Hi, I’m hoping for some advice from anyone who has been in a similar situation.
My family and I have been in temporary accommodation for around six months. We have two autistic children with high needs. We became homeless after our previous landlord served a Section 21 notice because he wanted to leave the rental market. He was a small landlord and had been charging us £750 a month, which is extremely low for where we live in the South East, so I completely understand why he made that decision.
Our problem now is that our household income puts us slightly over the threshold for the council housing register, but at the same time private renting feels almost impossible for us.
We have approached lots of letting agents, but most want a guarantor and/or require an income of around three times the annual rent. I may also need to become a full-time carer, which would leave us relying mainly on one wage. We simply don’t have anyone who can act as a guarantor.
The council arranged for their Occupational Therapy Manager to assess our temporary accommodation. She raised concerns that the property is not suitable or safe for our children because of their needs. The children have difficulties sharing a bedroom, one of them has a tendency to bolt/run off, the property is on a main road, and there are also concerns around the stairs because one of our children has very little awareness of danger.
Despite this, the council have decided not to follow the OT recommendations and we are still living in the same temporary accommodation.
The council are trying to help us find a private rented property, which I am grateful for, but so far they haven’t been able to find anything suitable or affordable.
My main worry is what happens if they simply cannot find us a private rental and we cannot access the housing register. Do families just remain in temporary accommodation indefinitely in situations like this?
I’m incredibly grateful that we have a roof over our heads, but I feel like we are completely in limbo and I’m really frightened about what the future looks like for us.
Has anyone been in a similar situation, particularly with disabled children?