What does a 62 year old man on just above minimum wage do when served with section 21 eviction notice and cannot afford anything on the current rental market?

[Mxflamingnoravera]

I have a friend aged 62 who has been living in a pretty awful but liveable one bed flat for six years. He works full time in a call centre on little more than minimum wage. The flat was recently assessed by the local authority as part of a new local licensing scheme for private rental properties in our city. It needs a lot of work done on it and today he was served with a section 21 order because (he was told) the builders say it's too much work to have him stay there whilst the place is brought up to standard.

He has looked around an there is nothing under £900 a month in our city. He cannot afford this. He has no car and cycles everywhere. So he needs to live fairly close to his workplace.

He is devastated, he cannot live in a shared house at his age. He is a very private, shy man, has few friends and no family.

I'm at a loss to know how to help him. He cannot live with me, i have no space and do not want a lodger.

There is literally nothing affordable in our city. He is looking at homelessness in January. What happens to people like him?

Sashh yup. This is why OP it's really important that he insists they send him a form by post. So he can go through it with help from someone who knows him better than he knows himself or at least someone who understands what the questions really mean. It's too easy to leave off vital information because they haven't asked for it. Or to minimise the effects of symptoms and the impact they have on daily life because those symptoms are his version of normal and he's used to ignoring them and carrying on as best he can. He may have to be very firm, because they may ignore his request and try to draw him into answering questions on the phone. Even "how are you today?" is a loaded question where DWP are concerned. They'll be making a note of the answer.

The council won't have to house him unless he is in "priority need" eg has children, mental health issues, physical health issues, or some other sort of vulnerability. Old age is one of them but he's probably not old enough to qualify yet.

OP has he checked to see whether he is eligible for any help towards his rent via UC. In some cities the Local housing Allowance (the maximum help you can get towards rent) is very high (albeit will still likely be below market rates) so worth checking.

Otherwise he will probably just have to look at either moving area to somewhere with cheaper rents (if he can find work if course) or shared accommodation/lodging. Far from ideal and I wouldn't want to do it but shared accommodation is better than hostel or being on the street.

He should contact Shelter or Citizens Advice for advice about the S21 notice to see if it's valid and to check his options. If he can argue he is in priority need (and meets the other conditions) the council should house him but this isn't a great option either. He's likely to initially be placed in emergency accommodation which can be, for example, a Travelodge, out of area and with no cooking facilities. And then temporary accommodation, which may not be great either but should have basic facilities and you don't get a choice (although it should be suitable). Then it's waiting for permanent accommodation which usually involves bidding on properties and can take months or years.

The housing situation in this country is horrendous. Sorry your friend is going through this.

Oh yes, and it's worth checking for housing schemes for older people in your area. It depends on what's available.

He's been to the dr today, signed off for a month with mental health. Dr has referred him to a physio for evidence for his back, he's now on meds for the tremors.
His PIP was ordered on the phone for paper copy.
He cannot pass the affordability test for any of the properties available in the private sector locally, the work on 33.3% of earnings.
The local councillor has responded to say she will follow up his concerns.

Ah the poor man, it's great that he has a good friend in you, OP.

Like pps have said, it's pretty disgusting that this country has come to this, a hard working blameless man in his sixties unable to afford a simple one bed flat to rent.

I know it seems like a drop in the ocean, but it's progress OP.

Even the bad news, like not being able to afford anything privately, is still useful information. It means you both can stop wasting time looking at unsuitable options and focus energies elsewhere, which will then lead to even more progress.

I'm glad his GP is sympathetic, helpful and he's been signed off. Trying to do all this in the space of a few months before eviction and work full time, especially if he's ND, would have been pretty much impossible even with your help.

Now he's got MH problems, scoliosis (and possible ASD?) logged on his medical records, see if there's any charities around for those that can offer assistance in any way at all.

@IAmNeon I agree. And he’s now got some breathing space OP, so please make sure he registers for housing with your Local Authority as soon as possible.

I cannot thank you all enough for the support and advice. I think we are pretty well genned up and he is feeling a bit less shaky. He called in to see me on his way back from the drs and had been finally brutally honest about the stuff he'd never have mentioned before to the GP. He has propranolol to help with the shakes and he visibly improved after taking one tonight.

He's now gone "home" to get on with HA and council registration. He keeps seeing glimmers of hope which I hope continue, because I can't see a merry Christmas ahead for him. I just hope that all the suggestions that over 55 accommodation is easier to get are real.

I'll get going with the ex forces stuff later this week. We are hoping it will be more than just advice, he has enough advice now (apart from how to access ex forces accommodation).

