Can't afford to rent. Starting to panic.

[PreciousOcean]

Living with a parent. Zero council housing available. Stuck in one bedroom with a 2 year old. I don't sleep. Childcare costs drain me and I'm on a low income. I pay my family member a decent amount for rent of a room (450 + bills) so whilst nowhere near as high as rent, I can't claim universal credit for it as he is immediate family. My eyes water when I think about trying to save for a deposit. I don't know what to do. I'm in my 30s living with my dad. I lost a potential relationship over it. Does anyone have any constructive advice? So many people I know are struggling to rent. Especially single parents who can't lodge...

@HalfShrunkMoreToGo

If you had a proper contract with your dad as your landlord and you as a lodger would you be able to get housing benefit?

Not if you live WITH family. You can if you are renting a property as their tenant. Not as a live in lodger (speaking from actual experience).

You can rent a whole 2 bed house for £800 near me.

i live in the north east and I rent a three bedroom house with huge garden for 360 a month

WTF. My 2 bed flat is nearly 3 times the price of your 3 bed house!

Scotland 525 for a 5 bedroom

Are you sure you cannot claim HB? I read a while back if the landlord ( your family member) would make you homeless if you cannot pay then you can claim? Worth a look.

OP must be London/SE. I'm in Cambridgeshire and a 1 bed would be £900+.

Wow I think you’re paying your dad a lot for one room. I charge my DS £40 per week all in.
Admittedly I wouldn’t normally have a lodger.
I think you need to look to lodge with a non-family member so that you can claim some benefit. Realistically that would probably need to be another single mum or someone who understands the needs of small children.
Have you considered renting a room or two from an elderly person, I think Age UK can advise. It’s a way of providing mutual support but not full on care .

If I were to ever have a lodger I’d be far more inclined to rent to a single mum, I wouldn’t rent to a man. I’d even babysit and offer to do laundry. That’s my plan if I’m left alone and need a bit of money to keep my house.

Have you qualified for free hours for the 2 yo? If you're earning under about 16k you should. When do they turn 3? And how many hours do you work? I think for now you're going to have to hold tight and wait for the free childcare to decrease the cost burden.

Are you claiming UC generally for Tax Credits? You need to make sure you're claiming every penny you're entitled to.

To be fair, I live in Manchester and I rented a room when at uni over 10 years ago for £400/ month in a shared house !

Sorry just saying that for those saying OP must be in London, not necessarily.

You need to move to a much cheaper area. Almost anywhere would be way less than that. It's not viable and you're not tied to that area for work or schools or relationships so now's the time to move and start over.

In any University city, house shares are easily £400 or more per month, yes even in the North East!

You could apply for an advance from UC and use that as a deposit. They will claw it back out of your ongoing payments but it might be worth it.

I'd go down the route if your father is kicking you out. It will mean that you'll have to accept what the council offers but you'd be independent.

£800/ month for a room would be for very posh central areas in London. The going rate in your average zone 3/4/5 is probably around £500- £600, depending on the size, transport links etc.

Are you sure there’s no council housing or housing associations nearby? My DSis was in the same position, living with parents and her DS and paying some rent to them- housing association flat with 2 beds was hers not long after she put her name on the list. Good luck OP, you’ll get there.

The reality is that you need to live somewhere cheaper. I know that sounds horribly hard and scary to start again, but somewhere else you can afford to live and you simply cannot afford to do it where you live now.

Lots of people reach this conclusion and move away. It's hard at first but they meet people and make a new life and have decent space and a good life for them and their children.

Give it serious thought rather than being sure it's not possible and discounting it.

@forinborin

£800/ month for a room would be for very posh central areas in London. The going rate in your average zone 3/4/5 is probably around £500- £600, depending on the size, transport links etc.

I rented a room more than 5 years ago for £850 a month in a very not posh part of central London zone 2. And that was cheap at the time. However maybe rents are cheaper now due to the pandemic (that’s what’s happening in New York).

I’d be surprised if there’s any none dodgy double bedroom rentals in zones 3 and 4 London for less than £600.

Would your dad be renting out the room commercially to someone else if you weren't living there?

@Babyroobs

Would your dad be renting out the room commercially to someone else if you weren't living there?

She already made it clear that he would.

How much do you pay for childcare? If rent is high, childcare probably is too.
I think you need to move an hour out. To a 2 bed. Your support network will need to come to you.
Do you work from home, or local to your DF's house?

I rented a room more than 5 years ago for £850 a month in a verynotposh part of central London zone 2. And that was cheap at the time. However maybe rents are cheaper now due to the pandemic (that’s what’s happening in New York).
I don't recognise the numbers you quote, honestly. I am in a reasonably naice and leafy zone 4, and usual double rooms here are, and been for a few years, exactly that, £500-£600/month, just checked on spareroom. More than 5 years ago (well, seven, if I am completely honest) I rented a reasonably spacious one-bed flat here for £900. London is not all that bad - of course, if you need to commute to central London, then outer zones come with an unpleasant commute price too.

Eastie77 I rent North East £595 nice area 3 bedroom semi house, lounge dining room, second downstairs room which is used as a second sitting room large garden Houses are available.

£800/month for a room in London does not mean posh area at all. I live in an ok area and rooms here are about that price, give or take £50 more.