Section 21 - unable to find a rental

[teentoddlermum]

Our landlord has advised he is selling, been renting for 4 years almost and S21 is due imminently. Hes been a good fair landlord and the rent is reasonable for the area - he said it’s under what it should be.

anyway, we cannot find anywhere in our village unless we move town which means move schools ( 2 children ) and we love where we are.

we aren’t in a position to buy yet but maybe next year so there is light at the end of the tunnel.

my husband and I have a good joint income so I know we are lucky in that respect but my god is has hit us like a tonne of bricks, me especially and I’m so sad to be leaving our village.

of course if anything comes up soon then that would be the ideal situation but the thought of moving when 1/ at the moment the rental is so sparse and 2/ the price and conditions of some properties are not nice.

anyone else been in or in this position
I feel it’s consumed me this week

I’ve spoken to all the estate agents, registered and set up right move alerts

thank you for reading

It sounded mental to me, but my friend recently temporarily moved to a one bedroom flat with 3 kids under 6 after they sold one house to radically save for an additional deposit for the next house they were buying.

It was packed and tiny but essentially a 6 month sleepover. Could you consider this? It it is just for 6-9 months it could be somewhere totally inadequate but a bit of an adventure for the short term.

Friend is glad to be out but would do it again and the kids still talk about it as a great time all piled in together .

How far away would you need to rent? If it’s a temporary thing is driving them to school an option?

Anything your current landlord can do to help? He/she might have other landlord links.

Never said I have savings, we have credit cards but as soon as April comes they are clear and we can start savings - savings for a small deposit and still be able to live

@teentoddlermum apologies, I must have misread what you said. All the best

I called them today - they were really helpful
they said to register with them and complete an application, but they can’t step in until the s21 date has passed but they also stated they work with private landlord so I can attempt to find a rental through this website before my S21 ( it’s an option but I doubt very much this will be a feasible one ) I don’t want to rely on that but there is no harm completing an application then on open to bidding on ‘ social and affordable rent ‘
from Facebook posts on housing in this area - I don’t think it’s an option for us

also she said I would be eligible for a deposit scheme which once registered then the housing will help with first months rent and deposit
this alone is around £ 3.5k in my area which we do not have. So it’s worth looking at and i certainly will do alongside keep looking for private rent

Yes actually we’ve looked at doing this with a 2 bed and we would simply sleep in the front room gibing our daughters a bedroom each. With a teen and a toddler totally unfair to make them share or we could share with the toddler ( she would particularly love that!) it’s us that’s always preferred her sleeping in her own room and bed, we’ve never coshared so yes I do look at that option - that does save around 200/250 a month but I wouldn’t consider any smaller.

No worries and thank you for the advice

Unfortunately not he’s not an agent and doesn’t know of any. He doesn’t live in this area

Have you looked into air B & Bs and holiday lets locally? and ask your local pub landlords in case they hear of anything.

Fairly far 1-2 towns away so not really an option
its a small village so once we leave I wouldn’t want to keep driving back for a school run I could have walked if I lived in the village if that makes sense and driving past my old house daily, not something I want to do
if we move towns then I’d ensure it had a nice school etc and just make it work there
just not my first choice sadly that’s all
I’m being open to all towns and trying to see it as a fresh start but it just hurts

I’ve messaged lots of- most have come back with we can only rent for max of 28 days and comes furnished so we will need storage and the price of 28 days for some was around 2500-3000k so not an option unless it was very short term but not for our situation sadly

Have you spoken to just one mortgage broker or several? Might it be the case that once you get a mortgage you could afford the place you're in, if so just wondering whether there's any way around it. Like restructuring debts too.

Have you spoken to an advisor at a bank, or a specialist independent mortgage broker? If only the former, I'd advise having a chat with the latter - you can often find recommendations locally on social media or ask your landlord. Also communicate with your landlord that you're actively investigating buying the place.

So the fact that 26 new-builds sold in London (reported by the LR) in the last 18 months is not relevant? Sorry, that is a ridiculous statement!

Not sure a reference from a landlord means much if you have bank statements to prove consistent and on time rent payments, demand is just not at the level that some people in the media and elsewhere would have us believe?

Landlords going bust is also up more than 25%, so something just doesn"t add up with the "too much demand!" stories.

https://www.property118.com/rental-listings-jump-25-as-tenant-moves-slow/

Independent mortgage advisor, we know the affordability is fine just need to improve credit score and play off our cards so we are not in a position at the moment sadly

Very true but references are needed for our next rental, would just be better/smoother
I spoke to one agent who wouldn’t let me view into I completed a application of interest so status and income etc and one wanted proof of my credit score beforehand
both happy to provide just feel they can be so choosy as there’s very little to rent
one house I called up about they said they have 45 people interested in one house and will call me if they can’t find a tenant from the viewings that were fullt booked…and they didn’t call
bearing in mind these are all houses not ideal for me but still

Yeah we have a good one thank you but we aren’t ready just yet…need 3k on solicitor fees alone and we did ask and the landlord says he wants a quick sale and couldn’t wait for us

The thing is with a s21 you don’t need to leave and you can just let him start the process of eviction. This will take many months, probably over a year given how many landlords will be going through the system. Just keep paying rent, save up as hard as you can and hopefully before eviction rolls around you’ll be in a position to buy. If you’re buying you won’t need a reference.

This advice in a nutshell is one of the reasons the OP can’t find anywhere else to rent.

Not sure about that, they are probably looking at too small a geographical area, a small village will generally have limited rentals but if you spread your net more properties will turn up, it may be necessary to commute/drive but if you get the right landlord, private landlord with cash flow problems is best for a decent deal, things will be fine.

This is also why landlords are selling up . It just adds stress and costs to them . And if he has been decent all along it seems unfair . Not all landlords are evil slum lords
He obviously needs to sell for whatever reason . His reasons could be just as important as the OPs .
However this situation is being repeated all over the country. Very very hard for anyone renting property. No security of tenancy and the upheaval of children from schools etc. And with rents so high and such a huge proportion of wages , it is almost impossible to save a deposit or you do end up relying on credit for unexpected expenses.

Hope something turns up as a solution to this OP .

Rents are also starting to fall so there is good news out there!

https://thenegotiator.co.uk/news/rental-market/rents-fall-for-first-time-since-2011-hamptons-says/

Why not ask your landlord for a reference now so you don't have to worry. And then if you haven't found somewhere to live by the time the notice is up you will have to stay and go through the eviction process which can take several months. Despite people on this thread being unhappy, the local authority won't help with temporary housing until a court ordered eviction. What's the alternative, making herself homeless with a teen and toddler so as not to inconvenience her landlord?!

Is the secondary school in the village or does your teen travel elsewhere? If the plan is to buy back in your village in just a years time it would be difficult to move their schooling, I would do anything to keep them where they are even if it's inconvenient for a few months.

That is of course only so long as buying is genuinely realistic within that timeframe as with debts and not even enough saved to cover a £3k rental deposit at the moment a year seems ambitious unless you are expecting a windfall or have had had a significant change in financial circumstances recently?

Presumably the toddler is in nursery or childminder so if you do find somewhere else short term to rent before buying at least they could be moved to a more local setting.