So we're being evicted AGAIN!

[OnandOnItGoes]

3rd rented property in 7 years. Been here for 4 years. Had to leave the last two properties as landlord selling, now we're in the same situation again.

Rent always paid on time and properties always very well looked after so it's not that we're bad tenants, just the never ending game we're stuck in.

We left within the notice period of last 2 properties but can't with this one as rents are £500+ for similar properties and much smaller worse properties with no parking/horrible areas are £200-300 a month more and we simply can't afford it or find one which we are successful for as they seem to only want 'professionals' in high paying jobs.

Council have been no help and have said as both DH and I work, we need to find another rented property. I can only work part time in a low paying admin job due to caring responsibilities as need to be on hand for disabled DC for school drop/pick up and after school as no after school care (teens). We have no family support.

Also worried about being put in temp accommodation as around here it seems to be adapted office blocks with lots of anti social issues. Also as we work I understand we'll have to pay a lot for it!

Section 21 expires on 15th May and I'm aware Landlord will start court process for possession as he's very keen to get us out and get it sold. I assume he'll use the accelerated procedure as he's a professional landlord with lots of properties and is selling most of them I believe.

Does anyone know how long we may have before bailiffs? We're in the South East. I've already looked into storage facilities so we can empty the house but we have no family to stay with so not sure where we'll go from there.

Of course we will continue looking for a property and continue paying rent but any advice on timeline will be helpful if anyone has been through the process recently?

The stress is unbearable and much worse this time due to the current rental market!

Would you offer to refund the landlord if house prices plummeted?
Hopefully you'll be voting Labour to kick out the Tories who have trashed the economy and made things terrible for everyone- tenants and landlords alike?

@Zone2NorthLondon I disagree about preserving our green environment. Once it's gone, it's gone and then we're fucked. No point in housing people if we're making the world into a toilet.

Holidays lets (airbnbs) are taxed differently to rentals. So long term let's are not always good for Airbnb landlords as you end up being penalised by HMRC. It's a completely different mortgage too and different insurance.

I’m afraid OP has to be mobile if they want to improve their standard of living in the long run, SEN child or not. Lots and lots of people make the same incredibly stressful moves with SEN children for literally the exact same reasons - they cannot afford to stay where they want to live, at the standard they would like. No one has a god given right to live exactly where they want without compromise, buying or renting. If the compromise here is to downsize and cram everyone into a cupboard in a less desirable area and she’s not willing to do that, the only option is to move. New jobs, new SEN providers, new location with housing within affordability for their skill sets and earning ability. It will be a stressful, logistical nightmare that will require meticulous planning, and flexibility and sacrifices when things don’t run smoothly to plan, but that’s life. Short term pain for long term gain. If she and her DH are a strong team and support each other, and seek support from agencies out there that can assist, they can get through it. Plenty do. No one likes upheaval, but sometimes necessity requires you to reframe and view it as an opportunity instead. Being defeatist and approaching everything with a ‘can’t do’ attitude can never help matters, only hinder and slow progress. Relocating absolutely is a viable option here, especially if they already have no family support where they are anyway. New friends can always be made. Believe it or not there are SEN children in the North of the country too, who have their needs met, have access to specialist educational provision and access to specialist medical care. Of course transferring all this smoothly will be an absolute battle, but one worthwhile in the long run in exchange for a secure home for them all with a good standard of living and therefore a good quality of life. DH doesn’t sound like they have a job in a niche area if top of their earning potential is £49k, but it’s all relative - if top salary is lower in a cheaper area the housing costs will also be lower, yet unlikely by the same margin as he sounds experienced in the role. So you negotiate, advocating for yourself and the value you can add. Find somewhere cheap and easy to rent short term just to get yourselves into your chosen area, get an address for school/medical care etc. Obviously you’ll be led by what schools offer SEN provisions when deciding on locale, but try to put a positive spin on it and start a wish list - have you always wanted to live by the sea for example and have a huge beach to enjoy spending time on? Loads of good value coastal areas in the North. Then when DC is all set up again, buy a starter home on bottom of the ladder but with adequate space and DIY it as much as possible over time to increase value before moving up the next rung, next looking at not just adequate space but desirable space. Without all the added stress of potentially being made homeless once they are homeowners, OP could eventually consider retraining to up their earnings potential from their part time work. Definitely check into the vehicle situation first though and get rid of the car ASAP if you qualify for a motability. Every last penny towards a deposit is vital.

