I’ve just been given notice by landlord. I’m so gutted.

[ILoveMaxiBondi]

Yes I know it was always a possibility but I’m gutted. I love this house. It’s perfect. And now when I move it will be considered a change in circumstances so i’ll be moved into universal credit from tax credits. I don’t have money for a deposit and first months rent. Rental rates have shot up since I was here and my lovely LL didn’t increase my rent in 3 years. (I’m already at the top end) I was in an absolute shithole with a terrible landlord before this and I’m terrified of ending up in another bad situation. I struck gold with this house and landlord. I’m so upset.

Does the LL have any other houses? Why have they given you notice? Go through your budget and see where you can save money now - you should have two months before you need to leave unless you wait for eviction. You'll be getting your deposit back from the current landlord won't you?

No she only has this one and She is moving into it herself with her family as her own circumstances have changed. I have until the end of May to leave. Yes i’ll Get my full deposit and a good reference as she acknowledges I’ve been an excellent tenant. I have pets and receive housing benefit (single mother - 2 kids) and I know that’s off putting for a lot of LLs. I’ll probably need extra deposit for the pets.

Also my mum acted as guarantor for this (and all previous) houses but she has now retired. This is going to be so much harder to find somewhere.

That sucks, as a fellow private renter I fell your pain. Don’t worry though, if you stay in the same local authority it won’t trigger a UC change over

Mrse I’m self employed and my letter advising of UC roll out in this area said a change of circumstances for self employed people would trigger transfer onto UC.

Oh, OP, that's disappointing.

What's your work situation, and can this be improved? How much financial support do you get from your ex?

Maybe contact CAB or Gingerbread to obtain help with benefits calculations and some advice re property.

I didn't need a guarantor with a fab reference from previous ll.
Get a work reference too.. Bank statements can be helpful. Offer a pet bond, we paid £100 for each ddog.

Don’t worry though, if you stay in the same local authority it won’t trigger a UC change over flowers

It can do if you need to complete a new claim for LHA/housing benefit.

I'm so sorry, OP!

This is my worst nightmare. Really feel for you OP.

Is there a possibility of council housing? You’d have to stay and wait to be evicted though which you may not want to do if your LL is lovely. I’d hate to do it to my LL but I simply wouldn’t be able to get another private rental in this area.

Thanks april that’s good to know. If I’m lucky I might get somewhere with the same letting agent. I’ve been renting through them for almost 7 years so would that count for anything? I’ve never been late on my rent and I keep my home perfect.

Work wise, I’m a self employed cleaner working pretty much all the hours I can. The irony was I was in the process of setting up an ironing business from home (from my spare room) to work in the evenings and weekends to try and save a deposit to eventually buy. I can’t do that now as I certainly won’t be able to afford a spare room. I’ve spent money on equipment I can’t use.

It's not that simple - being evicted means the council has to find you somewhere, but that will usually mean temporary accommodation, not a council house. If you are absolutely desperate it's a way of getting a roof over your heads, but it's not necessarily going to be somewhere you'd want to stay.

I won’t do that to my LL glitter. They need this home for their family. She’s moving from abroad.

Start your ironing business - if you have customers and money coming in it will all help. If you've already spent money on equipment, crack on and do it.

@ILoveMaxiBondi, no I understand I couldn’t do it to my LL either unless I was actually facing homelessness.

There are some private companies who will act as a guarantor, not sure on the details though.

I’d write out a covering letter and email it to all the local agents ASAP. Explain what you’ve said here, you work, good tenant, yes on HB but no history of rent arrears etc etc.

Good luck

If you're thinking of starting up a business from your rental property then you need the landlords permission.
5 months notice is pretty good. As long as you've left the house in a good state then you'll get your deposit back but it won't be until you've moved out.

Ah shit, sorry OP.

I already have the LL permission for the business. And I know 4 and half (not 5) months notice is “good” in comparison to the 2 months legal minimum required. Grateful for small mercies.

A long shot but could you ask her if she is prepared to repay some of the deposit in advance? That way you'd have something to put down on the new place.

It worth a shot. I’m not sure if she can do that as it’s in a deposit scheme. I’m not sure if they can release it early?

No they can't. Does she use a letting agent? I rent a property out and just gone through a change of tenant - they do the departure checks the day after the tenant has vacated the property and produce a report, then the landlord decides if a full return of the deposit happens. If it doesn't, then both parties have to agree the return value based on what the landlord/agency think the damage amounts to.

Yes she uses a letting agent so they’ll be doing the end of tenancy inspection.

Yeah then it will be like mine. Scheduled for the next day - if all okay I'm not sure how quickly you get the deposit (Mine took a while because the tenant left the property in a horrendous state) back. Hopefully not too long

With the same agent the last time I think it was around 21 days after I moved.

Wow that's ages!! I have found letting agents to be incredibly slow at doing anything!

Have you called your local authorities?