To think renting as single mum is horrific

[Blueysmum12]

My bff is a single mum to two young boys. She works in a nursery and gets universal credits. She has a small dog who she got when she split with her husband and is her baby.

she’s lived in the same house for 6 years, rent paid every month on time etc.

the owner is selling their house and obviously she has to move. Between us we have rang 40 properties in this town and surrounding villages. Not one will accept her because she’s either on in universal credits and she has a dog.

the council rang today and said they suggest she takes anything and rehomes her dog because they will put her in a bnb for around 8 months.

I would have her dog, but I have a cat and a dog and 3 kids already, my husband isn’t keen.

I feel so bad for her. She’s lost weight, she looks an anxious mess.

:(

When critical injury insurance first came out it was expensive and had so many exclusions it was a waste of money. It was only once the internet became so well spread that you got decent policies on offer.

Ah, they just told me on another thread that they hope my HA "subsidised" rent increases in line with private rent costs because that's more fair. 😂

I’m having trouble finding any critical injury insurance now, today, that pay lump sums for critical injury at all. They all seem to be lump sum for critical illness (didn’t get a critical illness) and monthly income for critical injury (which is what my long term disability insurance pays except mine is for life and critical injury is usually to retirement age).

My situation was over a decade ago now anyway. I know hand on heart we got everything we could and it would have been alright if the claim process & ease of getting paid out had been even remotely as advertised.

Why? Having a pet is hardly a human right

A five floor house in London (or so I gather from your posts) and the deposit was £6000? Either this was a very long time ago, you were renting it very, very cheaply, or you were foolishly short-sighted in the amount required for the deposit.

When we first moved to London from outside the UK, we rented a similar sounding house (only 3 floors though) in South Ken. The deposit was 6 weeks rent, which came to just over £21,000. We were there 5 years, 3 kids, 2 dogs, and didn't lose a penny of it. In fact, when one of the kids overflowed a bath and we offered to pay for the damage, the landlords told us not to be ridiculous as the repairs were a tax deduction for them.

OP, I'm sorry for your friend. Housing insecurity is something no one should have to experience, but I can completely understand why someone would want to hold onto a beloved pet to help provide emotional stability for the kids. I hope she finds something suitable.

What’s wrong with the North??

Honestly I can’t believe it bemuses people that people are expected to live within their means.

@MzHz well said. Some of the people on here have some incredibly black and white mindsets. I hope life hits them on the arse one day! Plenty of mumsnetters have found themselves in not great circumstances despite always being hard working and had a nice home that they owned etc. I'm of the opinion these empathy free people are probably of the ilk of Suella Braverman- who is bloody lucky to have got beyond license approved and assistant photocopier at the legal chambers.

No, but some of us want more than basic human rights for other people's children as well as our own.

What @MzHz says!

And @QuietQuietBang, what sort of example is that? £60000 is the bidding starting price for this house being sold at auction, more than likely to a cash buyer oh look another one!

Plus you are trying to lecture@Discovereads on her own circumstances and it's frankly embarrassing?

Is a pet the only thing above ‘basic human rights’?

Get them a Nintendo, it’s cheaper, doesn’t shit and can be left home alone.

@LydiaBennetsUglyBonnet because if all your family is not up north, your kids are settled and have friends, you have no family who are'up north' and the kids father is not 'up north' then moving up there isn't a great or easy option - especially if you need a teensy bit of support around you

Absolutely nothing wrong with the north- but works better for moving there if you don't have strong ties elsewhere or kids to think about and don't need friends or any support .

You know that minimum wage jobs exist in London and the south east and that someone has to do them? Who is going to do those jobs if you think they should all move up north?

When did I say minimum wage workers should all move up North?

So fucking irritating when posters make things up in lieu of having any clever to actually say.

@roestbruin
thank you

Well you suggested that people should live within their means. So what do you think the people on minimum wage living in the south east should do?

I don’t think @antelopevalley is implying something is wrong with the North, just wondering (maybe) how a London or SE & SWthat is 100% millionaires going to cope without binmen, social care, nurses, cleaners, supermarket workers, delivery drivers, tradesmen, gardeners, nannies…. Unless the secret plan is to go back to live in servants like ye olde days.

No one in these professions can afford to live in the North and commute to London or SE & SW to work. If you want the labour of essential workers, you have to ensure they have affordable housing nearby.

@Mummyford 'A five floor house in London (or so I gather from your posts) and the deposit was £6000?' I know, strange isn't it?🙄

@LydiaBennetsUglyBonnet nothing wrong with the North but you are very unrealistic.

@Discovereads unbelievable! 😮

Sorry, but I just can’t figure out what you’re trying to say here.

Not necessarily, but your post was specifically in reference to pets. And your position, I'm inferring, is that children who don't chose their parents appropriately don't deserve more?

I guess I'd say there's ultimately more intrinsic value in loving and caring for a sentient being than in owning an electronic device, but I don't see that the two necessarily cancel each other out. My children have been able to have both, due to their wisely considered choice of parents.

That basically the facts i.e. the most single mothers are in their 30s, earn above the universal credit threshold for any assistance and have professional jobs is completely alien to letting agents and often mortgage brokers as well.

Erect Pre-Fabs now - on the edge of every town and village, just like they used to - none of the smugs will want to move there so less competition for the many households so desperate for "a roof over their head.

100% Social Housing - forget theories of 'Ghettoism' and 'Mixed Developments' as the theory to combat this - the vast majority of ex-Council Estates and smaller developments are really nice places to live.

I've lived in 3 post-war pre-fabs in the last 20 years and they are far, far
preferable to living in insecure housing, hostels and tents.

And yes, it is very possible for a tenant to improve their circumstances after a few years of secure, truly affordable housing and hand they keys back for the next household that needs social housing.

That;s what I did after 10 years.

I’m still not sure what the original poster is saying but I think I get what you’re saying.

It’s just my experience as a single parent myself and working with single parents needing housing that never mind what you earn or what references you have. Most landlords will discriminate simply because of nonsense stereotypes. It’s very annoying and I’m thinking maybe what the OP meant?

They will still ask, they will still turn you down because of it if they want to.
A landlord is unlikely to find out your friend has a dog, unless they live nearby. We have plenty of people who lie, unless the animal causes damage…. Or some will allow a dog if you pay extra deposits.

Your friend does not have to disclose her income status.

You can still be a dirty bastard without an animal. I have a lab, we don’t wear shoes in the house and he gets his feet washed when he goes outside. He’s groomed. His bedding is washed regularly and I vacuum every day.
My house is much cleaner than many of my friends. Visitors don’t even realise we have a dog until he strolls in.

No, that’s not what I wrote. You made a rather silly claim, and I pointed out why it was wrong.

Don’t now lie about what I wrote.