Becoming homeless for my dream job

[ForTidyFinch]

I've been offered and ideal job in the town where I currently live but my short term tenancy is due to end in a couple of weeks. I have tried everything to find a new place to live. There is nothing available in this small town and I have no friends or family living close enough to help. I have decided to start the job and then live in my car. I've reached a desperate point now where I think there is little chance of me being able to rent privately even if something does become available. A run of bad luck has drained my finances and a CCJ was taken out against me without my knowledge (for overstaying in a service station when my car was broken down!) This was taken out while I was living abroad and I have only just found out. So there goes the chance of renting privately. So the choice I see it is being homeless and destitute staying with relatives or living in my car and starting this interesting job opportunity. I think I will live in my car. WWYD

What will you tell your friends and family about your situation? Are you going to tell them you’re living in a car? Do you have people who come to visit you, normally?

Re my earlier message https://england.shelter.org.uk/support_us/campaigns/renters_reform_bill

Op have you done it, ever stayed a few nights in your car? As it will get old very fast. I know you’ve told the council you’re homeless but I’d go back , don’t assume about location. Explain you will be on the streets and about your job,

Having an address on your driving licence and V5C where you don’t live is illegal. Driving without valid insurance is illegal.

A decent employer will not rescind a job offer because a new starter asks for help as they have no where to move to- it’s not an uncommon situation!

Which begs the question- how can this be a ‘dream job’ ?

@TheYearOfSmallThings I totally agree on that !

Try local Facebook groups to see if anyone wants a lodger. Also try https://homeshareuk.org/ to see if you can find an intergenerational living arrangement.

It will be so cold overnight in winter in your car. And damp possibly. Absolutely terrible idea OP.

You absolutely don't have to 'announce' to a whole town that you're homeless. Its word of mouth. A friend of mine is a bit of a nomad but she knows so many people that she always finds somewhere to rent. She's in a room in someone's house at the moment but has had 3 different flats in the time I've known her as she leaves every winter.

My next door neighbour is a landlord, he has 12 houses in our village. He never advertises anywhere, it's word of mouth.

@SanMarzano I'm presuming the OP means friend is somewhere like Bristol, Bath, Brighton- maybe London- personally I would see if you could see if you could do the job remotely and look for a room in a flat share- we live in Bath and there are lots- if not I would be asking a friend to stay short term whilst sorting a room and looking for a job pronto --any job- in that area - you can then look for a better one whilst you have a room and a job- living somewhere where housing is very limited indeed (even rooms) plus few jobs is a recipe for disaster unless you area local or have family to fall back on OR a live in job

Having a CCJ won't stop you from being able to rent somewhere. I would look for a room in a house share or as a lodger. Look on gumtree as well as other sites. There may be cheap hostels in your area - even if they're not that cheap, they'll be cheaper than hotels.

It's great you've got a job. I would make finding a place to stay a huge priority, though, because without that, you are going to struggle with everything else. Is there any way to stay on in your current accommodation? (Where are you going to put all your stuff if you have to move out with nowhere to go?)

If I were in your situation with nowhere to go, I would put my funds into staying in a hostel while I searched for lodgings. Will you get a deposit back from your current place? Will you have continuous income from changing jobs? I would put all my income into funding accomodation, and even consider spending on a credit card if there was no other option.

If there's no hostel, I would get a tent and pitch on a campsite where there's toilets and shower facilities. It will be okay in the summer (even though it's a rainy one) and will give you a bit of time to sort accomodation.

All of this !

It absolutely can and does, most Landlords will not rent to people who have been evicted through the courts.

Yes, the council give the "stay put" advice, however, this is not official, and it is actually unlawful advice, as has been proven in a court of law, when Landlords have taken councils to court for this advice.

You may "know this", from your own personal experience, but you seem unaware that this is UNLAWFUL. I know this, as I'm a Landlord, and have seen the black and white evidence of the court cases.

I remember a lady on here in a dire situation who had been told to stay put by the council and ended up having to pay huge costs.

You can’t sleep / live in your car.
Weather temperatures for summer here can be 29c / 30c , the car will be absolutely roasting like an oven ,you would be so hot and sweaty and with windows down for air then it’s not secure ?
Opposite in winter , you would freeze.

