To ask what would happen in this scenario?

[greenmint]

I have been asked to advise and I honestly don’t know.

‘Eleanor’ has a baby and is a single mother. The child’s father plays no part whatsoever in her life.

Eleanor has no other family to support her. She works full time in an expensive area of the country and rents a small flat and pays for FT childcare for her baby. She gets no benefits other then CB.

Eleanor owns a property that was left to her as part of an inheritance that is let out. The income from this means she can rent her flat and contributes to her baby’s nursery costs.

Eleanor has now found out her landlord is selling the flat. She is unable te rent anywhere else because of poor credit. Is there any onus on the council to help Eleanor and her baby?

I'd say no because she owns a flat she can live in. It's not the council's problem that she then won't be able to work due to the lack of the childcare.
Has Eleanor contacted the CMS about getting maintenance off the dad?

Depends on the value of the property. But assuming it takes her over the "assets" threshold for help w housing (which it almost certainly will) then no, I dont think so.

Eleanor should remember that council help with housing, even if available, is likely to be a bedsitter room or being offered something in the Midlands. She'd be better off selling her investment property and using the money to help rent or buy somewhere.

Not that I've anything against the Midlands. Just assuming she wants to stay where she is for work purposes.

Yes ... problem is without that income she wouldn’t be able to continue working.

The father is totally off the picture.

Council may he able to help her find another private rent but as she owns a property she is v unlikely to get a council property.

"Without the income she wont be able to keep working"

Even if she uses the money from the sale of the house to cover childcare? Once child is 3 she'll get some government funding towards childcare.

How much roughly is the property worth?

Yes, sell up and use the money for nursery for a few years. Surely if the flat is in the SE it'll be worth a chunk of money.

Simplify it. Should a council flat be offered to somebody that already owns a property?

No.

Everything else in the scenario is irrelevant.

No the council shouldn't give her a place.

If she has inherited a property, why cannot she live there? I'm assuming it's mortgage free

Council homes are not free

It isn’t in the SE - that’s where she works.

The property is worth about £100,000, so it’s finite. Ultimately she’d have to move back into it and claim benefits.

If she can private rent now is there any reason she can’t just move into another private rental?

Why can’t she move into the flat she owns and use the money she would’ve been paying in rent , for childcare?

Sorry. Who said they were? She pays rent, it’s just private lets won't have her because of poor credit.

The property she owns is in a completely different area to where she works and lives.

I might be wrong but wouldn't she get help with nursery costs due to being a lone parent.

There are ways around renting with poor credit.

Longer term she could sell her house and buy use it as a deposit to buy where she works.

Why can’t she move into the flat she owns and use the money she would’ve been paying in rent , for childcare?

This. Surely if they are close by the the rental income she was getting from the flat, is not too dissimilar to the rent she was actually paying?

Will the council house someone who already has a house?

I wouldnt have thought so.

She can’t buy anywhere due to poor credit

No nowhere near one another

Does she know anyone that can be a guarantor for the rent of a new place? Knowing that she has a property to sell in the background that is.

Even IF the council were to rehome her (which they won't) it could possibly take years and a lot of living in temporary accommodation and hostels until a suitable property became available for her. It is not a quick fix.
It is best to find a private landlord, (not through an agency) as they are usually a lot more chilled when it comes to credit history. If she can provide a rent statement from the last year showing she has not defaulted on her rent then that should be sufficient enough.

No nowhere near one another

Ah ok. Could sell the flat she owns and use the money as a deposit for a new property in the area she currently lives?

No, there’s absolutely no one.

Just to be clear here, the lady isn’t asking for benefits or a council house. She will pay her rent. The issue is that she needs to work and at the moment can’t find housing near her work.

Selling the property would not solve that - she couldn’t buy somewhere as where she works is expensive and she can’t rent due to poor credit.

My db who had the worst credit rating ever managed to private rent, he needed a few references and a guarantor, so that's an option.