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 appreciate you said her child's father is "off the scene", but does that necessarily have to apply to his money?

He's still the father so why can't she make a claim even though he no longer lives with them?

A £10,000 buy to let mortgage on a property you own outright and already have a tenant in it, is very easy to do.

Its very hard to imagine with a salary of £48,000 a year + job references + rental income + £10,000 up front prepaid rent that someone cannot find anything to rent. At the very least lodgings or a hostel.

It does seem she is just not trying very hard. Has she even put info out advertising this? landlords will bite her hand off.

I know a very prominent marine biologist. He lives in oxford. They travel 🤣

I used to be a property manager. I often rented to people with bad credit. Just because they have bad credit. Don’t go through an estate agent. Go through a small property landlord. My boss went on gut feelings. To be fair. All the A’s credit ones. Paid upfront. 6 months. And paid on time. Some of the best tennants. She’s not looking hard enough

Offer 6 months upfront. To a private agency. She will get a flat

The council I wouldn’t imagine. Will house her and if they ddI. I believe that to be morally wrong. When she’s sitting on 100k. And she’s got a 50m job. When there are people struggling to buy food for their families. Personally

Like I said. I did this for a living. So yes. It can be done. Scour the local newspapers for private landlords. There are also websites. If she can offer up 12-15k. For 6 months rent. I can GUARENTEE she will find a landlord.

I also think it's unrealistic to continue in the way for at least the next 2 years just to be able to work from home. In the mean time she could move to the midlands, live in a mortgage free house, be two years or more into a job (perhaps with pay rises) and have a stable living situation for her and her child.

As frustrating as it is to give up on her dreams of working and living in the SE her child should come first.

You know I didn’t mean a literal marine biologist capri

I really honestly don’t have time for goading ... I’m just trying to help somebody.

Living on NMW with no mortgage or rent though, and possibly a lodger would be an ok start. Childcare costs might be a bit cheaper too. It could allow her to get on her feet and work towards getting something better paid.

Sometimes you just can't have everything. Or, at least, not immediately. Eleanors just going to have to compromise a bit. Either on the house, or on having that job there right now.

We managed to private rent when my DP was in an IVA. It's a case of speaking face to face with estate agents in my experience, rather than just phoning or emailing. Put up cards in newsagents / supermarkets in areas you want to live - quite often you can find landlord that doesn't want to deal with EA's and prefers to vet their tenants themselves. I have a friend who was recently bankrupt find a home this way.

Anyhow, if I was Eleanor, I would give the tenant notice as soon as possible, look for jobs in the Midlands, move into her inherited property. Clear the CCJs so that by the time the child is in school they will have dropped off her credit file. In the meantime, she will have no rent to pay, she could take lower paid part time work but would most likely be richer for it as she won't have huge outgoings and more time with the child. She could also claim UC. When the child is settled at school she could look to increase her earnings, rent the property back out and move back to where she can find this specialist work.

I saw one of those how to get a council house programmes a couple of days ago and they mentioned on there that if you own a property, you’re not homeless. The person was in the same sort of situation, working but couldn’t get a private rent. They discovered he might own part of a property, in which case he wouldn’t be homeless because he owned the house. Never mind that his ex wife was living in it and it was a long, long way away - if he owned a house, he wasn’t homeless. He had two kids living with him. They also mentioned that it is a criminal offence to not mention something like that in order to get housed by the council. I don’t think any council will offer to house her. They also pay no attention to where you think your need to be, either.

I don’t for a second believe she would only be eligible for min wage temping jobs in the midlands. No way. She has a degree, she has achieved and excellent salary already. Her employer can provide a good reference. She doesn’t have to stick to “marine biology” (I know it’s not that!), she will have transferable skills. Honestly, Eleanor needs to pull her finger out and start looking at jobs in the midlands.

OP, I think your heart is in the right place.

However, you are being a bit naive with regards to your friend.

I’m not being funny but obviously the ideal situation is that she keeps her brilliant job that’s going to pay loads and have brilliant benefits. Her landlord is forced to keep her on. Her property rockets up in price and she retires at 40.
That’s not happening though.
What would she do if she didn’t have the property, be a dam site worse.
At some point she’s got to deal with the reality of the situation.

She should speak to the council for a list of local landlords. She should target the ones that accept hb as they are likely to take the risk with poor credit.

She also needs to look at properties away from Estate agents, so gumtree,dssmove, newsagents windows, ask around at work etc.

She needs to sell the midlands property and she can use the money to provide her with lump sums should she need to move again in the future. She can also use the lump sum for nursery fees etc.

If she is evicted most councils will provide short term B and B as she has a child until they realise she has a home elsewhere then they will cease to do so. But only if she ignores her eviction notices and waits for the bailiffs to come. If she voluntarily leaves on the eviction date without bailiffs she will be classed as intentionally homeless.