OP, you will be so, so much stronger than you think, so you really do have to bite the bullet and break the cycle of what you keep living through with drastic change. The rental market is in disarray but there’s no short term fix, the same as can be said for your situation, so don’t waste your time and energy looking for one that isn’t there. Your only option here is to play the long game. Go to citizens advice with a rough plan and they will help you. Sometimes just by breaking things down into baby steps, big life changes can be so much less overwhelming. Be savvy though - don’t allow your excellent rental record to be blighted. Reputation in periods of change is sometimes the best card in your deck. Absolutely best of luck. You got this.

This is a bit outing but I used to live in a beautiful country with an amazing lifestyle, everything i've ever dreamt of. But it was clear I was staring down the barrel of the OP's situation so we moved 12000 miles to live in a shit hole but it's a shit hole nobody can ever take away from me. Sometimes you just have to be the grown up, rubbish as that is. If it was just me i'd have lived in my car or in a tent in the other place.

Yes this was my thought too. My the estate agents my last renal was with worked out affordability at 30 X monthly rent.

Op says it is their car finance that is meaning they can't afford it. I think this is where they should be looking in terms of where finances aren't stacking up as the local rents should, in theory, be affordable to them. Used car values are still high. I'd be looking at what the handback cost would be / cost to pay off finance and see if the numbers work out to get rid of the car and look to buy something cheaper / motorbility if applicable / just use public transport. Not ideal, but a home has to be more important than a car I'd think, and it sounds like the car is the thing that is costing more than they can afford.

I don't have any advice I'm afraid but it sounds like such a hard situation for you. The whole housing system is broken. I'm a landlord and understand that it really isn't very lucrative unless you own lots of properties, but if everyone who didn't absolutely need to sell kept them as rentals for a while maybe rents wouldn't spiral and we wouldn't have these situations. It doesn't help much in the grand scheme of things but I've kept the rent for my property the same for a few years now as my tenant is lovely and I'd hate her to be in this situation. I'll do this for as long as I can afford to.

I’m sorry, this is so hard.

Do you have a lot of debt? Rental affordability calculators would suggest you could “afford” rent of around £1,800/£2,000, assuming a take home pay of around £4,000. After £500 bills, where is the other £1,500 going?

You might be better off trying to renegotiate other repayments (cars, loans etc.) rather than trying to negotiate rent.

I'm sorry you're in such a shitty situation OP. My only advice would be to consider all alternatives, even if they appear unpalatable or difficult at first glance. If you do manage to find another private rental in your area the chances are you'll end up in the same situation in a year or three. As others have said you might need to take a short term hit in order to have some security in the future. Best of luck.

I have a disabled foster child myself, but the NHS support is similar all over the UK. There is very little other support.

I’m not sure if this will help. I am south east and if you live rurally there are farms/land owners that seem to have long term let’s. Same house 7 years here. Landlord owns 10 in a row.

I meant her own support network. Friends and family. Without my friends and family we’d be completely burnt out looking after our disabled child.

