Is the only way to give up my sitting room?

[Watdidusay]

Sister is abroad and has long covid. Moved over to an EU country for work 4 years ago and has been ill for nearly 2 years. Unable to work and ineligible for benefits in that country. Lost job and decided she has to come home for support.

Unfortunately there isn't a place for her to stay long term aside from my open plan sitting room diner on the sofa.

She will probably need to go on benefits for a while and will need to pass habitual residence etc. The problem is it looks like she will either need to be "street homeless" and be put up in a hostel or sleep on my sofa and basically take over my small home which is already crowded. We were hoping that my mum (who's in supported living) acting as a solid guarantor would help her get a private rental but I'm reading that won't be enough. I've even been told she won't be able to get a room in a house share.

AIBU to feel like this is horrendous? We've all always worked until my sister got unwell.

If there isn't room for her at your house then yes, she will have to seek emergency accommodation from the local authority. How has she supported herself for the last two years?

Contact citizens advice and find out the most supported route for her to be declared homeless and requiring accommodation. Make it clear that family cannot accommodate her. The professionals will be able to advise the best way to do this without inadvertently making her ineligible by offering your living room as an option

I’m sure your mum could be a guarantor, she doesn’t have to declare her health, just sign something

sorry, what a shite situation x

This will be a nightmare, if you put her up she won’t be declared homeless and she will be stuck

Just to point out she won’t be entitled to any assistance from the council until shes passed the HRT ( which she probably won’t pass unless she can work ) and she has priority need

Is she actually a uk citizen and was abroad temporarily ? I’m just wondering can you access emergency accommodation if she’s not ? It may be that she has to stay temporarily with you till she has the correct status to apply ?

No. If you put her up how will she claim homelessness?

I think it’s unlikely that she would be regarded as in priority need so even when she passes HRT I think it’s unlikely although not impossible that the council would have any duty to house her. I would be looking for a room in a shared house and claiming rent bias UC once she has passed HRT

What kind of support is she wanting by coming home?

Horrible situation but if it’s an open plan living and you have a family I think you have to say no, no room.
what happens if she has a bad day and feels unwell no one is allowed in the sitting room and has to tiptoe around her

Why do you think she won’t be able to rent a room somewhere? If your mother can guarantee it, I won’t imagine there will be a problem.

Savings from work, which are almost gone now

Because of what I'm being told online and by agents about how the system has changed

Yes UK citizen abroad for about 4 years. But apparently there is no way to get the right status, that's the problem. 3 months on my sofa to get habitual residence is doable but apparently it's either that forever or street homeless.

Yes mum can be a guarantor (her pension can cover it thankfully) but apparently that's not enough

Not enough cost wise do you mean? Can your sister work at all? Can she claim housing benefit? She could always go into a property owned by guardians they still pay rent but I think it’s less than in a house share.

Would she be allowed to stay on a pull out sofa at your mums- even if just weekends? (not sure of sheltered accommodation rules?)
I too would be worried she may not be entitled to claim support/NHS/benefits etc.
Shelter might be able to give advice.
www.shelter.org.uk/

That's exactly the problem - you can't claim housing benefit if you don't have a house.
And you can't get a house if you claim housing benefit.

If we could get her into a private rental then housing benefit would cover it. But you can't have it if you don't already have a home.

After 3 months on my sofa she would be eligible for NHS, basic UC and potentially lcwra. Just not housing. Ever.

Have you looked at gumtree/free ads section on house shares. We have a lot in our area and not all with an agent, if you and your Mum could cover the rent until she has sorted out her money situation etc that may be a solution?

My disabled brother was recently in council emergency accommodation, then placed in supported living/shared housing run by a local housing trust. The emergency accommodation the rule was no more than 24 hours/1 night away from the accommodation at a time - obviously they don't want to be paying for accommodation for people that have somewhere else to live. In the supported living they're much more relaxed and he's been to stay with us for up to a week at a time which is fine so long as he lets the staff know. So OP likely could have her sister stay on the sofa for the odd night at least.

OP I think you can't offer to house your sister permanently. I think if she really can't get a private rental or room in a shared house you need to let her go into emergency accommodation. I think on that front the person you were speaking to may have been a bit alarmist, there isn't a vast surplus of such housing but it is available, my brother waiting about 12 weeks then was placed (probably could have been placed sooner if he wasn't fussy about location. If your sister is eligible for over-55s housing or supported living/sheltered housing I'd be surprised if the council can't find her somewhere. Depending on where you are in the country a room in an HMO or a small private studio may be quite possible too. Based on my brother's experience the emergency accommodation is fine, not ideal for a disabled person, the room itself was perfectly comfortable (just a basic hotel room) but there were very very limited cooking and laundry facilities - hence him frequently coming to our house to wash his clothes and get a decent meal...

Edited as update from OP makes it sound like she isn't a citizen which makes my comment inapplicable.

The problem is we don't know if/when she will work again. She won't be able to get a rental property or room with no proof of employment. We would have to just rent an entire flat out under my name for potentially years and I definitely can't afford that.

It is enough, it's all that is needed for shared houses for students so there won't be higher required for anyone else. You also don't have to go through an agent, plenty of private house shares as people need the extra income for their spare room

I completely support the points around UC. The problem is landlords don't accept rent upfront now so that's not an option, and we can't find a way to ever get her into housing UC. she can't get a tenancy so will not ever be eligible for housing benefit.

Apparently guarantor won't secure a rental. They need proof of employment.

She had a good job and was saving for a house so has lived frugally off that for a while. She's made 3 failed attempts to return to work but has just finally been laid off.