She needs to chase the father for maintenance for raising his child. He brought the child into the world it’s as much his responsibility as hers.

Take a loan on the property and use it to pay rent?

She really needs to talk to the council. In some circumstances people who own property are eligible to apply for a council property. Doesn’t mean she’ll get one (in some areas she could be waiting years, others just weeks) but she won’t know unless she asks.

Are housing associations an option?

Someone on Spare Room is offering a free room to a single parent family with a separate room for the child in London.
www.spareroom.co.uk/flatshare/london/swiss_cottage/9303196
On the same website there are several adverts specifically looking for single parent families to become lodgers.

green, you’re trying to help, but has it occurred to you that a lot of people want help and they have to be prioritised. There are an awful lot of people who want housing now who have literally nothing but the clothing they stand up in, people fleeing domestic violence, people who have been evicted and don’t have a penny to their name.

Eleanor needs to wake up to the fact that she is not desperate. She has a valuable asset which can keep her and her child going for several years.

She needs to face up to the fact she is not a priority and that people who have nothing HAVE to be prioritised above people asking for housing to protect an asset.

Haven't RTFT but can't she see about improving her credit rating by repaying her existing debts or arranging payment plans? (i'm clueless as to how CCJs work).

Can she not rent or buy outside SE and commute in? I had to do similar when my sons father left us. Couldn’t afford to stay in the town I lived in but needed to work there for my job (sort of specialised) so I moved an hour away by train to a cheaper area.

I had a 2 yr old at nursery near my work so used to commute with him every day and evening. It was bloody hard but it’s what I needed to do to keep it all going.

I also had poor credit (because I’d never had any credit cards or any credit so apparently that gives you a low score ) and had inherited an amount from my father passing away which I used as the deposit on my house I got. Moving to a much cheaper area in a commutable distance meant I could get a house where my inheritance (less than your friends is worth) acres at as significant part of the house price so even With bad credit o could get a mortgage.

I used a fantastic mortgage adviser on our most recent house purchase who said he’d helped people with CCjs etc get mortgages it’s possible you just need a good broker (I asked because I was worried we’d get turned down even without any credit issues)

I am in the South East and just been through trying to get a council house.

Depending on where she is, my council won't house if you have a house anywhere, they will say she is making herself homeless. As she has other options available to her, because the need for housing down this way is so limited, they look for other ways to help, for example they found out my Dad lets out a property and tried to see if that was a better way (it wasn't)

I would have to double check the actual facts but they can only have a child in a B&B for up to 52 I think days. If they were to help this would be the longest she would be in a B&B but the next option won't be much better. It would more than likely be shared living and most of her stuff would have to be placed in storage.

I would try gumtree, openrent and checking on facebook local groups for any properties available, phone the council and ask for their list of landlords, also check on the council website for the housing associations they use and see if they have any private let properties available, mine sometimes does, it is slightly cheaper rent than private

I've been renting for the last decade with bad credit (Bankruptcy included), and whilst it certainly makes it harder, it is definitely possible.

I agree with a lot of the info that's already been given (offering six months rent upfront, council not housing them etc).

I also just want to point out that whilst it would be really fucking disheartening to have to give up her job and move, she certainly isn't the only person in this position.

The difference is that when a lot of people are being priced out of the SE, they don't have homes in the Midlands that they own, to fall back on.

If the chips do fall thay way she should perhaps try a switch in attitude and try to make the best of it.

I rent a housing association property, as our council now owns no properties. One of the first questions on the application form is ‘Do you own your own property?’ If yes, your application is refused. As far as I’m concerned, so it should be.

Why should people be homed, when they already sit on a property, just because it is not in the right location? There are 1,000’s waiting to be homed, living in bedsits, B&B’s, living in overcrowded rooms, sharing facilities with challenging and vulnerable individuals. Yet someone who already has a home wants to take a home that one of these individuals and their families desperately need. It’s absurd!!

She should not be entitled to council help when sitting on a 100k property . Sell the house or keep looking for a property to privately rent, she will be able to find something if pressed.

The fact she is willing to live in a homeless hostel but owns a property is madness to me. These facilities should be for people with absolutely no other option, not becuase they don’t want to sell their flat.

Can she get rent to buy mortgage on the other property and use the money taken from that as a deposit for a new place? Typically she will be able to take 75% of the value out as long as the rent covers the mortgage payment

It's worth her talking to her landlord about the possibility of her buying. The advantage for the landlord is no need for an estate agent, no void period between the end of the tenancy and no need to redecorate.

She should speak to an independent mortgage broker, they can advise on lenders who will be more relaxed regarding credit rating.