Rent is rising faster than I can ever hope to manage

[mondaymorning22]

I'm skint.

The rent will go up yet again in April; last time I managed to negotiate with the landlord to reduce the massive increase the agency tried to impose, but even if I can do that again it probably won't be enough. Ideally I'd leave London, but that would mean taking dd away from her school and her dad, and I really don't want to do that.

I'm thinking of trying to find other single parents in the same situation and arranging a houseshare. Has anyone else done that? Any ideas on how to find other tenants?

Some councils offer discretionary housing benefit payments for people who are struggling with rent. You don't necessarily have to be in receipt of any benefits to apply for it. You could enquire in your local service centre or CAB to see if you qualify

I think I'd qualify, but it's probably not a long-term solution, especially since the rent will keep going up and discretionary payments are bound to be cut sooner or later.

There must be so many people in the same situation, so I thought a solution would be to get a bunch of them together and rent a bigger place. Hopefully not through an agency...