My friend can't afford her rent. Can anyone help?

[rivery]

My friend is a lone parent to thee children. Boy ages eight, girl aged six, girl aged one.

She has been private renting and the past few years, and her landlord has just put her rent up to an unaffordable amount.

After paying her rent she is now left with only £300 per month to cover everything else, including all bills.

She's been bidding for council homes for a while, but they're like gold dust around here.

Does anyone have any advice at all please? I desperately want to help her.

A bedsit with 3 children? She’d be hard pushed to get anything more than a single bed in most of them.

Clearly, this is not the best place to look for sympathy. Some Mumsnetters are the worst. Is her place big enough to rent a room out to anyone she can trust ? Is there demand for rooms in her area ?

Just posting to point out the LHA varies depending on the number of bedrooms as well as the area. So not necessarily the figures quoted and, of course, inner London rents are very, very high. It’s a real problem that this government needs to tackle somehow.

Sympathy won't help much but practical suggestions and advice might.

You say it's not a particularly high rent but do you know how much it actually is and how much of it UC give her for it? Because without even including any housing element, she's still entitled to around £1250 (if over 25 which I'm assuming she is) in benefits including child benefit. So her rent would need to be huge to only be left with £300 after it was paid??

What do you want her to do shove the third one back up there ?

If her baby was conceived while she was in an abusive relationship then she might be exempt from the 2 child cap and be entitled to child element for the third child.

She can contact women's aid for further details and to help her apply for it.

OP posts with desperate situation re housing/ clothing/feeding themselves. Bats every suggestion aside.

Yes, it’s one of those threads.

I was thinking of a pull out sofa bed to add beds to the bed sit. It's something a neighbour had to do temporarily, to save up and wait for a council house.

I think without knowing how much rent she is paying and the lha rates for the area, noone can give you any useful suggestions. There is a disgressionary housing payment you can apply for if you are really stuck but she won't get it if her places is bigger than they deal she needs. Based on what your saying the rent must be well over £500 a month more than the lha will pay? Is this really true, if it's a reasonable for the area.

My local lha for my circs is less than 700.
My rent is 1350 🤷🏼‍♀️ for a 3 bed semi! North west, not a fancy area!
I can fully see how this situation could arise.

@No33 . I know that people often have to folk out a few hundred but that's ridiculous. I was brought up by a single mum, private renting, so I know what it's like and how it's got much worse. I think this year is the first time they have changed the lha rate in years.

Yep, that's after the uplift in April.

I work, so am in a position to be able to pay my rent. But it's abysmal that landlords are able to charge such exorbitant rent, when the LHA states if should be half.

And my rent is pretty normal around here.

Posts like this make me so angry. Useless feckless men who don't support their own children should all be shot. Or, failing that, CMS should be made much more stringent so they can get money out of these losers. How dare they?

So much public money would be saved if situations like this didn't occur, but they do, and far too often.

I'm so sorry for your friend, OP.

Surely the father even if not working can be court ordered to give something ? Probably not enough to make a huge difference but still shouldn't he be made to pay something ??

It's something ridiculous £6.50 a month.
It's not worth the hassle. And that's if on benefits. If not they get a nil award.

I'm sorry your friend is in this situation OP.

those children have (presumably) got 4 grandparents. Are any of them able/willing to help her with the rent?

Could she do some freelance online work, such as tutoring/teaching ESL?

There’s some good suggestions on here - she definitely needs to go to CA, maybe homestart, I’m out of touch but is there any Sure Start support now (ours used to arrange childcare and training to help you back into work), gingerbread, women’s aid. She needs to try everywhere.
Yes to getting children registered for FSM, there can be food given in the holidays by some schools.
Id still go to the CSA, even for the few pounds.
Any grandparent support to help work?

Moving doesn’t sound that do-able so she needs to increase her income and reduce some costs. Schools start soon so a good time to look for something whist children are in school.

Theres lots of threads about reducing costs - community supermarkets are great for instance. This isn’t going to be a quick fix sadly.

Well said @DontBiteTheCat

It's possible that she got her current rental before she had her third and whilst her ex's income was part of the credit checks. 'Move somewhere cheaper' doesn't help if she has minimal income and no guarantor.

There are always people on these threads that pretend everyone can predict the future, time their pregnancies perfectly and/or that nothing life-changing can happen in the course of two years. Ignore them!

This is so awful for your poor friend. It’s not that easy to just jump straight into a job as a single parent of 3 children after leaving an abusive relationship I’m sure. Men like this should have a cut of their benefits taken off them and given to the children, it’s a joke

I've only skimmed the thread so apologies if this has already been said. But if she has a periodic assured or assured shorthold tenancy - She should have been issued with a Section 13 notice which basically is the notice to say the rent will be increasing and within good notice time. - at the bottom of that form is what to do if you disagree with the increase and you can go to a tribunal if you feel the increase is unfair.

Shelter have good info here and it would be worth contacting them for advice - they are VERY helpful

england.shelter.org.uk/professional_resources/legal/costs_of_renting/rents_and_rent_increases/statutory_rules_for_rent_increases_for_assured_tenants#title-0

I have friends whose salaries don't allow for 'normal' living arrangements, I.e
Independent living - Payng rent or mortgage. As an alternative, they:

Live in vans, some in Bristol where there is a large van-life community. They know where to park for free. Lots of them, therefore, good support network.
Live in housing co-operative, where they have their own bedroom but share rest of house, share jobs around the property, take turns cooking etc. Diggers and Dreamers is a good starting place.
Moved back home with parents ( this applies to friends with and without children between 25 and 50).
Moved in with an elderly grandparent or relative who needs company and to lend a hand in exchange for peppercorn rent or share of bills and food costs.
Perhaps your friend could look at lots of options even if a little unusual.
It's incredibly tough out there for so many.

Why do people assume that someone can just get a job as a TA in a school because it helps with childcare???!!!! TA’s have to have qualifications and level 1/2or 3 training!!!!