@ForTidyFinch I get that you feel the CCJ was unfair as your car had broken down, but had you actually given your registration to the hotel or service station management to get your registration logged as an exemption at the time? Because, if you didn't, then the CCJ was not unfair.

My car also broke down somewhere with a 90min parking limit. The first thing I did after calling the break down service was go to the manager of the shop and get my registration logged for an exemption.

You might be able to get it set aside on a technicality of them not having the correct address for you though. But if not, you really do need to pay this off, otherwise, you'll struggle with your credit rating for a long time.

I live in Dublin. Its a pretty common senerio here. There beach carparks always have a few people who sleep in their cars.

I say go for it.

Get yourself some stick velcro and material so you can cover up your all your windows at night.

get your a little camping stove and a deck chair to sit outside night, sorted

Contact whoever will be employing you and explain your predicament. I'm sure they wouldn't want to see staff living in their car. There just might be someone with a spare room you could rent or house share.

OP you should look into getting the CCJ overturned as you were not living in the country at the time.

I'm so sorry you are in this situation, OP. I think I'd also want to do everything possible to hold on to this job.

I read this story recently - things can work out:

https://www.glasgowlive.co.uk/news/glasgow-homeless-woman-who-worked-29503067#google_vignette

Can you ask your family about using their address for all your legal stuff?
(it's useful to have bank account, insurance, car registration and driver's licence etc all at same address)

I lived in a truck for years, and moved around a lot - so was 'no fixed abode' for doctors etc. Both my vehicle and my driver's licence were registered to my parents' house for over a decade - not a problem at all for the DVLC. Please ignore all the people telling you it's an offence that you'll be fined for! As long as any correspondance goes somewhere safe, where it will reach you, that's enough. If your family's address is stable, and you think it's unlikely to change any time soon, use it! Better to do that than rely on (and pay for) Royal Mail redirection services for any length of time.

Your bank and most others will be very happy to communicate with you via email most of the time anyway.

If you're planning to get rid of the car anyway, then yes, look into cheap vans (or estate cars - something long enough to lie down). If you have a tow bar, another cheap option might be to buy an old touring caravan. Do you know of anyone who would maybe let you park this in their driveway/ garden, and provide an extension cable, in exchange for a small amount of £?

The good thing about being in a tourist town is that there are probably loads of locall businesses (incl all those air bnb owners, cafes, pubs etc) that struggle to find staff, as nobody can afford to live locally. If your new dream job isn't too onerous/ inflexible, could you combine it with - for example- doing changeovers in an air bnb? This would mean being around on Saturdays to do all the cleaning, change the beds etc - perhaps you could negotiate for a parking spot plus pay for this?

Would echo what others have said about checking out WWOOF and HelpX, also about looking for pet-sitting gigs over the summer holidays (if you like animals) and seeing if there are any elderly people who would appreciate having a live-in helper and offer you a room rent-free in return for some simple tasks (shopping, basic care, light housework).

When does your new job start? Once you're there, you might feel more able to confide in one or two of them (in confidence) about your situation, and they might well be able to help in some way.

Good luck!

I don't know if it's too late for you to look into this, OP, but could you look into house/pet sitting as a form of temporary accommodation?

Don't move out of your property. Let the landlord serve a Section 21 and you will have another 2 months. Let them go through the court process to evict you. This will take another 2 months. Once the eviction date arrives, don't leave. They will need to instruct bailiffs to remove you and this will take another 2 months. Once you have been removed, present yourself to the council as homeless and they will more likely than not find you somewhere, even if it's a B&B.
Throughout, continue to look for somewhere else. Fix your car as job 1. Even a 2 hour commute is far preferable to sleeping in your car.

You will need an address for car insurance, driving licence, etc

I'm glad to hear there is light at the end of the tunnel.after a CCJ. I won't be paying it of however - it was unfairly applied after my car broke down and so overstayed at a service station

It’s unlucky but not unfair.
I pulled into a service station with a puncture. Called the AA first, then second went to check if I’d need to buy a ticket based on their estimate of arrival exceeding the free hours.
Given that an unsatisfied CCJ can literally stop you renting, you’re cutting your nose off to spite your face when you were in the wrong anyway.

I think now is the time to make the move away from an area with sounds like it will be constantly problematic for jobs, housing and transport.