Do I need to accept its impossible to move area as a single parent on a low income?

[Nelumbo]

I'm a single parent, I work 30hrs a week and get no financial support from the children's dad.
I rent a house in outer London for £1200 a month and get a top up from housing benefit to help pay that rent.

I've been desperate to move for a number of years, but even more so now as all my family have now moved out and I feel completely on my own with no support.

No Landlord will take someone in my situation, even though the rents are much cheaper in the area I'm looking at. However as a single person with a low single income, its not enough.
I would likely still need a slight top up from housing benefit and landlords understandably don't want to take that on.

I would be looking for a full time job as soon as I move and therefore may not need HB for long, but how can I get my foot in the door so I can start a fresh, something I really need right now, I'm miserable where I am and feel so stuck.

Do I just need to accept I will neve be able to move while I'm single?, or I until I land a very well paying job?, which isn't likely.
As quite frankly I'm going insane thinking about a way round it, I've been thinking about it for years and years.

Do you have any savings?

A guarantor?

When my daughter moved out I paid three months plus the deposit in advance for her in order for her to rent.

Have you got any family that can help by offering to pay in advance. Option to pay them back if you start earning more?

I have just under £2,000 in savings and could probably borrow from family if I needed more so it's not the deposit that is such a problem. It's having the income on paper.
My income is low but with the tax credit I have and maybe a slight top up from housing benefit the monthly rent along with other bills it affordable. They only look at my wage though

I did once find a landlord who was willing to give me a chance but they wanted a guarantor who was eaming £60,000. The only person I know who earns any where near that is my dad who did not want to do it

I don't know how common it is to offer to pay an extra amount on a deposit or like you say 3 months in advance. I think the estate agents probably hold alot of this back, maybe cutting out the estate agent and dealing with a landlord directly so negotiations can be made? But how to find these landlords?

It's very difficult to persuade a letting agent to take you on but offering to pay in advance definitely helped with my children getting their houses.

I am guarantor jointly for my son and his partner and on the day they signed everything I had to be there to sign my bits and the letting agent who was an older gentleman wasn't really interested in talking ro my son and his girlfriend and spoke mainly to me and was pointing out aspects of the house, yet it wasn't actually me going to be living there.

I would hate to be a young person today as renting and buying is much harder than when I was young.

It's a shame you can't get a guarantor but do try with offering to pay in advance.

Thank you for the advice,

I guess I just need to keep trying any avenue I can as hard as it may be.