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 ?

I know so many people that are becoming van lifers because of this, sorry you’re facing this.

Yes , as part of my job I help older people claim benefits, disability benefits etc and in recent months have done an increasing number of visits to older people living on caravan parks and on narrow boats. The narrow boats in particular are a nightmare in terms of disabled nd ageing people managing and some are effectively stuck inside.

Is buying another, smaller place a possibility? Otherwise, as others have said, it's a houseshare.

Property guardianships, house share, mobile home, houseboat, house sitting, live-in job.

Some good ideas here, especially the job that comes with accommodation.

Another option is that there are various initiatives for younger people to llive with an elderly person in their house for free in return for keeping an eye on them and being a companian to them.

"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."

It's rough - I'm a landlord and will be putting our tenants rent up because the mortgage payments on the house have just doubled. The alternative is to sell and then they'd be homeless.

OP I'd be in your exact position if I divorced. It's crap. And I think keeps a lot of women in poor marriages because they literally can't afford to leave.

Any shared ownership housing near you? I think I would go campervan option if it was me rather than house share. I hope you get something sorted.

Thought it wouldn't be long before the landlords made an appearance on this thread. If BTL hadn't become an option in the first place we wouldn't have this housing crisis. I would rather live in a caravan than give hard earned money to people like you to pay off your mortgage on your buy to let.

House share. Camper van. Are you working? Can you get a second job or extend your hours? Will you get a pension?

@Babyroobs it's not landlords you need to be focusing your anger at, it's the government.

Section 24, epc regs, impending removal of S21 and the recent hike in interest rates have made being a landlord no longer a worthwhile investment and they're selling up. Which has led to the current critical shortage of of homes to rent we have now.

Love or loathe it, there will always be a need for rental.homes as there hasn't been enough social housing built for.decades.

The PRS has filled that gap until now, but what happens when landlords start to sell up? Decent people like the OP have to live in a van. Pretty sure she'd prefer a house owned by a BTL landlord.

There are websites for age 40+ renters - a friend's brother rents out rooms through one of these, and it's a great idea for people who want a calmer life than you might find in a younger houseshare (generalising obviously).

But if you certain you don't qualify for any help?

Don't automatically rule out a hostel.

It's the people living in B and Bs and hostels that get given priority for social housing. So it would push you up the list quite a lot. It might be a price worth paying in order to get a council house.

Btw don't try living in a campervan in the UK. That is no life and the people offering it as an option would not do it themselves.

So many BTL landlords should never have been allowed in the first place and yes I understand the government were responsible for allowing that but also people saw it as another way to make money out of housing, leaving others at the mercy of the private rental sector . Taxpayers are paying their BTL mortgages off through tenants benefit claims. It is a shocking situation we have got ourselves into and I accept it's the governments fault but also the landlord aren't without fault either.

I agree that living in a b&b or similar might push you up the list, especially if you are pushing 55 (certain council housing is reserved for over 55s).

My 55 year old friend applied for a council flat as a single person after her live in job came to an end. She was offered a flat within a month.

My best friend's brother got divorced and moved out of his family home. He paid for a b&b for about 6 months and has now been offered a small 1 bedroomed HA house.

There are no council houses for families who want 3 bedrooms and a garden. But I don't think the situation is as bad for applicants.

So give it a go.

single applicants that should say!

I always think the must be a bit deluded about costs too. If OP has no money how is she going to buy a campervan? They're expensive and if you get a cheaper old clapped out one you'll be forever repairing it. Older caravans inevitably leak which you may or may not be able to easily repair yourself. Then you need a tow car if it's a caravan, so more expense. Bit easier if you already own one I suppose.

Most campervan and caravan isn't designed to be lived in long term, there's pitch rental, gas bottles, trying to avoid mould and replacing your things constantly when you realistically can't. Plus it's cold in winter even with duvet, blankets, hot water bottle, sleeping in warm clothes including coat and hat and running the heat on low (may as well fork out for a flat if you're going to run it on maximum, with the price of the gas bottles). It's no life for anyone but especially someone older, who is more likely to have health concerns and be naturally stiff and achy.

Not all the council temporary accommodation is dire. I suspect you don't want it because you'd have to lose the dogs, same would happen for most private rentals though. It's heartbreaking but it's reality.

At the risk of sounding uncaring you probably can afford to rent privately, however its going to mean youll be very poor. Just to get things in perspective, if you were on benefits, a single person with no dependants or additional needs would recieve around £85 a week to live off, (after their housing costs have been paid). From this you would be expected to feed and clothe yourself, plus pay all utility bills and a small contribution to your council tax.
You may need to consider sharing a home or moving to cheaper area. If you're a keyworker (old definition, nothing to do with covid) you might be eligible for subsidised accomodation in certain areas.
Whilst it's sad that you are divorcing, this really has nothing to do with things. It would be exactly the same for most people wanting single accomodation.

If OP has no money how is she going to buy a campervan?

You dont need a campervan to do van life. Van life means living in a vehicle. Any vehicle.

Have a look on spareroom.com. We've used it to find lodgers, so
I'm sure lodgers can use it to find rooms.

In your situation I was looking at renting a room in a house that was linked to my work in Uni. I don’t know if that would work with pets though.

How old are you? Sheltered housing is a lot cheaper to buy (but there are service charges monthly). The council lists for sheltered housing are usually short too. The mi imhm age limit is around 55-60 and some won't take dogs.

Can you legally park any vehicle on a campsite then? Round here you can't access sites unless you're a member of the Caravan Club. Do they give membership to people without a campervan/caravan? Living in a vehicle that's not on a campsite is illegal. So having to do everything stealthy so people don't realise, how's that going to work with two dogs needing walked as well as OP's toilet needs. As I said, life in a caravan/campervan isn't viable long term in UK, in any random vehicle it's going to be even less so. How will OP even tax/insure/MOT said vehicle without an official address? Given that this is her life forever more (as she doesn't mention things being likely to change), it's not really an option. She'd last as long as the first cold started then die of hypothermia. The council homelessness procedure would be better. So would getting rid of the dogs which would free up some cash that could then be spent on the costs of renting a room. She's either paying loads in insurance for elderly dogs or else she has none and the first major vet bill would see the dogs PTS instead of treated anyway as she has no funds. Living in a car or van until you die, in order to avoid having to give up dogs that you can't look after if you're dead, is ridiculous. She's a homeless divorcee not a young person living the dream setting off on some grand travelling adventure in a customised vehicle.

Narrowboat?

My work colleague is 52. Divorced two years ago, Son at Uni far away.
Rents a room in a house and is happily building a pot of savings.