Housing

On £28k in Surrey he is unlikely to be able to afford a one bed or studio on his own.

Can he get together with colleagues or friends and look for somewhere to share? When I was renting in London as a sharer I and two housemates used to look at three bed places together, so you present the landlord with a ready made solution - three sharers who already get on.

A decent up front deposit may make him a more attractive proposition. He also needs to pay up on his credentials - he is in a decent, trustworthy, safe profession who works regular hours - so more attractive to landlords.

Poor thing I'm not surprised how depressing .

Spare room is the only option I think to rent a room

I think his best option would be to apply for jobs in lower cost areas of the country. If the government can pay teachers enough to live in the home counties then there are going to be many more unfilled positions.

Is he being flexible on location? He might need to widen his search area and put up with a longer commute in order to find somewhere.

He needs to have his name down with every local estate agent, and be asking on local social media groups about private rentals. He could register with a housing association but wouldn’t be a priority for them.

I’ve known people stay in caravans while they wait to find somewhere to rent, that might be an option.

Roughly where abouts in Surrey is he and does he drive?

If he is close to the boarders, has he looked in places like Hampshire and Berkshire as well.

It’s in the op, hes not had any luck finding house shares

Depending on where in Surrey he is, it is entirely possible to get a room in a house share for £650-850 pcm with bills included in some cases. Loads of them on SpareRoom. Plenty of people house share well into their 30s and beyond now as One bed flats are more of a stretch (unless you touch lucky they’re obscenely priced) and bedsits mostly not a thing. It’s an expensive county but then renting pretty much anywhere is now.

As others have said, with him having 3 jobs, is it that he’s NQT and on the lowest wage bracket or does he have loans/debts that are affecting his outgoings/landlord credit checks?

There are teaching housing associations (specifically for teachers) too, maybe worth asking union if they know abut anything in the area.
At worst,spare room and share for a bit?

Def send out a whole school staff email asking if anyone has a room to rent or knows of one. Even if it’s only on a week by week basis until he finds somewhere. This happened all the time at my old school and someone was always found to help out.

He’s probably going to need to pay £800-£1200 for a room depending where in Surrey he is. Plus car, food etc.

Well not really. He'd still have nowhere to live but have a lot less money.

Is he in his first year of teaching then?

As even for a 1 year teacher it's £28,000 which is around £2k a month after tax. That should be enough to live on surely as a single male?!?!

If there's an option to move home, then why not have him teach and live with you? That way he can save up more money, plus teaching salaries increase a lot in the first 8 years if you meet your targets.

Does the pub rent out rooms?

has he tried looking in newsagent windows? He could put a card in the window asking if anyone has a room to rent. (I know it’s old fashioned but I live in Surrey and newsagents do still have cards in windows)

He can try local housing associations. Sometimes they have housing for key workers. I've know to single men who've got one needs this way.

Can't he come home and teach at a school near you?

It's terrible this is the situation but if he can do that and save a deposit for a house then buy when he is ready in a more affordable area.

This is so sad to read. Things are just terrible for young people right now. I have four at home, the eldest 2 really need to move out but cannot afford to rent or buy.

He will not be any kind of priority as a single male.

Has he tried social media and other websites like Gumtree?
Also asking around locally and putting up notices in shops and maybe the library.
He could also look online for others in his situation and rent somewhere bigger as a house share, ie set up his own house share.

He should definitely let the head teacher know.

Look into houseshares.

Also, as he has friends and coworkers that know him, ask if any would be prepared to take a lodger into a room and houseshare. They themselves might have mortgage rises on the horizon and be happy to accommodate someone they already know (and know has a decent income to pay!)

Maybe he can try homeshare uk and sharemyhome, it’s where you house share with an older person. Worth a look.

Could shared ownership be an option? Some 1 beds the deposit needed is only about 5k could he scrape/borrow that then the mortgage needed is much lower, places I've seen with rent and mortgage together it isn't anymore than normal rent you would pay

Better to be on benefits then

A single man in employment is unlikely to get council accomodation in Surrey.

Can the school help? There may be spare rooms going that aren't on the main sites.