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.

Surely after she has stayed the 3 months/become habitually resident then you could just do what many other family members have done in the past and write her a letter that you want her to leave by xyz date and then that is her notice to find somewhere. Then she can take that down to the council and explain that you are not willing to house her because it is putting strain on your family and she is in need of emergency housing and she will get put on the list for a council property or they will help her to find and put a deposit down on a private rental. They'll likely do whatever is easiest for them but either way id think she would be housed somehow and would then be able to add the housing element to her UC claim. You will just need to stand firm that she cannot come back with the council team as they will likely ring and try to convince you to keep her longer as it solves their problem the quickest.

I would perhaps in your shoes ring from a friends phone and ask the hypothetical to make sure the council would be obligated to house her as obviously you don't want her to be actually homeless, you could ask as if you were her but without giving any details and just say you are after advice at this stage ie. 'I have stayed with my sister for 3 months and am habitually resident however it is very cramped and I have to be on the sofa, we have fallen out due to this and she has talked about asking me to leave, where would I stand and could you help me if she follows through on asking me to leave?'

If countless other young couples/young adults have been able to be housed because 'my mum gave me a letter telling me to leave' despite having adequate space in the home for everyone and it being a clear grab for a council house then I certainly think they should help someone who genuinely doesn't have a permanent residence or way of renting when it puts her and your household into overcrowding for her to stay!

Best of luck getting her sorted!

Yes from landlord direct rather than through letting agency - gumtree, marketplace etc. she may have to live in a house share

Thank you. The problem is apparently she would then need to stay in a women's hostel for up to years which would potentially be unsafe and we find it difficult to accept putting her in that situation, especially as she's ill.

Unfortunately tenants need a guarantor AND proof of income now. It's the proof of income that we can't get for her, which makes her ineligible for a tenancy.

Op I’m not sure who has advised you that no landlord would accept a tenant who doesn’t have a job. I would suggest you contact Shelter and your council private renting team for their view on this.

They can't accept without proof of income. It can be UC housing allowance, but my sister can't get that until she actually has a tenancy.

I don't think it's right that you can't rent a place without a job? If her rent is guaranteed, then it should be fine. But Shelter can advise more on that - I would definitely talk to them.

If she can't work, she might be eligible for UC or other benefits, so again, worth checking.

If she stays with you for three months and passes the residency test, then at least that gives you three months to come up with some kind of solution. A hostel might be a good way forward or she might have come up with a better idea by then. At the very least, you'll have more information and resources at that point.

If a person isn't resident in the UK but has lived elsewhere they have to be one habitually resident. Its not actually a question if time, it's having the UK as your centre of interest. It's, if you like, doing the things that a person does when living permanently in a place rather than just visiting. So having a job, children going to school, all of the usual things we do every day. Everyone who applies for social housing has to be habitually resident. Its actually easier to decide than it is to explain. ( I was a homeless officer for 25 years, and it's something we automatically thought of, is this person habitually resident?)

This happened to a friend of mine, in that they came back from overseas and struggled to find a place to rent. UK citizen, born here but lived abroad for a long time. In the end they paid six months rent up front for a rental.

Thanks. Do they only get UC after getting a job? Or do they just have to show they are actively applying for work? And is it the same for people near retirement age?

Is this something your council has told you? I don't think this is a national policy, I have worked in conjunction with my local council and the next one over as part of a previous role (charity) and neither would have housed to a women's hostel, men would sometimes be directed to a hostel in the short term until more 'permanent' temporary accommodation could be sorted but women seemed to be either straight to temp accommodation or to a private let facilitated by the council (who would sometimes pay their deposit as part of a scheme but I'm not sure if that is still running) might be worth a speculative call to see what the normal procedure is, may well be the case that they house to hostel, I'm based in the north east though

Give Shelter a call.

I’m pretty sure your perception about it being impossible to rent without own job is wrong. Individual agents may have that policy, but it’s not law.

If they don't have a tenancy they can get UC but not housing allowance. It's £396 a month which is completely reasonable if you have no bills. They need to show they are applying for jobs or signed off sick by a GP to get it, yes. And they still get it if near retirement yes.

No it's not law but it's against the terms of landlord insurance. So they have to take you without insurance.

We would have done that but 6 months upfront is no longer legal. Only proof of income plus guarantor now. I have many friends who had to do 6 months upfront years ago.

Could your sister look into being a lodger with someone? I reckon the rules/insurance etc can be somewhat different so she might be able to find something without having a proof of income but she should then still be able to get housing element from UC.

I don't know but Shelter could probably advise her. If she can eventually claim UC that would cover her rent, it doens't have to be employment income.

It is not the case that you need proof of income.

if she was wanting to rent on her own, absolutely.

but there are other options.

lodger - spareroom.com has listings for rooms in shared houses or owner occupied houses who are letting out a single room.

open rent is also good for direct landlord renting not through estate agents.

Can only claim enough UC to cover rent if she already has a tenancy.

Thanks. Do people near retirement have to also be actively applying for jobs?

Yes

Oh God, what a nightmare.

It’s against the terms of some landlord insurance policies, particularly those that provide cover for loss of rental income.

Not all.

But fundamentally, if as a family you’re not willing to look into the administratively difficult stuff then yes the only solution is your living room.

Bit wild and maybe not possible but could you start a business and employ her?!

She is a UK citizen. She has been abroad for 4 years.