Nowhere to live over Christmas, advice needed

People seem to be falling over themselves to offer out-there solutions to the OP - be a pet sitter, live in a van, live in an abandoned castle. She can just rent a room which would be the best solution for her, surely.

You come on here and make bitchy comments to someone going through a tough time. How odd.

Mumsnet "wit" at its finest there .
Pointless & unhelpful

https://liveinguardians.com/locations/london-property-guardians

Might be worth a look. A good friend did it for a year and while it wasn't the best it wasn't too bad according to him anyway

Oh and please do ignore the posters telling you to "rescind" your notice; you can't do that. Your tenancy will end when it was due to end, and if you did stay, your landlord wouldn't need a court order to evict you.

From Shelter Legal:

Status of tenants after notice period expires
A valid notice to quit (NTQ) served by the tenant will end their periodic tenancy. The tenancy ends when the NTQ expires.
Former tenants who can be lawfully evicted without a court order after their notice expires
The following occupiers can be lawfully evicted without a court order if they remain in the property after the notice period they gave in a valid NTQ expires:
excluded occupiers
statutorily protected tenants
Statutorily protected tenants are:
Rent Act protected/regulated tenants
assured and assured shorthold tenants
[OP is an Assured Shorthold Tenant]
from https://england.shelter.org.uk/professional_resources/legal/renting/how_a_tenant_can_end_a_tenancy/occupiers_notice_to_end_a_periodic_tenancy_or_licence#status-of-tenants-after-notice-period-expires

What a crass comment.

I am so sorry, OP. This sounds so hard.

This might seem a bit silly, but perhaps try posting on your local NextDoor and seeing if anyone can help? Obviously, keep an eye out for skeevy men and con artists, but I’ve found people on there to be incredibly helpful and community minded. They might have useful local suggestions.

Lots of rooms to rent
https://m.spareroom.co.uk/flatshare/?search_id=1335640877&

This. You absolutely must wait until you've exchanged contracts before giving notice to end your tenancy. You have to factor this into the budget.

I think PPs' suggestions of looking for house-sitting or lodger type arrangements seem the best option. If you do want to look for another rental you'd ideally need a short fixed term (eg 6 months) so you can leave after that point if you do find another house soon.

Did the seller give a reason for pulling out?

So sorry OP.
I live in a similar area and will keep an ear out for short term houseshares or similar. Such s nightmare for you.

Get in touch with your landlord and explain tell them you are looking for something else asap ( maybe mention health) can you at least have a bit longer ? . Call shelter and see where you would stand if you don’t/ can’t move straight away? . Good luck OP

I'm so sorry you are in this situation. Jamyang Buddhist centre in Vauxhall has cheap and nice rooms (around 40 per night I think) which might be an option until you get something more permanent sorted.

What about trying to sign up to a house sitting site?

Your first paragraph is really ignorant and clueless, not to mention insensitive.

What about university accommodation? Sometimes it’s vacated and rented out during holidays. Otherwise hostels / airbnb / spare room.

Now is not the time to panic, you have options.

We’ve used Trustedhousesitters previously when we were away and needed someone to look after our pet. You may well find one without a pet. Some people have month long/extended stays, which would be really useful.

I would also look for a room/apt in the meantime. You may find a someone is subletting their room (at a reduced rate) whilst they’re away for Christmas or travelling. I would also put my things into storage until I found a more perm solution.

You won’t be homeless; you’ve got this.

There are several rooms on spare room.com in coulsdon for £800 a month. That’s got to be cheaper than your current rent, storage is £200 a month. Most house shares are min 6 months then rolling basis, gives you time to find you forever home.
wishing you best of luck.

A room in a house will be the cheapest rent.

Cat sitting/ dog sitting? Loads of people over Facebook house sitting sites wanting someone to pet sit rent free. I’ve seen some in London definitely! Also longer term ones…

Have you asked everyone you know? And asked them to ask everyone?
I think knowing it’s only temporary might encourage some people for the extra money.

My friend was stuck when her rental ended and she was moving across country in a month. My friend had a house that wouldn’t sell so I tried to put them together but even with my guarantee she wouldn’t go for it. She regretted it and kept asking me months later if she wanted to move in (she’d already left).

Not sure it would really. If OP rents a room for £700 a month for say five months until she can complete on a property, that’s £3500. If she buys a van that’s livable that’s shitloads plus she will be freezing cold and damp living there in the winter and will have issues parking seeing as she lives in London. Also she will need to dip into her deposit money to buy this van so won’t be able to buy anything until she’s sold the van.

She didn't have to afford both at the same time. If exchange of contracts had taken place OP could have decided a completion date and then handed her notice. Why would you do it before? Total madness.

Agree a house sit would be ideal at this time of year - if you have a local Facebook page you could ask on there.