It’s a horrible situation OP and I’m not sure what the answer is.
however the increased rents have been caused by stricter regulation requiring increased tax, more fees/maintenance required to be paid by landlords and increased interests rates ! Many landlords are not rolling in it and barely covering costs.
High demand , due to low housing supply is created by the government.
it’s ironic though a little, that landlords are getting a bashing for wanting to sell-up and get out of btl…. Because it’s just too risky and expensive to be left in a situation we’re tenants will over stay etc which is exactly what you are prepared to do ! That’s why they want out ! That’s probably why he didn’t give you until summer … because what if you don’t leave then the same as you are considering now so he has to start proceeding then …. Waiting another 6 months.
it’s his property and he has has a right to sell, landlords are needed for people who want to rent … but this behaviour will put many off being a landlord so it’s catch 22 demand will be high and increased rents expected.
Itd also not the landlords fault you were not able to buy a property … as your parent is old and on a decent salary has there been any attempts in engaging with saving and the government schemes to get on the property ladder, I suspect it maybe a little late to start now but with renting comes insecurity.

Typo I meant as partner is a little older.

@Kay286

Low housing supply?

https://www.mpamag.com/uk/mortgage-types/residential/how-many-empty-homes-are-there-in-england/437584

250,000 homes empty for >6 months.

This exact same thing happened to me. After the first rental place S21 i applied to the council, i also work full time and was a low priority. 5.5 years later, and 3 more private rentals, i was offered a council place on an secured tenancy, so i can stay forever, and i plan on doing so.

Private renting in an expensive game of landlord pot luck, it sucks if you are stuck in it with no way out. There no security, you are constantly worried about keeping a roof over your families heads, a S21 they dont even need a real reason. The relief i felt when we got our council home was immense.

My advice would be ride out the council wait, its worth it eventually.

this is the affordability calculator that most landlords use

Are you being turned down before they do the credit check or due to your financial circumstances you know you can't afford £1800 rent? No-one should be turning you down as you more than meet the affordability criteria.

Hoping for a swift positive solution for you.

The green belt is sentimental tosh. It prevents development and arbitrarily
prevents house building. Based on out moded planning models the green belt isn’t worth saving. At all.
I fully expect all the handwringers and nimbys to rise up in defend the green belt

@AudentesFortunaIuvat, I suggested exactly this up thread. I suggested Hull as cheap to rent. Good and Outstanding schools too. I just got lots of posters telling me OP cannot move. I'm more of a pragmatist like you sound too. I'm in the process of buying another btl house in Hull. I expect to complete the purchase in June. I will be charging £600 pcm. OP will be welcome to look at it if she wants to. It's a 3 bedroom terrace house with a small back yard. I've never evicted a tenant and the longest tenant has been with me for 8 years. I've also got another property rented to a family with a SN child. I've never had a problem with them. I have a SN foster son so I am sympathetic as I know what it's like as people do get discriminated against with a SN child, just not overtly. I don't know how to open private messages perhaps someone can tell me as I click on them but the circle just spins around.

OP has already said she has no support network where she is currently.

I fully expect all the handwringers and nimbys to rise up in defend the green belt

We're not all handwringers/nimbys, we just don't really want a world where every bit of green space had been developed. I'd rather all brownfield sites were used up first. And all empty properties brought back into use before any green spaces are built on.

I appreciate this comment won’t help your current situation OP but have you thought about buying.
I also know your dh is 50 which will impact on mortgage cabability but there are mortgages out there with zero deposit.
How much are 3beds in your area.

OP may have support from family and friends where she lives that she wouldn’t have if she moved. NHS support is not necessarily the same all over the UK, to use just one example, not all ICBs commissions sensory OT on the NHS anymore.

Then you have to look at other support she/DC may have. For example, EHCPs are reviewed and potentially reassessed, amended or even ceased when you move LA. Social care support which would be reassessed when someone moves and there would at the very least be a gap in support. Special school provision isn’t the same everywhere, especially with some types of SEN.

I found this property on the Rightmove Android app and wanted you to see it: www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/132408803

Plus more terraces rather than all these detached properties that people can’t afford.
There are more garages being built to house cars than there are 1 / 2 bed flats to house humans.
Id like to see 3 storey terraced town houses. The ground floor a flat with disabled access. The top two floors 3/4 bed houses.