might have reacted to something you didnt like in a way that guaranteed tempers would flare rather than have a calm discussion.

I am not being critical here.., just practical. I have had to practically tie my tongue down at times when someone's trying it on with me. But if they are more powerful (like your LL) you are NEVER going to win an argument). You could possibly negotiate your way around them if you stay calm.

Or you can move.

Yes its not the stable address you want, but I'm afraid you have to deal with the options you have in front of you.