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Original poster

Options for housing 22 year old.

69 replies

Blackblueandgold · 02/09/2023 13:53

22 year old is looking at options for housing and need ideas please.

He has a temporary work contract which ends this month, no savings, no credit history so bad credit rating on credit report searches.

He was looking at renting a house with his gf but as he doesn't have a permanent work contract or a good credit rating this now isn't possible. I believe its the same if they tried to rent a room in a houseshare. They asked one parent to be guarantor but answer was a no as he isn't good with money and parent hasn't ever met gf so would be mad to take on financial responsibility for someone they've never met.

One parent lives abroad so he can't live with them. The other parent doesn't have a spare room and there is no family that has room.

Can anyone think of any options here? Presumably if he went to the council he'd get put in temporary accommodation for years as not a high priority.

OP posts:
Postapocalypticcowgirl · 02/09/2023 16:30

Blackblueandgold · 02/09/2023 16:13

I agree most obvious answer is to live separately but they're stubborn, what can we do?
I just looked on fb marketplace and can see the cheap caravans mentioned earlier, thanks.

If they're willing to live in a caravan, and in a touristy area, another option may be to rent a caravan for the winter- some places will do this cheaply in the off season.

Another option in the short term might be to look for work offering accommodation to go with it, again in holiday parks (although it's the wrong time of year), possibly farm work etc.

RandomMess · 02/09/2023 16:32

Leave them to work it out for themselves then.

feathermucker · 02/09/2023 16:35

He needs to get a job, any job for now at least so he's earning. There's plenty of jobs out there. Might be minimum wage etc but he might just have to go with that. For now, he should apply for anything and everything then worry about the next step once he has some cash behind him.

Doesn't sound like he's going to be able to live with the girlfriend yet.

He'd be way down the list on any council housing etc.

Scotsgirl001 · 02/09/2023 16:41

He could look into live in hospitality type work. There are jobs in the remote areas of Scotland that need staff and some provide accommodation onsite. Might be worth looking into even just for a year to get some experience and save up some cash.

Octavia64 · 02/09/2023 16:41

Lodger?

I'm currently renovating a house and plan to rent out a room to a lodger when I'm done and spare room.com has plenty of room wanted posts where a couple want a room so it is obviously a thing that couples lodge together.

Octavia64 · 02/09/2023 16:43

Sorry I see you have looked in spare room.

There is also open rent and gumtree for rooms.

Longlive · 02/09/2023 16:46

Where is he living now, and why can't he stay there. I think he will have to accept they won't get a place together yet.

titchy · 02/09/2023 16:46

Blackblueandgold · 02/09/2023 16:13

I agree most obvious answer is to live separately but they're stubborn, what can we do?
I just looked on fb marketplace and can see the cheap caravans mentioned earlier, thanks.

What can 'we' do? 'We' do nothing. They're adults. They sort themselves out. If they want to live together then he need to pull his finger out and look for boring minimum wage jobs that will mean he can actually support himself rather than just apprenticeships. He sounds a bit of an entitled lazy scrounger to me...

redrighthand83 · 02/09/2023 17:00

Now all shared houses require a credit check. Check spareroom and openrent. What about as a lodger?

JaneIntheBox · 02/09/2023 17:05

titchy · 02/09/2023 16:46

What can 'we' do? 'We' do nothing. They're adults. They sort themselves out. If they want to live together then he need to pull his finger out and look for boring minimum wage jobs that will mean he can actually support himself rather than just apprenticeships. He sounds a bit of an entitled lazy scrounger to me...

Show quote history

This OP.
Unless there's a backstory I don't see why it's your responsibility to help them in response to 'their' stubbornness.

As a parent, you can certainly advise, what to look out for when renting, factors they need to consider. How they might come up with a strategy that might enable them living together. But bending over backwards to find a solution for them to live as a couple, rather than telling your son point-blank that it's not possible seems silly to me.

Who knows, he/they may find a solution just to prove you wrong! Job done.

TomatoSandwiches · 02/09/2023 17:15

He needs to find a permanent position first and save up like every other young adult did before him.
Everyone now seems to want what they want right now rather than building up step by step, life doesn't work that way for the majority.
I know it is hard but it's even harder with unrealistic expectations and they won't learn if they have other people helping out with evey bit of troubleshooting.

Mrsttcno1 · 02/09/2023 17:19

Unfortunately in the circumstances you’ve described I can’t see any way they can live together independently at the moment really, no matter how much they want to, it’s just not really possible?

I’m 25 and my partner and I bought our house 2 years ago at 23 so I don’t think it’s their age that has prevented it it’s just lack of planning/savings. For reference, things we both did that helped us in the journey to buying our house that they could do:

  • Saving a deposit (is the obvious one), it means being willing to go without and I think in their situation they need to realise if they have no savings at all then they probably couldn’t rent even if they could boost their credit rating because at least in my area (North East) you need 1st and last month of rent + deposit just to move in! So it’s not even cheap to rent nevermind buy.
  • Credit score wise, building their credit score is so important! One of the main things that helped me was that I bought a car on finance, so paying that off each month boosted my credit score. My boyfriend got a credit card and used it to pay for his petrol then paid the bill every month. He’s a mortgage adviser so much more clued up on this than me, but they almost need to take out credit to prove they can pay it back.

