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?

If your friend has a diagnosis of scoliosis and if it affects his life, he is disabled. All he needs is a doctor’s letter. He can explain to social housing teams how his disability affects him.

PIP is a particular benefit which he may or may not be assessed as being entitled to. Not qualifying for PIP wouldn’t mean he isn’t disabled. He should tell social housing orgs about his scoliosis and not wait for a PIP decision.

But it is true that some organisations treat PIP as a measure of how seriously your disability affects you, so if he is entitled to PIP that will help not only financially but also to unlock other support.

Duplicate post.

Citizens Advice can help him with a benefits check / application- he may be entitled to PIP for how his ND, his poor sight & lack of mobility. affect his daily life. I wish him well. This may be the moment that he gets the help he didn't know he was entitled to.

You can be disabled without being eligible for PIP (which is very hard to get).

maybe get advice from CAB about what to do. If he meets the legal definition of being disabled which is something about having a permanent or long term condition which impacts on daily life I think you can even self declare as disabled. There’s no official register. So I would say he should just tick the disabled box on any form he fills out with the council.

Maybe go to his GP and talk about how difficult his mobility is and ask them for a supporting letter for a blue badge application. Because medical proof might be good.

He doesn't have the luxury of being picky. He might not want to share a house with others but he might not have a choice until he finds something he prefers. He doesn't have to live with 20-somethings. There will be people who are his age who share a house in small groups. Maybe he could be a lodger for someone?

I haven’t RTFT - he should go to his local emergency shelter (the drop in part) and start working with a case worker now; homelessness in the widest sense includes the situation he’s in now.

There are older house shares going on in Bristol for exactly the reasons you have stated. My friends mum is in one. Obviously it isn’t ideal but like your friend, if someone has spent their life on a minimum wage, doesn’t meet the threshold for various types of support and is at risk of homelessness, then that’s the only option left.

Wow what a shocking post I can't believe what you've just written! I am 65 and live in a shared house where I am the landlady. Until recently I had a lodger who is 66 years old. When he moved out to another town just two months ago after being here for three years he went into another househare. When his room became vacant I advertised it on a website which handles these things and I scanned the people who were looking for rooms and even in my small town there were half a dozen people over 60 looking for a househare. The way you have dismissed this mode of living in your post has truly shocked me! Talk about prejudiced! And you are very ageist! Assuming that living in shared accommodation is only for the young! I am so shocked that you can say these things, truly shocked.

I know shared living isn’t something he wants but he could try spareroom.com. There are people in all kinds of situations wanting to let out a room in their house. My friend lived with a retired lady who’s husband had left her and she could no longer afford the mortgage on her own.

Absolutely OP. Well said.

This man doesn’t want to live in a shared house. He shouldn’t have to do that. If you are the kind of person that likes that it’s fine. Some people don’t and this man is ‘painfully shy’. Your home should be your sanctuary.

I'm not in the South East but I know 2 or 3 older people who've been in similar situations:

Possible solutions

Over 60s council housing. Not as in demand as family houses obvs. Get on the lists with council and HAs.

Negotiate with a small B&B owner - obviously the listed night rate is ££££ but friend of mine stayed in a B&B for over a year until he got housed. The "rent" was manageable from his pension/benefits. The owner is happy to get the guaranteed income over a longer period. Advantage of that is no additional bills or council tax so worth a thought.

Lodgings - not necessarily as we envisage it like The Young Ones or our own student days but a lot of single people who own houses will look for a lodger to help pay the mortgage and a single, quiet older working person may be quite desirable. I know people who have had their own en-suite room and it's been quite private as the owner was always away or working.

Good luck. At least he'll be out of his shit accommodation lining the pockets of some bastard.

He’s painfully shy. A shared house would be awful for him. I have friends who are older in shared houses, but they like company. This man needs his privacy.

An old-fashioned lodger arrangement (maybe with someone else who is older, keeps themselves to themselves etc) might be more palatable for him than a "house share"? This is a horrible situation, I'm sorry, and you're a good person for caring and wanting to help.

Is he claiming everything he is entitled to? Sounds like he may be entitled to a UC top up if he is on a low income, also agre with those talking about PIP too.

He is in a better position re HA or council housing than someone younger than him, as there are schemes designed for his age. We have quite a few where I am, we have a couple of mobile caravan type homes for over 55.

