Cannot afford rent after breaking up

[Emmy1983]

Hello all,
I am currently renting a house with my husband, three children and I'm pregnant. Our relationship has officially ended and I am now facing loosing everything, at least it feels like this.
I will not be able to afford the rent, its above the housing benefits part of UC that I receive and without my husbands financial input I wont be able to afford living here any longer. He said he will move out as soon as the tenancy ends, which is in just under two months. I have spoken to the council on the phone and was advised to go onto the housing register. The lady said I am not in priority need as I can carry on renting this place after he leaves. I explained I cannot afford the rent by myself but she didn't seem too concerned and advised me to find help on the Web page. Ha.. I have been searching the Internet for advice for the past days and my head is spinning..
I cannot get council housing unless I am officially evicted? I cannot find a cheaper place to live, every house/flat, privately rented, that would have been acceptable, has turned me down so far! How will the council help me and offer me suitable housing without me going through the nasty process of being evicted. I could get evicted for not being able to pay the rent, but then I'd have to struggle so much, for months and months, and feel so bad not paying the rent and my children will witness all this horrible stress... I don't get it:( any advice?

Really you’ve got 2 choices

Stay and get evicted, really your children don’t need to know about this, then you’re statutory homeless which may involve going into temporary accommodation for a while, that’s a bit Russian roulette.

Move into a studio that you can afford, then you are overcrowded. Might be a slower process.

Though your DH will have to pay maintenance for 4 kids, have you done CMS calculations for that? Do you know what you would get.

Surely your benefits will go up once your husband leaves and his income is no longer counted towards the calculation for your benefits? Plus he will need to pay you maintenance for the kids

My UC will go up, yes, but the wages of my husband are gone so I end up with less monthly, the rent stays the same. And he is the father of 1 of the children, so it's not enough maintenance tbh. No one will accept a family this large on benefits in this area..ive tried finding something but it's impossible as they ask for a income 36 times the annual rent and my benefits are not counted towards this xD it's ridiculous.

Contact shelter and see what advice they offer. There are probably other charities.
You’ll need social housing of some kind, the precarious of private renting when a single parent with 4 kids will be a struggle.

Try the Discretionary housing payments in your area, they can usually be applied for on your council page. They will contribute to the rent for a short period.

36x the annual rent? are you sure? that would be a high six figure salary in most cases.
Can maintenance from DH make up the rent shortfall? How big a family do you have?

Is he father of current pregnancy? Or this and other Dc? Do you get CM from other dc father?

Have you worked out what benefits you'd be entitled to with a benefit calculator?
How many bedrooms have you got? Age and sex of children? Do you know what your local housing allowance amount is?
Could you consider a lodger?
As PP said, a discretionary housing payment from your local council could also be a short term measure.

Start divorce proceedings against your ex husband and claim maintenance pending suit for you and your children. Get the 25% single person rebate for Council tax. Does the father of your other DC pay maintenance? If not start to claim it.

I'm pretty sure if you don't pay rent in order to be evicted then the council class you as making yourself intentionally homeless. I would double check it with your local council first but obviously that would also cause issues as you can't actually afford the rent, and it won't help you with the council.

First things first- are you sure you’ve done the universal credit calculation right?

Second thing- private landlords not via an estate agent may be more willing to take families on benefits. If you go down this route make sure your deposit etc is protected.

Thirdly- are you living in London? I was when I became a single mother and left to return to north because rent & childcare was too high in London. I don’t think it’s fair that I had to do that, or that I’m suggesting it to you, but if you are in London and you have family elsewhere, maybe time to consider relocating if it’s cheaper?

Sorry it’s really shit. I really feel for you

You're not intentionally homeless if you're evicted for not paying the rent and you can show you had no money to pay it.