Will the council house me?

[Becca997]

Sorry I had no idea where to post this thread but really need some advice.

Im a single mother of two children under 5 and I rent privately. I've been told my landlord has passed away and I have 6 months to leave the property as it now needs to be sold. As we all know private renting is very expensive at the moment and the landlord did me a big favour giving me the tenancy as I failed the credit check and I also wasn't earning much money. I paid all my rent on time every month and just cut down majorly on everything I could to afford this. Since hearing about my house being sold I've contacted many letting agents. They won't even consider me as I don't make enough money to rent (I need to earn double the rent amount). I've applied for everything available but even the smallest and dirtiest properties are out of my price range. I've also contacted the council to go onto the housing register.

I am terrified to say the least. I feel at this point council is the only option I've got, I live in a small town in wales so while I know there will likely be thousands on my county's housing register I imagine it's a below average number In comparison to the rest of the country. What I'm wondering is has anyone been in a similar position and managed to be housed before being evicted?

I hear horrible stories of families in other parts of the uk being put into homeless shelters or single room bnbs for months on end. I'm terrified this will happen to me. I can't do anything to avoid this situation, I took care of my home and worked hard to afford the rent every month and I just feel so powerless. I'm aware I might be jumping the gun and I might be housed within 6 months and I'm worrying for nothing. But I also don't want to be naive as I know this isn't the case for so many people.

I don't have anyone I can stay with and I of course have all my furniture and appliances here so I don't even know what I'd do with my things if I was put into some sort of homeless shelter. I know the closest hostel/homeless shelter is 14 miles away. Would they put my family there if I'm too far away from work and my child's school? (I dont drive).

I'm so sorry to ramble on and post such a long message. I can't get over this worry and the day I need to leave getting closer. I'm worried I'm going to end up in a position where I'm not able to leave by my eviction date and I'll get into trouble and eventually physically removed. Please someone help

@everythingwasmagnolia I am sorry your son is unwell and you are finding yourself in this awful position. The LA should absolutely take this into account when looking at banding etc. have a look at their allocation policy. Your consultant may want to make it extremely clear on the supporting letter the risk of infection if overcrowding/shared facilities (they can include temp accommodation) due to immune system being compromised and also the risk to life and housing being a contributory factor. In my LA this would immediately place you in top banding and mean temp accommodation such as a B&B cannot be an option

@Mamofteenager thank you, I really hope so. I have just joined the housing register and I am waiting for it to be reviewed to see where we will come in the banding. I am hoping when the army take me to court the judge will grant me more time, I can't see anybody being that heartless!

Im so sorry all this is happening to you that is absolutely awful. Surely there is no way any local authority would not put you at the highest priority given the circumstances you're in! I really hope you move into a beautiful home and things improve for you and your family, I hope you've got the best support system around you during this. Please don't hesitate to update here I'm really hoping you get some really good news soon! Xx

Have you looked into a house share. Perhaps with another single parent?
You have to wait your be evicted by bailiffs before the Council will even consider housing you.
It is very possible you will get a b&b room. I had a friend in Wales in a b&b for 18 months with 2 kids before she got a house.

Have you tried not via a letting agent and anywhere landlords advertise directly like Gumtree (in our town lots of flats are rented that way). Just thinking if you can show you have paid rent on time for 5 years the landlord might not insist on the income being double the rent thing the letting agencies are.

I think you need to get in touch with the housing team at your local authority and get yourself on the list. Shelter Cymru will be able to advise and possibly Llamau?

OP have you checked an online benefits calculator to see if you would get help with childcare? If you complete it as if you have them in childcare, with estimated costs, it will give you a figure of how much UC you would get, factoring in the childcare bill.

I would join a FB group called Tenancy Matters UK. They have experts from every nation in the UK and always have very accurate and helpful information.

The first thing you need to do is to ask the LL family to give you a glowing reference to state you paid your rent in full on time every month and you looked after the property very well. If you could get this other LL might well agree to rent to you. You need to also make your council aware your LL has died and the house you rent is being sold. I'm sorry you are facing all this distress OP.

Ring shelter

As pp have said, contact the council and Shelter, and don’t leave voluntarily. Wait until you are evicted.

I wouldn’t worry about this. Your intentions are not to defraud the LL’s family as you will continue to pay rent and maintain the property. They can wait a few more months for any inheritance.

Not all councils are the same. The council where I live will house families when the date on the possession order is imminent, they don't make people wait until the bailiffs rock up and turf them out. And a lot of the temp accommodation they use is flats, if families have to go into B&B they tend not to stay there for long.

I don't know what the position is in Wales, but in SE England, it takes ages to get a bailiff warrant, even after the LL has got the possession order (which in itself takes a good while).

Which town in wales do you live in OP? I’m in north wales and have been through exactly the same situation as yours, we ended up applying for properties through TaiTeg and our housing officer helped us get a council property..

if your in this area definitely worth a look! Contact places like NACRO aswell for advice, councils also help with first months rent/deposit should you need it.. so still look for private and get confirmation from your council housing and inform the estate agents of this when phoning that the council will provide help with rent etc.

https://taiteg.org.uk/en/

try looking on here,

request a housing officer and also do you suffer from any medical conditions? If so you will need to inform them as this will help where they put you with banding, if you have children you are classed as a priority (in my area anyway).