Tell.him to contact shelter and they will be able to help him with his options.

I do understand why people are telling him to stay out and be evicted, but it's a bit of a grueling process and he should avoid it if he can.

Just to clarify those who said it will take years to evict- at least in my local area, that's no longer the case, could be within 6 months of the section 21 being issued easily now.

The last one that I knew of, earlier this year, had a section 21, the court date applied for the day after it expired and was set for 6 weeks later. But council were happy to help from the point a court date had been set. So in your friends case, section 21 expires in January, court date could be set for March, council helped and rehomed in January hopefully.

I also work for a landlord with HMOs. Although it's not everyone's first option, and we have HMOs that wouldn't be good for this man, we also have have a couple of houses that would be, and that seem to attract men of 45-60 in particularly. We also have a couple of men who aren't very social, and others who are more than likely on the spectrum. The key for us is to have rooms that are large enough (think double bed, sofa/ chair area, en suite that are all sole use), and shared areas that are large enough and not for large amounts of people. Rather than having a large kitchen, and a large living area, for 8 people, there are 2 open plan living/ kitchen areas for 4 people. It seems to put less stress in there.

What I'm trying to say is, I get that he doesn't want to, and you don't think he could, but if that's the only option between him and the streets, it's not always as bad as it could be, and you may need to re frame YOUR thinking to be one of encouragement, in order for him not to be completely homeless. It's absolutely shit that this is happening, but it's not the fault of anyone on here who is saying it might be the only option. Hopefully it's not, really hope he can get some age related help before then.

We can't always get what we want. Don't we all sometimes have to take jobs we don't really want because 'it's a job' or live in places we aren't so keen on because it's available and a roof over our head? He might need to accept being a lodger as a temporary arrangement while he looks for his preferred situation. He will have a room for privacy.

I am leaving this thread now as the horrible prejudices and ableism and agism are just too much for me to bear, and have upset me deeply.

I just think it’s shocking that someone working full time can’t afford rent on a one bedroom flat. That stinks and it’s unacceptable in such a rich country.

The landlord has been able to use wealth to acquire assets and gain more wealth to acquire more assets and so on. The more you have the more you can get and this means houses are unaffordable to working people. Not so bad if rent is affordable but it’s not.

We are not a developing country. We shouldn’t think that this is acceptable. We need to tax wealth properly. It will be back to workhouses next!

I am just so angry at the current inequality in this country. This man is working full time. It’s not ok that he’s forced to live in a situation that FOR HIM will be stressful and uncomfortable. I know a 70 year old that has always lived in shared accommodation - loves it. But he shouldn’t have to.

I really feel for your friend and I am glad you have had some good advice on here, there's lots to follow up.

However, I am surprised so many on here are shocked this might be a possibility. Unfortunately lots and lots of older people who don't find it easy to share are left with no option. When we talk about the housing crisis it is precisely this, people stick in shared or barely liveable accommodation.

Agreed.

There's so much obscene wealth.

Op, another vote for sheltered housing.

it is different to general needs as it’s only for over 55yrs, it has little or no waiting list but does generally go via the council. He can apply direct and will be offered something (own flat in block, generally staff to help with benefits, referrals to social care, etc). It is social housing so reasonable rents.

he shouldn’t move until court or another accommodation, but he must inform the council.

we have quite a few undiagnosed but suspected ND older residents

No, it's not okay but it's reality. We sometimes have to accept less than ideal situations while in the process of looking for something better. The streets are not a better option. You definitely lack privacy on the streets and there are a host of other issues with that. I get that this man, who is not actually old, has some disabilities. At least as a lodger he will have a room he can retreat to, warmth and some degree of privacy. It doesn't have to be forever.

That sounds so sad and it must be so stressful for him. As others have already said:

• over 55 housing
• speak to Citizen Advice and Shelter
• he should not leave the property until the landlord goes through the court system so he does not make himself intentionally homeless. He should continue to pay the rent. The landlord sounds like a parasite who was happy to get rent from him for year for a property that was not even considered habitable so he should not feel guilty if he simply stays put
• housing associations as well as they might be happy to rent to someone who might need a housing benefit top up to afford the rent.

Also I would speak to CAB about whether the fact that his landlord let him live in a dodgy property for years (does it even have the right certificates in place for gas and electricity?) could also mean that the landlord himself should face legal action and compensate him...