If they really want to live together then they won’t mind waiting to get it right. Have they been together long? Just wondering what the mad rush is all of a sudden, with seemingly no planning/saving towards it.

Original poster
Blackblueandgold · 02/09/2023 17:20

The problem is they have nowhere to live right now so need to find a home to live in while they save up. They're on friends sofas for the next 2 weeks then are pretty much homeless.
I agree it's not for us to sort but the other parent is appalled at the fact we won't go guarantor for them so we were trying to help with an alternative suggestion.

OP posts:
Mrsttcno1 · 02/09/2023 17:21

Are you one of the parents OP? How come they have nowhere to live right now, presumably they can/are both going to live with their parents?

User13865890 · 02/09/2023 17:23

Are you a relative

Mrsttcno1 · 02/09/2023 17:23

Ah ignore my previous post just saw you’ve said one parent abroad and the other has no room, surely they have/can make space for their child? Where was he living before?

IhaveanewTVnow · 02/09/2023 17:24

Blackblueandgold · 02/09/2023 16:11

He was living with a parents friend but has been asked to leave sooner than planned so is now spending a week on friends sofas at a time.

Show quote history

why doesn’t either parent have space for him. Very sad.

titchy · 02/09/2023 17:26

Blackblueandgold · 02/09/2023 17:20

The problem is they have nowhere to live right now so need to find a home to live in while they save up. They're on friends sofas for the next 2 weeks then are pretty much homeless.
I agree it's not for us to sort but the other parent is appalled at the fact we won't go guarantor for them so we were trying to help with an alternative suggestion.

They'll have to stay on their parents sofa.

JaneIntheBox · 02/09/2023 17:27

Blackblueandgold · 02/09/2023 17:20

The problem is they have nowhere to live right now so need to find a home to live in while they save up. They're on friends sofas for the next 2 weeks then are pretty much homeless.
I agree it's not for us to sort but the other parent is appalled at the fact we won't go guarantor for them so we were trying to help with an alternative suggestion.

Sorry OP but I'm very confused at what your problem is exactly.
Is it:
a) The young man can't find a room at all, even by himself. After messaging landlords, looking online, trying every avenue.
b) Young man insists on staying with GF and cannot find a room, but could find one alone?

If it's a), and he can't even sleep on a parent's sofa then yes he should present as homeless to the council. Of course they may or may not do anything about it. But he needs to get at least a NMW job to support himself. As a PP said he'll be eligible for housing benefit.

If it's b) then he's being U. The simple solution is for him to get a room by himself. You don't have to offer a solution for other people's unreasonable demands. Even children know what they want, they don't get.

Also why are you involved in all of this anyway?

You don't even seem to know what he has and hasn't done in order to house himself other than stamping his feet and demanding to live with his GF.

Original poster
Blackblueandgold · 02/09/2023 17:36

JaneIntheBox · 02/09/2023 17:27

Sorry OP but I'm very confused at what your problem is exactly.
Is it:
a) The young man can't find a room at all, even by himself. After messaging landlords, looking online, trying every avenue.
b) Young man insists on staying with GF and cannot find a room, but could find one alone?

If it's a), and he can't even sleep on a parent's sofa then yes he should present as homeless to the council. Of course they may or may not do anything about it. But he needs to get at least a NMW job to support himself. As a PP said he'll be eligible for housing benefit.

If it's b) then he's being U. The simple solution is for him to get a room by himself. You don't have to offer a solution for other people's unreasonable demands. Even children know what they want, they don't get.

Also why are you involved in all of this anyway?

You don't even seem to know what he has and hasn't done in order to house himself other than stamping his feet and demanding to live with his GF.

Edited
Show quote history

The problem is he wants to live with his gf. Even if he tried to get a room on his own I'm not sure it'd be possible. He has no permanent work contract and probably couldn't afford to live (he has previously said he wouldn't want to houseshare). He doesn't have time to get a job then get a houseshare, he needs one in a couple of weeks time.

I've said upthread why I'm involved.

OP posts:
User13865890 · 02/09/2023 17:37

If you are not a parent why is the other parent appalled you don't want to be a guarantor

Original poster
Blackblueandgold · 02/09/2023 17:37

User13865890 · 02/09/2023 17:37

If you are not a parent why is the other parent appalled you don't want to be a guarantor

I am a parent. I never said I wasn't

OP posts:
titchy · 02/09/2023 17:42

Are you his parent? Then he sleeps on your sofa till he gets a NMW job (not an apprenticeship) and saves up. Living with the gf will have to wait. I want to live in a 14 bedroom mansion but I can't. Tough.

Mrsttcno1 · 02/09/2023 17:43

If you are his parent then can he not stay with you? Or if you are the parent who has moved abroad, why can he not stay with the other parent?

Where was he living before this?

I’m struggling to understand at 22 how neither of his parents are able to take him in?

Highlyflavouredgravy · 02/09/2023 17:43

Who are you in relation to the young man? If you are his parent then you should be ashamed of yourself.