I am currently paying my rent and everything myself. In December 2014 I took out a tenancy on a new house, moved from old place as had too many bedrooms and spent ages trying to find a suitable two bed property not a flat I had to pay the whole six months rent in advance at the time of signing the tenancy. (Through an estate agents). Because i have no guarantor as both my parents are dead and no siblings this is now the norm it seems. I have money to pay the next six months in advance in June I can set aside, which will then leave me with around £9,500 to date. I am not getting any benefits since July 2013 as I inherited some money. How will this affect a Housing Benefit Claim as I believe you can still claim despite having paid in advance? My remaining £9,500 after June tenancy set aside will entitle me to some Housing Benefit minus a £1 per £250 deduction. I am struggling to find a job as I am 50 and was a full time carer to my father for the last 8 years so have a very patchy CV which gets me turned down all the time even for supermarket work. I am worried about keeping a roof over our heads if the norm is 6 months in advance.

I went round and talked to neighbours and they said in summer garden was horrendously overgrown and they had to complain to the previous agent. It was making an eyesore on the street being empty and in a state. Gone with my gut instinct that he would be a bad landlord, phoned agent and withdrew my application. To be honest the lady who showed me round said she completely understood. Maybe they know it is not that clever themselves as someone said.

It is a chain of estate agents that are the letting agents. Paying the 6 months upfront is not an issue moneywise. I don't know whether it was the way the agent talked to me like I was a "dodgy" applicant or whether it is the condition of the property when it was put on their books, ie with the painting and lock not sorted first that is putting me off. Plus it has been empty for quite a while. If the property is needing work before the tenancy starts, how do I know that there are not other things wrong when I move in, and how quickly things would be rectified, not as much incentive if the rent is aleady paid.

I am hoping to move to a property with more parking available now that my daughter has passed her test. There is no room for two cars at my present property. I rented privately after a divorce, was not working and my daughter was then at school. I have been renting my current property for 8 years with never a late payment on the rent. I have not been working for last few years as I was a full time carer for my father who has now passed. I viewed a property through a letting agency and decided I wanted to take on a lease. I can provide a landlord reference, a character reference, there is no reason why I would fail a credit check (I recently had a credit check for a new phone contract and passed). I have £30,000 in the bank which I have provided two months bank statements for, but the agency is saying it is unlikely I would be accepted without paying 6 months rent in advance plus the deposit. Rent is £610 a month. I am looking for work now I am no longer a full time carer, my 20 year old daughter who they insist has to be on the lease, has only just finished college in June and has started up as a self employed nail technician but obviously has no accounts as yet as only set up for a few months. I just feel the agent is being "unhelpful". They claim I could go on a wild spending spree and spend all the money in a few weeks!! (I am 50 years old not a young idiot) , by the same argument the landlord could have a mortgage and the property could be repossessed, they could not carry out any repairs when they were needed and something could happen structure wise making it inhabitable there is risk either side with a new tenancy. I nor they know the landlord well. I would have no leverage, I am feeling put off the property by the negativity/rudeness I am feeling from the agent. I feel that as there is enough to pay the rent for at least a couple of years in my account, I am active in looking for work and my daughter has set up a business we are credit worthy. Do you think this is reasonable or would other agencies be more realistic in my providing references, bond and have ample funds in bank for a six month tenancy agreement. i have no assurance this is a long term let and would have to move anyway if the landlord decided to sell house or something., When i rented the present property I was told I can stay as long as I like, and the tenancy is now a periodic tenancy. The property has been empty for at least 7 months so surely it would be in the landlords interest to get a tenant in as soon as possible. several other properties have gone before i have even had a chance to view so it is not like anyone is champing at the bit to sign up for it. I had to wait a week to view, then we couldn't get in due to lock being seized and agent didn't have a key for the back door with them, then I had to wait another 6 day before they could reschedule, then when we did view half the lightbulbs were missing and we had already seen damp on one ceiling so decided to view again in daylight (Old damp patch no leaks as builder looked, just needs repainting ceilings which they say landlord will do) Three weeks on the books and not taken and like I said, lots go within a few days. Was empty for at least 6 months before they took it on their books as I remember seeing it up with another agent and being empty and garden all overgrown so decided against a viewing at that time. Why couldn't other agent rent it? Should I walk away or would i have same problem with another agent?

Thanks for that. Maybe something to consider re short term rental for house buyers prior to completion. As I said daughter will not even consider living in house due to the fire and her grandads death so moving in is not an option. She is 18 so not as if I can force her to.

