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.

sorry I haven’t read whole thread but can you check if your council has a No Recourse to Public Funds team who may be able to help/ advise ? Ours does

Between you and your mum, could you buy a cheap house in a cheap area and rent it to her, with UC paying the rent?
www.penniestopounds.co.uk/post/cheapest-areas-for-affordable-housing-in-england-in-2022#:~:text=Shildon%20(County%20Durham),average%2Dpriced%20properties%20in%20Shildon.

We’re landlords, this isn’t the case at all.

I’m not 100% sure but I don’t think you’re eligible for the housing element of uc if you’re renting from family. For obvious reasons

You don’t have room . End of . It’s not your responsibility to house your sister . It would be a disaster if you tried to accommodate her in a cramped house when she’s at home 24hrs a day through illness / unemployment

@Watdidusay i think I might have got it, that once on UC she can find accommodation that she can afford (likely to be shared house/ room/flat share, as benefits pay low for housing, many have to top up from their own), a deposit would help her as benefits will take time, so having money upfront reassures LLs of rental income. Once she finds the accommodation she claims the rental element of UC, providing evidence of UC.

reread @Hont1986 post this is right, amongst some confusing advice.

I have heard of LLs holding back the keys until UC in place, so having yr sofa would help hugely for her!

I don't mean you are obligated to take anyone without insurance, I mean in order to take someone in this situation on as a tenant you would have to do so without insurance

Unfortunately UC without housing allowance is £396 a month which would have to cover rent, bills and food. She can have the regular £396 a month at the time of applying for a tenancy but I don't think £396 would cover rent bills and food anywhere in the country!

As I said, we’re landlords, you’re incorrect, it does look like you’ve received some fairly poor advice from somewhere during whats clearly a very difficult and stressful situation.

Hi OP - If she is homeless, she will be given a loan/grant to cover deposit and first month's rent in private rental. She can do this while also applying for council housing; if she is homeless, she will have a housing officer who can advise. So that's quite a big rental market open to her. I was in a similar situation after becoming very ill (no family), and it took a load off my mind knowing I could look at private-rental flats.

It will depend on your location whether there are 1BR flats within the housing benefit range after that; if you live somewhere naice, she might not be able to afford it so may have to move somewhere cheaper. Coastal towns are worth looking at. If you're able to do so, topping up any housing benefit would be a great help - means she can get a place that suits her rather than having to take the only damp shoebox she can afford.

She should present at benefits and housing as soon as she can, and make clear she is sleeping on your sofa for 'a few days'. (Some rubbish advice above - of course you are homeless if sleeping on a sofa in someone else's home because you can't afford to rent anywhere!) She is ill and probably vulnerable - get her registered with the GP as soon as she can, because that will likely help with homelessness support (as in, a GP can give the council a boot up the arse by confirming their patient is ill).

Ring Shelter and Peabody - housing charities. Both are good; Peabody is probably easier to access as a smaller charity. Some benefits/job centres have Peabody staff visiting weekly. There will be lots of knowledgeable people in your area, lots of organisations that can help. These are more numerous in poorer areas, for obvious reasons. Your local library will have info also.

The whole process is extremely stressful, and made me significantly more ill for many months. Your sister has been living off savings for two years, taking three jobs to try to stay afloat. She's been fighting to stay independent and will likely be exhausted and very stressed. What helped me was a couple of good friends taking over practicalities (food shopping, lifts to hospital) so that I could rest.

Another immense help would have been someone ringing/researching charities etc for me. It was scary how exhausted I was - even a phone call was too much for a while.

Op, I understand you have a lot to take in.

i thought you said 6 months rent upfront not an
option due to new law but yet when you have been told the new law doesn’t affect lodgers/ HMOs, again you say 365 per month is not enough.

Also you said mum could be a guarantor. Although none will accept that as sis needs to qualify as tenant as well.

my Q is, why can’t family use that money (would be 6 months upfront / mum guarantor ( you know guarantor means being able to cover rent when tenant can’t, right?) to find her lodging room or room in hmo from the start. You can then review in 5 months if sis still not having help with benefits at which point you will obv have to house her forever?

sorry if o am missing something as you said family wants sis in private rental. Or do you mean you want her in private rental as long as benefits can cover it? A bit confusing!

@Watdidusay if she’s not well enough to fly, what happens when the money she has runs out?

Exactly why she needs to get home as she's not eligible for support where she is.

Yes as I said we can help with a few months of rent to get her into a property.

The whole problem is not having proof of regular income for a tenancy.

We can pay for a few months but she has no ongoing income.

Without already being a tenant and having rental commitments, she would only receive £396 a month UC.

It's a catch 22.

The only option I see here after a few recent comments is that maybe she could be a lodger as she would then not need proof of regular income to cover the rent. Then she would have a tenancy as a lodger and be able to claim housing allowance for that.

Although others are now saying landlords wouldn't want to take an unwell person so we will have to see.

How long has she got?

That’s not correct - as a uk citizen who has only been away 4 years she will
be eligible for NHS treatment and will
be fine getting a shared room in a house - there are loads of private rentals who advertise online who won’t be looking for a full check like estate agents do

Tell her to book assistance when she books her flight both ends and she will be ok

About 2 months of money left

She can get help from a food bank and the rest will only be temporary until UC takes on her housing application

Thanks. This is it then. You are now told you can try to get her as a lodger with non relative or in hmo.

i still don’t get why if she is unwell, can present herself at a and e upon arrival.

Ask around re spare rooms - someone you know must have one they could rent out for a few months. If you can cover that, your sister can legimately say she's homeless, as the rent is only covered for three months. Any spare room would work - HMO, shared etc (although that'd be very stressy if she's unwell).

Once she's settled there, she presents as homeless to the local council. She can be housed relatively quickly if she applies for the loan for her first month's rent. Ofc she will need a landlord who will accept HB - again it depends on where you are. Most landlords in my (deprived) town will, and most estate agents work with that also.

I would put up any (non-abusive) person close to me for a few months while they get back on their feet. Even if I lived in a studio and I was popping champagne the second they left.

How far away is she? How much of a chore will it be to make her return? Has she handed in notice to current landlord?

Been told wait for council housing is probably years and I don't think she would be eligible as not spent 2 of last 3 years here

A&E for what though? She's got exhaustion and pain. She has been to a&e many, many times before both here and in the country she's living in and never once admitted, always sent home after tests