Single parent renting

[november90]

So basically I have a 3 year old and a baby who is 17 days old. My husband left me at 24 weeks pregnant out of the blue. Since then I've been living with my parents and I plan to do so for the next year whilst I get some money saved/pay some things off. I planned to rent via an estate agency but my ex said they won't touch people who claim benifits or work part time and both of them are me!! I'm so upset. I really don't want to just move into a council house/estate (absolutely no judgement to anyone else who does this by the way!!), I just wanted to get a rental with the security of an estate agency and perhaps pay a little more to make my home perfect for me and my boys. Surely this can't be true.... anyone have any experience with this?

I didn't want to read and run. Firstly, ignore your ex, he's an ex for a reason. Some landlords won't accept people on housing benefit (or the new UC housing element), either because they view it as too big a risk, or because their insurance/mortgage doesn't let them. Other landlords are happy to rent to people on benefits. Some councils keep a list of landlords that fall in the latter category - worth investigating nearer the time. You need to ask yourself though if you can afford a private rental on a PT salary and benefits? If the letting agent doesn't think you meet the affordability requirements, there are still other options such as a guarantor (are your parents in a position to do this for example)?

Well he is a twat isn’t he.So what does he propose since he walked away from his responsibilities.I hope he is paying child maintenance.By the way he is wrong.Find our what your LHA is for the area you are in.Are you getting UC already.You might already be able to claim UC anyway on part time wages and two children.

Agree with PP. You might find someone willing to rent to you as benefit recipient but it is hard (I've been there!) and they will want a guarantor (UK homeowner). You really have to look around. I strongly advise you to go on the housing list for council/HA property. It will take some time but it will be yours for life and a very secure tenancy.

Thank you for the replies and advice!
I think what's put me off HA is that I am very specific about where I want to live (near my mum and in catchment for the school I want my son to go to)... also I believe that if I got a house via HA the boys would have to share a bedroom and I really didn't want that. I just wanted their lives to be as close to why I always wanted for them :(

It's really upsetting because I just feel like I'm being punished. I'm willing to save and wait a year or so but I'll never get a mortgage (not that I can afford this) or seemingly a private rental because I'm PT and have to claim UC and my ex gets to walk out Scott free, show up when he wants to and save for his own house and there's just nothing I can do about it!

I do claim UC which is just a life saver! He does give me maintenance but it's slightly below what he should be doing. I accepted it because he kept threatening childcare and became very emotionally abusive towards me. I know it's not fair but I've accepted it because one day I hope I don't have to take a penny from him and i can tell him to stick it up his ..... !!!!

Well if he is threatening about childcare and emotionally abusive there is no point him being on the scene.
Have you considered going though the sca or whatever it is called now.

Tbh a council tenancy are far more reliable then a private rental tenancy.
Your husband can bore off with his false information. Around here there is an estate agency and most of his lettings are for people on benefits.

Your husband is a fucking cock! Make him pay full whack and stand your ground the fucking piglet. Makes me so angry. On HA you do get a preferred area and you only have to put one area you could be waiting ages but it means you don't have to go through lots of areas you don't want

Also for LHA two children the same sex under the age of 16 would only get you payment for one room,plus one bedroom for yourself.You will therefore get the LHA for two beds.Anything extra you pay for.

So how does it work with LHA. Do they just assign you the house or if I wanted to pay extra for an extra room would I disclose this and then they would contact me with a 3 bedroom?
Is there anywhere that I can look at current lha rentals online?
I want to save up for nice furniture etc so I'm hoping to move out in around 1 years time. When should I put my name on the list?

Sorry if these questions are daft, I'm so new to all of this!

Ok LHA is Local Housing Allowance and is how much you can get to pay for private renting,council housing is different.
Register now for Council housing.
To see how much LHA you would get,find out the postcode and look for the two room rate.Anything over that amount you pay yourself.

LHA is paid towards private rentals, you will get a set maximum rate no matter how many bedrooms you have. There's not a list as you find the tenancy yourself and then apply for UC rent allowance.

With social housing you can't demand an extra bedroom and offer to pay more.

Thank you both! So if I wanted 3 bedrooms I'll need to apply for the funding and find a private rental in that case then?

LHA is part of Universal Credit. When you claim UC and you are renting privately you get an additional amount added for housing costs (rent). So you'd be entitled to an amount for you, an amount for your children and an amount for your rent.

The total is then means tested against your income, and you would receive the difference.

LHA rates are set by property size and area. So unless you happen to live in the same town as me you would have a different amount allowed for housing for the same size property when your UC is calculated. The LHA rate applied to your claim is determined by the number, sex and age of people in the household - so your two little kids will be allowed 1 bedroom and you 1 bedroom so you gets 2 room rate.

If you want 3 beds you will indeed have to make up the shortfall. Do bear in mind that LHA rates are always set for the lower end of rents so many people end up with a shortfall when renting the size of property they are entitled to claim for, so the extra for an extra bedroom can be quite a stretch, especially as you are so specific about where you want to live (presumably because it's a nice area which always = more expensive).

If your ex is an arse I would be very wary of relying on maintenance from him to make up the shortfall - you will find yourself constantly worrying about whether you can pay the rent every month. Better to base your finances on what income you're guaranteed from your earnings and benefits.

Definitely go onto the housing lists and see where that gets you in the year you're living with parents.

I have lived in private rent for the past 10 years as a single parent. You need to pass the checks that they require to make sure you can pay. But there is no problem renting just because you are a single parent.

Estate agents are not allowed to charge fees now to rent anywhere. You will need 5 weeks rent in advance and whatever the deposit is.

A council/housing association property is much more secure in terms of not having to move than private rental. As long as a private landlord serves notice and follows court procedures in the correct way you can be evicted even if you have done nothing wrong.

It doesn’t mean not to go into private, just not as secure. If demand for social housing is high where you live you may wait a very long time as you have housing currently.

Quality of housing varies a lot between different private landlords and to an extent with social housing. My current private landlord is great but have also had really bad.

Btw do have a look at what benefits you might be entitled to as your circumstances have changed.