Getting rejected for houses because we have dc

[Whatsthestitch]

Little bit of a click bait but partly true

Me and dp currently live with an abusive parent and we are trying to leave. I have had dc so can't work and am on uc. Dp works full time. Even though we have money for a depoist and holding depoist I still don't understand how we can afford to move out!

Has anyone had experience of moving out on housing benefit? How did it work for you. I can't see any landlord accepting our situation and as our budget is so small (900pcm) most flats we see say they aren't family/children suitable. I didn't even think of the possibility of landlords/ladies discriminating against children. Surely a family of 3 living in a 1 bedroom isn't that overcrowded or absurd given the current climate. I'm willing to get a part time job but even that will only be about 2 days max as it will be family looking after dc for free childcare.

Help! Seeking advice and posting for traffic

I personally would rather rent to a family and we're fine with pets (reasonable pets of course). I think it's nice knowing the property is a family home and generally families want to take better care of the space.

Two working parents or one good earner is ideal though.

Housing benefit would get switched over to your uc as uc is all in one now, you should be able to claim still & shouldn't of closed it.

Would the person you live with throw you out ? If they inform the council, you will then be homeless and given accommodation. It could be a hostel or even a bed and breakfast to start with, but they have to help you.
go on the council list? Would you be prepared to move out of your area if there is more chance of you securing a home?
Also, if you do work and you claim UC, you will be better off. You will get a lot of money off the childcare bill!

Of course you can work. If you qualify for Housing Benefit then you will qualify for Universal Credit. That will cover the rent element as well as up to 85% of your childcare costs.
Childminders are cheaper than nurseries and are more flexible with hours.
As much as I'd have loved to have been a stay at home Mum, I couldn't afford it and went back to work. It's what you have to do if you want to move out and get your own home?

Council have put many people in one bed flats with one child or more...: and still do to this day unfortunately, that happened to us once, was a nightmare. Never again.

Surely a family of 3 living in a 1 bedroom isn't that overcrowded or absurd given the current climate.

You say LLs have discriminated against you but at the same time you say you can only afford £900pm. Presumably that is for a 1-bed flat.

Are you being rejected for properties you view?

Your child is 1. In a year or less they will be in a bed, not a cot.
How do you intend to do that in a 1-bed flat?
How would this work longer term?
Your child would need to be 3 before you qualify for free childcare.

You need to get a job depending on your qualifications - supermarkets, doing the evening shift, care work, cleaning, admin work from home (if you have the skills), bar and restaurant work.
There are hundreds and thousands of vacancies. Businesses are crying out for staff.

This. Already seen a few "there's no excuse", might as well get my bingo card out for a few "people don't want to work any more"s and "I used to work 12 hours a day then my partner would work the next 12 hours with no childcare, we made it work".

Also don't rely on this forum for benefits info.

You need to go to Citizen's Advice and explain your situation, and see what the reality of your options are in your area. Any advice given here will likely not be useful for your specific situation and location.

Good luck.

What hours does dp work? Easiest way is to work around him so you don’t need much childcare.
If he is 9-5 Lots of jobs would be happy with availability 2 full days a week, 2 full weekend days. Or evenings or early mornings. Supermarkets, fast food. My dc works around college and puts in her availability at McDonald’s she does 5-11pm or weekend shifts. Our big Tesco has evening shelf stackers.

You title is misleading. You aren't being rejected because you have a child, you just don't have enough money for suitable accomodation. It is not discrimination for a landlord to consider it inappropriate for 3 people to live in a one bed appartment - it causes more damage and like others say you are more likely to move out sooner.

That said, I am sure some LLs do discriminate against more "difficult" or stable tenants. Of course it's better for a landlord to have a professional couple where both work as it's greater financial secuirty and less chance of damage than a one income family with 5 kids and 3 dogs.

Lastly, I think if you really wanted to work you could find a way. What do you think most people with kids who rely on 2 incomes do?

@tattygrl Really? You accuse people of being 'Daily Mail readers ' and an offence to suggest parents support the child they chose to have? And scuttle off the the CAB to see if they can get council housing?

So somehow it's wrong to suggest ways for parents support their own kids?

Are you quite young, OP? You seem to be looking at this as if the system should be designed to give you a break. Maybe it should, but it isn't.

Housing isn't approached as a human right, but as a market place and providers are free to choose their tenants as they wish, so long as they keep to the law and don't discriminate against things like race, sexuality etc (even then it's quite hard to prove). If a landlord doesn't want to do business with you, they don't have to.