Be sure to follow up the Stoll link for the Veterans' Nomination Scheme:

https://www.stoll.org.uk/housing/vns/

He can apply via SSAFA.

https://www.ssafa.org.uk/bristol-south-gloucestershire

@TheSquareMile yes, that's for Wednesday! He has the physio tomorrow for a proper assessment rather than his usual oh I can manage- he bloody can't and housing associations. He is rooting out his discharge papers (40+years old) tonight, so he can answer questions about his departure. Earlier this year he didn't even have any form of photo ID until I badgered him into it for voting. He can't afford a passport and can't see the point since he's not had a holiday since he was 20.

He just needs to keep going with calls and forms. It sometimes takes a while to reach the right people and from my experience helping my MIL nobody seems to be able to offer all the advice you need. You have to just keep pushing through using any little clues you get along the way to help you!

OP various charities provide support workers that's why I said to contact anyone and everyone he's got an official connection with via his medical conditions. A lot of charities are self-referral. Even if it's just a peer support worker (ie a volunteer, someone else with his condition) it can help with advocacy, moral support and snippets of information he/you may be unaware of. A tenancy support worker would be better but anything is better than nothing. Some places offer drop in sessions where he can go for help and advice too. At this point he wants to gather as much help as he can from wherever he can. There's a lot to do in a short space of time and it's going to be very draining and stressful.

I'm glad he was able to finally be honest with the GP. Unfortunately when people are in these type of situations they pretty much have to forget about dignity and privacy. Total warts and all honesty is the only way to get help.

You are a truly good friend to him 💕

I’m sorry that I haven’t responded before now - it was on BBC1 at 9:15. You may be able to watch it back on iPlayer.

How long has he worked for his current employers? Are they decent employers? I'm not expert but it might be worth him telling his employers that he is disabled if he hasn't already.

That sounds promising.

If he needs to get a new copy of his service record, he can apply here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/military-service-records-form

Flatshare

FFS read the OP's updates. It's like that "cancel the cheque" thread.

I would also check out 'property guardianship' OP- there are lots of these companies out there (Google them) where they offer flats and rooms in buildings no longer in use- the rents are very cheap and sometimes they are a bit grim but not always and may be be an option whilst he is going through other channels for over 55 . They like older working people in particular!! Basically it's to keep properties safe and not fall into squatters hands etc

The disadvantage of property guardianship in this case particularly is that it's usually a share with other people & although the 'rent' is cheap with no bills/council tax your contract stipulates that you agree to leave with only a weeks notice.

Bless you @VitoCorleoneOfMNMafia 😂, it's not funny but I laughed at the cancel the cheque reference.

He defiantly needs to apply to the LA for social housing and also get allocated a housing officer in respect of his notice as he is now at risk of homelessness. In my LA there is also over 55 housing and sheltered housing for over 60 where he could access support if needed. Also we have a preference band for ex veterans who are at risk of homelessness. It's worth exploring these options as he will get rehoused more quickly as due to age criteria reduces the pool of people who can bid on certain housing

She does know him, but she's not experienced in all the different variations of "shared housing", some of which might indeed be suitable for his specific needs with a small amount of compromise (eg giving up white goods).

That is why some knowledgeable and well-meaning posters keep saying that shared housing of some sort shouldn't be ruled out, but she's not listening.
There are also some 4 Yorkshiremen types who I agree should shut up.

Anyway, I hope the friend finds suitable over 55s accommodation - there's been lots of great advice.

*FailWhale · 12/11/2023 22:58

I know you're probably stressed on your friends behalf but I feel this is a rude response to @Lovelydaytomorrow who is actually describing a reality of housing in the UK across all demographics. Whether anyone wants to house share or not Section 21s, lack of social housing and rent increases have directly contributed to significant increases in over-55s seeking house shares in recent years (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-62344571). It sucks, UK affordable housing is on its knees and any anger we feel about that should be vented towards the Tories and landlords*

All the legislation that has been brought in to penalise landlords and to prevent slum landlords has worked

The issue now is that landlords have sold up and moved out of the market and local authorities etc have not upped their capacity to house people so the landlords who are left have bigger bills to conform to the legislation and there aren’t enough landlords owning enough properties to provide for those that want to rent.

The landlords are only reacting to the legislation and the government are only reacting to the public’s general distaste for landlords

If he works near the airport, that’s not really Bristol. It might be easier for him to move closer to work and apply for housing via North Somerset council instead of Bristol https://www.alliancehomes.org.uk/find-a-home/rent-a-home/accommodation-for-older-people/