Thanks It sold after three weeks of going up, then they lost their buyer. Sold again three weeks later and again lost their buyer due to bad survey. I have been so unlucky all round with it!! Coming up to quiet time for house buying before Xmas that is the problem. Least worst case scenario is I have a couple of months but even with rent there is not enough money for bills and food:( Just dont want to get no reference for a new rental if I am evicted Dont think I can rent it would have to be a minimum of 6 months and I would need it gone before then. Would be scared of getting bad tenant also as it is brand new everything. They won't want to rent whilst its up for sale they could put people off also

Yes have done all that probate has been granted. I have already spoken to land registry when I wanted to see how much it cost to put into my name They told me if it was to be sold then I did not have to put it into my name as I am also the executor. My solictor will just need to send copy of will and grant of probate and death certificate when they are doing the conveyancing. This was confirmed by my solicitor when I had a buyer and I gave her the deeds etc.

Yes I inherited the house. It is still in fathers name but can be sold by me as I am sole heir and executor of the will. Council are aware that property is for sale and empty and as I am claiming HB for my home I am renting now and not receiving any income from the property it is OK. This came up with regards to council tax. Seems because it is not in my name, it is not yet my asset until I receive the proceeds from the sale or the property is put into my name, they are aware of the situation. I have no option but to sell it as I have had to borrow money to repair the house after the fire, that needs to be repaid and there are also outstanding debts from my fathers estate that need to be settled from the proceeds, final utility bills etc. I had to pay out for funeral and then there was not enough to repair house and clear bills There will not be enough money for me to do anything other than continue to rent and having been his carer and not working for last 8 years chances of getting a job at nearly 50 are slim:( The last 4 months all I have been in receipt of is HB and Tax Credits for daughter so now am down to last few hundred pounds and have been making up the shortfall from the money lent to me but now there is hardly anything left. I can't live in it until it is sold because I will then have no income to pay any bills or live . At the moment it is not liable for council tax as it is empty and no services being used so no bills other than standing charges I am in a complete catch 22 situation. I have been a good tenant paying rent on time for 6 years, so dont want to be evicted for arrears as I wont get a reference for my future rental if I have to leave my present home. Then I will struggle to get a tenancy as I have no guarantor

I am still getting housing benefit but there is a shortfall of £165 a month and I have over £200 a month in direct debits for utiities. Gas and electric alone is £90 a month. I have borrowed as much as I can and have no more funds available after this month of topping up rent and living food etc

After a nightmare 6 months I now find myself in a really bad financial position. Basically my father died in a house fire in April and I was his carer. It turned out the house was uninsured so all the money from his bank accounts and money borrowed was spent on repairing the property so it could be sold. As his carer for the last 10 years I was receiving Carers Allowance, top up Income Support, Housing Benefit and Tax Credits as daughter is student. The CA and IS stopped after a run on period of 10 weeks (although IS was overpaid because they claim that the phone call that stopped all my fathers benefits, pension and carers allowance did not notify them for some reason so they now claim I have been overpaid £300+) Up until now I have been managing to pay the rent topping up the HB with money from the estate at same time as repairing his house which as you can imagine costs thousands. I still receive HB and Tax Credits and will be applying for jsa. The house has been up for sale since July and has sold twice but both sales fell through due to buyers losing their own sale. I now have enough money to pay one more rent then I am in trouble I have been in my rented house for 6 years, never been late with rent and had an initial 6 month tenancy and now it is on a rolling agreement. My landlord is a private landlord and has a months rent in advance,a deposit of one month and a £600 extra bond I paid to enable me to have my pets at the property. My daughter will not move into my fathers old property due to the death of her grandad, under those circumstances, she will not even set foot it it I have been praying for a sale on the property before I got in this situation. There is still a few of my fathers utiities owing which they agreed to wait for till estate settled in full when his house sells. From previous experience I am not sure where I will stand as regards getting benefits with notional capital as there was money left me, albeit it had to go on restoring his house as a priority. There depriving yourself of money for the purpose of claiming benefits springs to mind Any advice on how I can keep my home would be appreciated. Obviously I stand to inherit over 100k whe house sold so whether landlord is in a position to accept reduced rent I dont know as arrears would be paid when the house sells/

Good news a couple of people have managed to get a straight swap for a much better hotel, one which previously they were told was not possible: Hopefully armed with that the others can insist on the same hotel, or at least on another of the same standard. This was one they have been told they had to pay extra for before. Think they quoted what I posted up before about hotel of same standard so maybe that worked or they have just had so many complaints they caved. lets face it in their present position they don't need to lose any more customers

This is at least a dozen people on tripadvisor forum so I don't know what position they are in as to regards changing travel dates. Mainly the people going in July as it is only a few weeks away. Hopefully people booked September and october may get a better deal. They are working through the bookings in date order at moment so all the issues raised affect the July travellers. If some have to accept a refund then they cannot book anything for the same price in the same area, Thomas Coolk have kept them waiting weeks for an alternative to be offered, advising them not to cancel. By waiting they have reduced the time available to sort out alternate choices as good hotels are already booked. which explains why so many are being offered the inferior hotel. They obviously have suffered from the poor reviews given from last year so their bookings are down. The whole thing has been a shambles. Some people were being told by their branch there was a problem and others in different part of the country being told all was ok. Operations Department at Thomas Cook now saying that if they don't accept the alternative that they will treat it as a cancellation by the customer and not entitled to a full refund, which is not true. Think the main problem, is that the booking was for a very high standard hotel at a good deal price so it is impossible to offer anything at the same price to the same standard. if it was just a normal booking then they would have paid more in line with other hotels so a switch would have been much easier cost wise. It was still not cheap as people paying £8442 for 6 adults 2 children for 2 weeks in July so to be asked for a further £1000 is a bit much.

