I am a disabled single mother living in Brent. I receive Universal credit As well as disability benefits. I’m being told by Brent council that renting in London/Brent is unaffordable for me because my LHA cap for the family is £1200 pm but according to Beam and UC my housing element would be £1790 pm because I’m eligible for 2 bedrooms. I have seen a few properties on OpenRent that falls within my £2000 budget (recently saw one for £1800 pm in my search area etc). Problem is I don’t have a guarantor and I’m not sure if landlords want to rent to disabled tenants with a child. I’ve had to stop working due to my long term disability (chronic illness with no cure) so I will most likely be receiving UC long term. Do I stand a chance in this market because the council says that I don’t and they can relocate me outside of London but then I will be too far away from my family who are my care and support network which will put me and my child at risk. I feel lost, does anyone know how I can successfully find somewhere in London to rent given that I’m on benefits and don’t have a guarantor (this is why I was working with Beam organisation).
There shouldnt be such a big difference between LHA and UC housing element (csn be because of 4 week or 1 month calc), get the facts sorted of what you can afford first
Nobody can tell what chance you have in advance of you applying and knowing your specific circumstances (eg whether specific adjustments needed to make safe due to your condition etc)
Consider the option of paying a company to act as a guarantor eg
Under RRA blanket bans against people receiving benefits are illegal but that doesn’t guarantee you a place
Good luck
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