Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Protection built in.

Meet the Other Phone.
Protection built in.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Chat

Join the discussion and chat with other Mumsnetters about everyday life, relationships and parenting.

Original poster

Landlord selling our house

77 replies

mimi14 · 22/09/2021 18:19

After a bit of advice please.
We've lived here for 6 years, but our landlord has just told us he plans to sell the house within the year.
We can't afford another private rent in the area, as he capped ours at way under the market rate. Rentals around here are at least £300 more than we've been paying per month (we realise what a lucky position we've been in all these years).
However, this now leaves us stuck as anything else is unaffordable 😩

I've done a benefits calculation, and we'd be entitled to the housing benefit part of universal credit (currently just on wtc and ctc), however most rentals say they don't accept benefits, and we wouldn't pass an affordability check without 🤔. DH is working full time, just on a low wage, and I'm currently a sahm. Does anyone have any advice?

OP posts:
Pebbledashery · 22/09/2021 22:27

I work 10 hour shifts every day, my daughter goes to extended hours childcare and I barely have an hour a day with her, I pay for nursery fees, rent, all bills, food, petrol, everything car associated, all insurances, all subscriptions, phone and broadband myself, on my own as a single parent..
You really don't have any excuse not to try and find work. The pressure on your husband working minimum wage also.
You need to ramp up your job search.. There's plenty of ways and means to find a job. You need to earn enough to make up the shortfall, even if it's part time.. You could still do that.

countesskay · 22/09/2021 22:29

Our landlord sold our home with us in it to another landlord. Apparently there is a market for thst, maybe if you know your landlord you could discuss it as an option or perhaps ask local letting agents of they know anyone looking to buy a house like that.

I've rented for 10 years with a mix of old style housing benefit and wages, always declared.
I've had two seperate contracts with landlords and it hasn't been an issue.

I think 'no benefits' is linked to mortgages as well as the difficulties of tenants needing their rent fully paid by the council/universal Credit.

If you can show you've always paid your rent on time and you can afford the rent with wages (if your UC claim was frozen for example) then your in a stronger position.

Alternatively you could see you could get a low interest loan and pay 3/6 months up front and turn use the UC housing element to pay it back

VanCleefArpels · 22/09/2021 22:30

Do not leave the property before the landlord gets a court order to evict you. If you leave before this your application to go on the council register might be screwed.

The landlord needs to serve proper notice - which needs to be in a prescribed form and presupposes they have complied with other obligations such as gas safety certificate and certain documents at the beginning of your tenancy. Once the date on the notice expires they then can go to court to get an Order. This will take several months. This gives you plenty of time to consider your options

VanCleefArpels · 22/09/2021 22:32

I think 'no benefits' is linked to mortgages as well as the difficulties of tenants needing their rent fully paid by the council/universal Credit.

Also many landlord insurance policies will charge more for tenants claiming benefits which means landlords won’t accept them

NannyAndJohn · 22/09/2021 22:32

He needs to find a better paying job or suck up a longer commute.

AlCalavicci · 22/09/2021 22:33

I agree with @DobbyTheHouseElk , I was at the renter and my landlord wanted to sell I was paying a little under the market value but only because the house had no central heating and only one gas fire
So I offered to increase my rent to the market value and he agreed to hold off selling for 6 months , it turned out he chose not to sell for almost 2 years so it gave me plenty of time to hunt around and save up .

While I agree with PP , getting a job certainly seams to be the most logical thing to do , getting work during school hrs can be hard , then what happens if pp child is sick or during the school hols ?
evening / night work may be ok but not seeing the dcs or DH much can put a strain on things .

Can you get a job that you can do from home they are thin on the ground but its worth looking

carrieeee · 22/09/2021 22:36

@VanCleefArpels

Do not leave the property before the landlord gets a court order to evict you. If you leave before this your application to go on the council register might be screwed.

The landlord needs to serve proper notice - which needs to be in a prescribed form and presupposes they have complied with other obligations such as gas safety certificate and certain documents at the beginning of your tenancy. Once the date on the notice expires they then can go to court to get an Order. This will take several months. This gives you plenty of time to consider your options

And you just seem like you'd be one of those difficult tenants that won't leave a property easily, OP has said the landlord has been good to them over the years and that's how they would repay them?

The easiest option would be is to get a job,
My husband and I both work full time and have children, we don't receive any financial help.. there is nothing stopping op from getting a job especially when the children are at school.
I think this is the most simplest option.

VanCleefArpels · 22/09/2021 22:42

@carrieeee not that it matters much but I’m actually a landlord with several properties. However in my work I give housing advice. So I see things from both sides and it is not unreasonable for tenants to expect their landlords to respect and uphold their legal rights especially in circumstances whereby the tenants will be seriously compromised by having to leave.

AlCalavicci · 22/09/2021 22:42

@VanCleefArpels

Do not leave the property before the landlord gets a court order to evict you. If you leave before this your application to go on the council register might be screwed.

The landlord needs to serve proper notice - which needs to be in a prescribed form and presupposes they have complied with other obligations such as gas safety certificate and certain documents at the beginning of your tenancy. Once the date on the notice expires they then can go to court to get an Order. This will take several months. This gives you plenty of time to consider your options

Why should the landlord have to go to all of this trouble , hassle , cost and inconvenience for a tenant that has been living very cheaply for 6 years ? He has given @mimi14 a years notice , that is more than enough time to buck her ides up and get a job / find somewhere cheaper to live . It would be different if he only gave her a month or two notice but this is clearly not the case here .