So the people who would end up having to pay an extra £1000+ to go to a hotel that had similiar facilities can claim compensation for extra expense due to loss of bargain, enjoyment, out of pocket expenses? The hotel they are offering has no aqua slides, half the restaurants and is not 24 hour AI so considerable difference to the hotel originally booked and was £500 cheaper at the time of booking and they are only offering £5 per person refund per night. That's £140 refund per couple for a hotel that was £500 cheaper so they are making £360!!. Has very bad reviews about food poisoning, poor facilities, tired in need of refurb and more like a three star than a four star. This is the only hotel they can come up with as an alternative so obviously people are complaining. it is nowhere near the standard of the hotel booked. The other hotels that are of a slightly less standard but acceptable they are asking people to pay over a thousand pounds to have. Looks like Thomas Cook are purposefully offering this as an alternative so people cancel and they can wash their hands of the problem. because they dallied nearly a month before admitting there was a problem at all even when it was obvious. They have significantly reduced options for alternatives by watiing till season starts to look for somewhere else so obviously prices have risen as they have no sales etc on now. Travel Republic who also sold this holiday are offering their customers discounts off alternative choices of hotel on their site

Withdrawal by consumer pursuant to regulation 12 and cancellation by organiser 13.—(1) The terms set out in paragraphs (2) and (3) below are implied in every contract and apply where the consumer withdraws from the contract pursuant to the term in it implied by virtue of regulation 12(a), or where the organiser, for any reason other than the fault of the consumer, cancels the package before the agreed date of departure. (2) The consumer is entitled— (a) to take a substitute package of equivalent or superior quality if the other party to the contract is able to offer him such a substitute; or (b) to take a substitute package of lower quality if the other party to the contract is able to offer him one and to recover from the organiser the difference in price between the price of the package purchased and that of the substitute package; or © to have repaid to him as soon as possible all the monies paid by him under the contract. 3.15 Terms that conflict with these Regulations are very likely to be unfair (see pages 23-26 of OFT311, and schedule 2(1)(f) and (g) of the UTCCRs). Note that where a substitute package of superior quality is taken under option i., the PTRs do not, in our view, allow the supplier to require an additional payment from the consumer. This is from the Office of Fair Trading Guidance on Package Holiday Contract. It does not say that the holiday offered has to be at the same price, but to the same quality/standard so therefore does not that mean the same rating regardless of price

Firstly |I am not asking for myself but for people who have ended up in this situation Booked holiday for a five star plus Thomas Cook Style property that was to be a new build. Given good prices as it is a new hotel. Beginning of March based on comments on Tripadvisor and Turkish forum it was apparent that the building had been stopped as the builders had breached building regs and tourism ministry ordered hotel to be demolished, builder refused and paid a huge fine. Building is sat as an empty shell and builder being taken to court. People started contacting the tour operators Travel Republic, First Choice and Thomas Cook who were still selling the holiday. Three weeks they denied any problem saying hotel was on schedule and due to open July 2012 as stated in brochure, this is despite the hotel's own website now stating Summer 2013!! Now they have finally admitted a problem and are offering a four star hotel (though very badly reviewed as more like 3 star)as a replacement and just the one choice. If anyone asks for another hotel of same standard they are being told that they have to pay over £1000 extra as due to close proximity of depature (some people due to go beginning of July), that prices have risen drastically so they have to pay the difference The hotel they are offering is same group as original hotel so they have obviously cooked up some deal with them and that is why that is being offered and nothing else. At the time of booking the hotel they are offering was £500 cheaper than the one originally booked even with the good deals on the original hotel, so is obviously inferior. As far as I was aware in the event of a failure to supply the tour operator is obliged to offer a hotel of same standard, the hotel they are offering they are giving a £10 per person per night discount on, even though it is nowhere near the standard of the hotel that was booked. Furthermore they are telling people that terms and conditions have changed and that if they don't accept they are not entitled to a refund. Is it legally correct that they have to offer two choices of alternate accommodation of same standard and no extra cost to the customer, or a full refund. Those taking a refund would lose their holiday altogether because it is not possible at this stage to get anything for the same price they paid and availability is reduced so close to the departure dates I would have thought that it is tough on the tour operator and they have to stand the difference to provide a hotel of same standard, not say they have to pay over £1000 extra. It is them that have broken the contract not the customer?