Renting from a private landlord: affordability checks.

mistydixie

Hi there. I am new to the forum. My user name is my cat and dog names :) i have a lot going on in my life at the moment. One of these things is moving house/ to a different area.

I have lived in my current flat since 2019. I moved from the area I grew up in to take care of my mum, who moved here (the area I live now) in 2015. I also came out of an abusive relationship and wanted a fresh start.

Fast forward to now. My mum passed away last year. I was working part time but the contract ended a few weeks ago, I reconnected with an old friend during the pandemic (he's the best friend of my best friends partner) and it turned into meeting up and we started dating. He currently lives with his mum in her private home (she owns it) and she is also has some health issues and is her carer. I want to move back to the area I grew up, where he lives.

I did apply for social housing. I put in a medical forms saying that moving to the area I grew up in would be beneficial for my mental health (I have a mental health condition) as I don't have any family and rely on friends/ boyfriend as my support network. They replied saying I was put in the lowest band. I then get a letter a few weeks later saying I don't qualify for social housing in that area at all as I have no family and due to lack of available properties I have been removed from the list. I appealed and lost.

I am now facing having to private rent. I've looked at housing associations and they are saying that due to having no family links in the area I want to move, I don't qualify for to be added to the lists. They are telling me to move in with my boyfriend/ friend for 6 months and then make a homeless appeal but I can't do that (my boyfriends mum doesn't like me due to my ex partner, who she knew) and I have looked at private housing but it's expensive and letting agencies want me to earn more than i do to pass the affordability checks. I just feel stuck. I don't have any friends that own their own homes or could be guarantees either.

I don't have anything in the place I live to keep me here (apart from a couple of friends) and i do feel isolated and alone. I travel back to where I grew up quite a lot and it's expensive. The GP who was helping with my housing appeal has retired and the practice is working on locum/ student doctors who say they can't help as they don't know me(?) I would change doctors surgeries but the same firm run all of the surgeries in my area. (it's a private contractor who runs them on behalf of the NHS) im not having any treatment at the moment either.

Sorry the post has turned out to be longer than intended. It's just something that is stressing me out a bit. Thank you for any help/ support/ advice you can give me.