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?

The only reason where “poor credit” will stop you renting is if you have a CCJ or have been made bankrupt within the last 6 years.

In what capacity have you been "asked to advise"? What are the solutions you have come up with? Rather than batting down everyone else's and expecting the proverbial unicorn, what do you "advise"?

No.

Eleanor wants to pay rent. Whether that’s a council property or a private property.

She can’t get a private property so is needing help.

It’s not a money ‘want’, it’s a needing a home want.

capri like I say I think you are deliberately being provocative.

How new is the job she is in? Any chance she could speak to them and explain her circumstances, ask to work from home earlier.

It’s interesting when you name change as you do see people in a different light.

A professional capacity vlad, since you ask.

Why?

What bearing does that have on anything?

posie - shed have to pass another examination before that’s an option.

Has she spoken to the council to see if they know of any private landlords who could help?

The tenant I have atm was one that the council put me in touch with. Very similar situation to hers.

I will pass that advice on.

How far away is the exam?

Two years minimum.

Any possibility of transferring to an office in the midlands?

If Eleanor can pay 6 months rent up front, is in paid employment and can get a decent reference grom her current landlord then she will find a landlord to take her. She just needs to keeping looking.

www.spareroom.co.uk/landing/london-landing-1/?aff=1120&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI2tvnppPw3gIVbrftCh302Ag3EAAYASAAEgJPlfD_BwE

Has she looked here?

Or here? www.shareandcare.co.uk/

Yes, she has tried to find a private landlord but thus far has been unsuccessful.

I think she needs to forget about staying with this company and holding out for WFH in two years (that’s if she passes the exam- not great chances if living in a hostel 30 miles from work) and just apply for jobs in the midlands where she can still take her exam in two years.

I think her only option is to go back to where her home is and find a new job there.

It doesn't make sense that her current job pays about £50k but if she moved she would only earn minimum wage - not buying that. Also, if wages are so much lower there, that will include childcare costs won't it?

If home in midlands is larger than she would need, she could also sell it and buy a smaller home, using excess to top up income.

I can't see why council should house her in this situation.

Some of the advice on this thread is batshit.

She needs to do everything she can to continue with her job. THAT is THE key to her and her daughters future.

If I was her I’d go to a mortgage broker. A good one. With an asset of £100,000 & a salary of £48,000 they will find her a mortgage, even with CCJ’s. The rate might be higher, but it’ll be HER house and she can continue in her job.

think of it like this - and I am having to be very careful as this isn’t my dilemma and I don’t want to put anybody.

Imagine you are a marine biologist and have to live near the sea. All your work experience is based in marine biology and you are highly qualified in that field but nothing else

Can she get a reference from her current landlord? Agree with others she is better off approaching landlords direct rather than agencies. Also she will have her payslips to Evidence she earns enough

OP could you please explain why she doesnt want to sell the house, or rather why she thinks it wont help?

It's just such an obvious solution.

Ordinarily trees I would agree, but this woman is in SE. On that income, and with a shit credit history, she could probably borrow around £130k. Obviously she has £100k tied up in house.

£230k wouldn't buy a one bed flat where I live....

She doesn’t mind it because the alternative is worse.

The only work she would be able to get if she moved back to the midlands would be short term temping on just above MW. That’s not what she wants long term.

Ahahaha. Eleanor really thinks that being in a B&B or hostel or bed sitter with a baby is preferable to temping on NMW?

Having been in accommodation of that type let me tell you what Eleanor can look forwards too. I spent every night listening to women being beaten up by their ‘boyfriends’ pimps. I shared a bathroom and kitchen with drug addicts and alcoholics. Which effectively meant I had none unless I was prepared to clean up their copious bodily fluids from the bathroom or drug paraphernalia from the kitchen. I had to shower at the local pool and eat nothing but noodles. Anything that could be stolen was. Anything I didn’t want stealing I had to keep on me at all times, my post was opened and rifled through. Women from their worked as prostitutes and used to bring customers back there, so I was regularly hassled and propositioned by men who thought I must be on the game too. I saw children in the most appalling circumstances and poverty who were frequently treated terribly by parents who didn’t see them as much more than a meal ticket for benefits and housing. There are very, very few decent people in those places, because decent people tend to have some sort of other option, even if it is just a friend’s floor.

If Eleanor thinks that’s preferable to a NMW job she is deluded.

She can sell the property in the Midlands. Even people with poor credit can rent if they give 6-12 months rent up front. She could use the proceeds to pay rent upfront and childcare until the free stuff kicks in. Otherwise she can look for a private let that won’t involve a credit check, you can get these through things like adverts in supermarkets or newsagents or via word of mouth from friends.

If what she does as a job is only available in an expensive area then she’s going to need to start thinking about retraining and moving somewhere cheaper.

Councils are so short of housing she doesn’t have a prayer. They don’t have enough housing to give to genuinely homeless people, let alone to solve the problems of someone who has a poor credit rating but doesn’t want to sell their only asset.

Why should the council help she's sitting on £100k.

Because green thus far you haven't really done much but told others why their ideas wouldn't work. I'm a consultant by trade - I don't just rule things out unless they're entirely batshit of the 'let's just take over the world' variety. So if I'd been asked to advise I'd be actively seeking a solution rather than just finding reason why everything doesn't work.

Particularly as you're the one most in the know of the circumstances in this thread and therefore best place to try to elucidate solutions as opposed to write them off entirely.

I am sure even marine biologists have transferable skills