The OP not moving out is stopping the house sale and someone else getting a home , it all has a knock on effect

AlCalavicci · 22/09/2021 22:44

Xpost with @carrieeee, glad I am not the only one that thought that

Hotelhelp · 22/09/2021 22:44

@AlCalavicci any parent who works any hours surely risks having an ill child to deal with at some point while they should be working and had to cope with school holidays?

Whstdoyouthink · 22/09/2021 22:47

I actually don’t believe these posts anymore, I think there written to annoy people. No one would actually say they were a SAHM and needs an extra £300 surely

AlCalavicci · 22/09/2021 22:53

@Hotelhelp , I agree with you , I just meant it was something for OP to consider.

VanCleefArpels · 22/09/2021 23:04

Why should the landlord have to go to all of this trouble , hassle , cost and inconvenience for a tenant that has been living very cheaply for 6 years ?

Because it’s the law. The fact that this landlord is happy to charge a below market rent does not change that - it was a choice.

Foolsrule · 22/09/2021 23:12

I have to agree with some of the others saying get a job here. £300 month, so £75/week! That’s a day’s work on £10/hour, say estate agents viewings on a Saturday? They’re always recruiting where we live. Or lunchtime supervising, a TA role at your DCs’ school, school secretary, lunch cover in a local nursery? Lots of options and SO MANY job vacancies across the country at the mo.

GoodForTheSoul · 22/09/2021 23:17

Unfortunately affordability criteria are ridiculously harsh. It seems unlikely you will find many LL willing to rent out a propert from your DPs low wage.

We've just tried to help out some family moving to our area and the conversations with local estate agents were shocking. LL are now setting minimum salary caps (ridiculously high btw) and apparently won't even consider applicants who earn £1 less! Our family members were turned down for a number of properties because even with a guarantor (myself on a high salary and property owner), LL were deeming their minimum wage jobs a risk!!!

KeyboardWorriers · 22/09/2021 23:18

The obvious solution is for you to get a job. Working round your DH's hours if necessary. Evenings, overnight, weekends ...

AlCalavicci · 22/09/2021 23:24

@VanCleefArpels

Why should the landlord have to go to all of this trouble , hassle , cost and inconvenience for a tenant that has been living very cheaply for 6 years ?

Because it’s the law. The fact that this landlord is happy to charge a below market rent does not change that - it was a choice.

Er no it is not the law for LL to have to take tenants to court to get them to move out ! To get the relevant safety check done yes , but that should be happening every year anyway
BrilloSolar · 22/09/2021 23:28

Do not leave the property before the landlord gets a court order to evict you. If you leave before this your application to go on the council register might be screwed.

The landlord needs to serve proper notice - which needs to be in a prescribed form and presupposes they have complied with other obligations such as gas safety certificate and certain documents at the beginning of your tenancy. Once the date on the notice expires they then can go to court to get an Order. This will take several months. This gives you plenty of time to consider your options

Yes this might be the law, but this is exactly the reason why landlords don't want to rent to people who are on low wages and in receipt of benefits. The more people who use their rights to stay in a house until they are evicted, the more landlords will not rent to them. I know that anyone can lose their job and not be able to afford rent, but it is much much more likely to be those on no or very low incomes who don't have any savings who are going to force landlords to evict them. So why would the landlord take that chance if they can instead rent to a working couple?

Bloose · 22/09/2021 23:33

@VanCleefArpels

Do not leave the property before the landlord gets a court order to evict you. If you leave before this your application to go on the council register might be screwed.

The landlord needs to serve proper notice - which needs to be in a prescribed form and presupposes they have complied with other obligations such as gas safety certificate and certain documents at the beginning of your tenancy. Once the date on the notice expires they then can go to court to get an Order. This will take several months. This gives you plenty of time to consider your options

Terrible advice as it neglects to mention if the landlord gets a court order then you become liable for his legal fees!
InnPain · 22/09/2021 23:49

Gosh some of you are really out for a fight tonight aren’t you! OP has already stated she is looking for a job!

MouseholeCat · 23/09/2021 00:26

Wow, this truly is Mumsnet at its worst! OP- if you're already looking for a job then you're doing the best possible thing you can here, which is to increase your income. I hope you land something good soon.

Perhaps your partner can also look for something on a higher wage too? I know someone in my family was able to increase their income by a good few thousand a year by moving to night shifts at a supermarket. It wasn't fun, but it got them by until they could find something else.

To all the vipers, learn what it's like outside of your bubble and try to have some empathy. A lot of people in the UK are on similar incomes to what OP's family are. It's a struggle and they don't deserve to be berated or belittled for it. People don't always see all the answers right away if they are stressed and under pressure. If you don't have something useful to contribute, why bother putting someone down?

Willow19C · 23/09/2021 06:45

[quote Hotelhelp]@AlCalavicci any parent who works any hours surely risks having an ill child to deal with at some point while they should be working and had to cope with school holidays?[/quote]
I wish I was that rich that I could afford to sit at home all day, every day, in case my child was sick at school...

SalsaLove · 23/09/2021 06:50

@Hotelhelp

Sorry but what a stupid post.

‘We can’t afford average rental amounts for the area but only my husband works - what should we do?’

Ehhh … get a bloody job!!!!! The vast majority of working mothers go through that shit phase of the extra income barely being worth it after childcare but if you want to have any sort of decent life in the future you need to do it and then as the children get older the childcare steadily reduces and that’s you sorted.

The ones that don’t do that fall into the trap of being at home for 15-20 years then all of a sudden deciding they fancy a little job … with a long gap in their history.

Honestly get a grip of yourself. What kind of life are you providing for your children to not even be able to afford to pay rent but you just decide not to work?

I absolutely agree with this. It’s harsh but true.
GiantHaystacks2021 · 23/09/2021 06:57

You'll need to go back to work, I'm afraid.