What do you do when you cannot afford private tent and there is no social housing

[Thekormachameleon]

Just that really
Divorced, need to sell family home, will just about clear mortgage so no lump sum
Don't earn enough to rent privately but earn too much for benefits

Zero chance of social housing due to waiting lists

I absolutely will not go into B&B/hostel

Really don't know what to do. Are there any options I'm missing ?

Is it just you, or do you have dc? My friend lives in a campervan on a camp site.

Room in a shared house or stay with friends or family seem to be your only options

Van life is what most are being forced to do.

It is pretty much just me. Have one ds aged 20 away at uni and 2 small elderly dogs

Only options are to stay with family or friends, or move where housing is cheaper.

Are you absolutely sure you don't qualify for benefits? You'd be surprised at how high the threshold can be in some areas. I'm a single parent and I could still claim some benefits even if I was earning £40k and my rent is only £500pm and I have no childcare costs. This would be higher in areas with a higher LHA.

Oh, just saw your update, you have no dependents so yes probably wouldn't qualify for benefits.

Can you house share with somebody?

Or is moving to a cheaper area an option?

There's various house sitting websites, often involving pet sitting, so you can take your dogs. Or guardianships of vacant buildings. Or a job that comes with accomodation?

house share/lodger.

What about tiny space eg a studio flat rather than a full flat?

What about moving to less desirable area?

I have a friend in similar situation. She could probably afford to rent but she has to prove income to the estate agents and then say it isn't enough. Her figures add up bt theirs don't.

it is rubbish.

If you don't have children, try to find a house share. If you have children, private rent but you probably won't pass the affordability checks which means you'll have to find a guarantor or pay 6-12 months of rent up front. If you can't do that, you'll have no choice but to live in temp accommodation. Unless you can relocate to the arse end of nowhere miles away from work, family and friends where the rent is more affordable.

I rent privately and pay half my monthly net income on rent which is the cheapest I can find within a reasonable commute to school and work. I didn't pass the affordability checks so paid 12 months up front (my savings that I was hoping to use as a deposit to buy a flat). Now I have no savings at all so use credit cards until my income hopefully increases.

Yes, it's horrible and I'm so sorry you're in this situation.

It’s sad that a lot of people are in this situation. Private rent prices are crazy at the moment, there’s no way I could afford private rent and housing benefit (for those entitled to it) does not cover private rent.

Could you look at sharing with someone in a similar situation?

My retired father has just found himself in this situation after slitting from his partner. He has some savings but not enough to cover private rent, he has been living in his Campervan for almost a year now and has finally been offered a council/HA flat. I know of a few people that have ended up living in vans or boats 😞.

The housing crisis really is a national scandal. It's no longer people choosing to rent in affluent areas that they can't afford instead of living in less desirable areas. Very few places are affordable now. The places that are affordable won't be if we all start moving there.

Also, landlords are still increasing the rent yearly which makes it hard to keep up. You can work hard to get a promotion so you can afford the rent but then your landlord will increase the rent which wipes out the pay rise and you're then back to square one.

We should honestly be rioting. This is a fucking disgrace! Hard working people with qualifications coming out of their backsides and professional jobs can barely afford to keep a roof over their heads, how are people who are unable to work or in lower paid jobs supposed to manage?

So you either need to earn more or live somewhere cheaper. But, you also need to save for retirement (which I don't think you've done either).

Go onto right move and input the amount you can afford to pay in rent and you'll see where you can live if you put +50 miles around your work area.

Could you find a live in job? Have you considered house sitting? Obviously that may not suit, but thought I'd mention them good luck with finding something and resolving your situation.

It's a while since I looked for a rental, but I can't conceive of someone who earns too much for benefits but too little to pay rent. Do you just mean too little to pay rent in your preferred location (not suggesting your relocate, just move slightly outside of prime area) and type of housing? If you're looking for something like a 1 bedroom flat, I think that's the most expensive way to rent.

Look at being a lodger?

Are you over 55 OP? The social housing situation tends to have more options if you are .

You could definitely look at guardianship (Google it) - rooms in houses that they fill with working respectable people to protect them from falling into disrepair.

I would also look at sites like open rent- where you are dealing direct with a landlord - rather than a computer says no agent. A lot would prefer a single older women

We moved from London to Yorkshire in order to be able to afford rent.

Sounds like your only option might be to rent a room bills inclusive in a shared house. It is very unlikely you would be able to take dogs with you though.

How come no equity at all in the house? Was it only purchased in recent years ? Can you try and build up some kind of deposit for a shared ownership property whilst house sharing. Also have you definitely checked you are not eligible for any UC. Also can you explore over 55's accomodation which is often easier to come by.

You may have to look into renting a room.

There are houses shares with people in a similar situation but there are also many homes that have a spare room and want the extra cash.

My council always ask if people need help because they’re elderly or disabled and have a spare room. They match up people wanting somewhere to live for cheap rent and happy to do the gardening or shopping etc.

Having dogs does make it trickier.

Benefits are generally much higher for people with kids though as you get a work allowance and extra elements for the child which single people don't.
Op does your son need somewhere to be able to come back to in the Uni holidays or going to his dad?

Lodging, you'll find often older people looking for a lodger feel better about it being a female tenant.
What do you do for work?

Do you really need to sell? Is there any way you could re-mortgage on your own and buy your ex out? You could then rent out the spare rooms to cover the extra mortgage payments