I've seen what kids can do to a rental place, from a landlord's perspective letting to a couple is better than squeezing in a family of three, as pp have said.

You don't say how the parent you're living with is abusive, is it possible you're just all frustrated and you're expecting too much and need to adjust your expectations? Allowing a child, their partner and grandchild to live with you is a big ask. I can't tell the full situation from what you've said.

I'd get along to CAB for detailed advice on your benefits situation, then make a plan for the next few years that gets you where you want to go. It might be worth taking some hours of a job you don't like much now to stand you in better stead for a better job when you get more childcare hours when DC is 3.

Overall you sound quite passive, you live with one parent, have the offer of free childcare from another. It's not the worst of all worlds. It's fine to want more but it's not just going to fall into your lap.

Not discrimination, just that landlords want tenants who look like they can manage financially. If you would struggle to afford nursery costs, you would surely struggle to afford rent? And people renting a 1br would be looking to rent to a couple, not a couple with a small child, as they are unlikely to be long-term tenants (a 3 year old in a 1br is not the same as a 1 year old for most people).

That and it's shit out there at the moment. We moved out of rented a year ago. Our landlord jacked the rent up to £1600pcm and people (most of them single people - this was a 4br house) were falling over themselves to get in for a viewing. In the end, he rented to a family with 4 children, who were being homeschooled, only 1 parent working outside the home. How they were affording that, I have no idea, but I think he definitely had a soft spot for them knowing they would struggle to find anywhere else.

For a landlord, the key things they could worry about would be:

• you currently live with a parent - no history showing you're a good tenant
• you only have one income so more risk if you lose job etc
• your baby could start to draw on walls/be sick on carpet/pull things down
• your baby could cause noise nuisance
• you probably would move out fairly soon
• you sound like a young couple - you could break up, father goes off and you can't pay the rent, landlord is left having to evict a mother and child and lose rent income
• a child is more likely to injure themselves and bring a claim against the landlord

You'd probably be in a better position if you have two incomes and have a rental history - even if it means renting somewhere you're not that keen on in a location you don't like.

@OhMonDieux so what do you think social housing is actually for if it isn’t for young families who can’t afford private rentals?

I'm confused?

I'm on UC. I get full entitled housing cost element (up to £625 is the max based on my area, DC etc) and also get my universal credit (standard allowance + child element)

It's all paid in one chunk and then I pay my landlord out of that.

You can most definitely get housing costs within universal credit. That's what universal credit is - basically a bunch of benefits merged into one payment.

I was turned down for a private rental and was very surprised - but then I found out the agency had used a 'formula' to see if I could afford it on my income. It's in the range of 30 x rent.

This calculator might help you to see what you need to earn to get a place with the space you need.

rentright.co.uk/calcrent/

@tattygrl I don't read daily mail (like NEVER) and I did advise OP to get a job even if its only evenings! I thought that was decent advice?

You could apply for jobs now. If you have 2 days of free childcare, you could use a childminder or nursery for one day, then that means you can do 3 days of work. That would make you more attractive to landlords, plus you should have more income for a 2 bed.

OP it is very hard. Housing market at the moment is crazy. High rents for very little.

You maybe entitled to child tax credits and working tax credits and housing benefit.
Put your details into Entitled To and the information should come up.
Its tough I’m sure.

If you're living with a family member, how are you getting housing benefit?

I thought those benefits were no longer available to new claimants and that the op would have to claim universal credit now?

Have you actually applied for any properties OP, how many have turned you down? You seem to be blaming the fact that you can't rent on having a child, whereas it seems to be down to lack of income as you only have one working adult. To say it's down to being a parent is not even partly true, it's not true at all.

Work out your finances carefully and have everything written down. Mobile phones, insurances, food, rent, council tax, utilities, fares to work everything. Don’t underestimate to make it look less.
Work out what you’ll have UC, child benefit, DP wages vs your wages, any UC you’d still be able to claim , DP wages, child benefit. You need hard facts not guesstimates of your income.
With this contact Shelter and your local council housing officer. As a landlord I took tenants on benefits by liaising with local housing officer, who even arranged their deposit. A one bedroom flat would be small but might just work if you and DP sleep in the living room and dc has the bedroom. The housing officer might help with finding a two bedroom, but it really depends on your area and properties available.
The abuse you mention concerns me, no child should live in an abusive household so I can understand your desperation to get out.

@daybroke Yes it is universal credit. There are lots of people commenting here who do not know about the subject they are talking about.