In a jokey post to Rare Lesser Spotted I said that "If my two elder kids, in their 20's, ever wanted to come back home, they'd be met by a sharp pointy stick"


Not quite true of course. My eldest lass has a partner and 20 month year old. They're in private rented accommodation.


Son'o'mine rented a three bedroomed from a private landlord too, until he lost his job at a major high street bank. He was immediately hit with the double wammy of a change in immigration policy, and the rules for housing benefit.


His wife and child are American. When people think of 'non-EU' countries, they tend to assume east of the European Union. Almost as soon he'd lost his job, he was hit with a new change in the rules that meant he had to earn above £20,000 a year for his wife and kid to join him.


At the same time, the payments made to Brits on Jobseekers changed so that Housing Benefit won't be paid to anyone, even married like my lad, with an absent partner and child, living in more than a one bedroomed home. He lost his home.

He has been given priority by the local council, but the social housing list is clogged. 

Private landlords with one bedroomed properties are few and far between, and they don't like to let to the unemployed.


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Luckily, my elder daughters landlord came up with an enterprising solution. She gave him a bedroom, her landlord had a long chat with the council, and in return for a small reduction in rent for her, he charges a tiny rent to my lad for the room, that puts the landlord £20 a month ahead.


However, the sad fact is that because of the earnings limit, we are having to sell off the baby stuff waiting for his daughter (it would cost more than it's worth in total to post it to the States) and his wife can't travel to the UK.

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And things are much, much worse in America. 

I've had to fight off financial scammers  in so-called Christian churches, ie. "Get your whole family to raise funds for her or we'll 'take legal action'". 

My daughter in law has been offered a small wage at a motel, with  childcare and accommodation and meals, only to be attacked and asked to 'get Brit relatives to pay up' when she got there.

They seriously underestimated the Bear and Dray.   

I'm getting info back from other American friends, of people living in car lots (car parks) using public toilets to get clean, put on suits and ties and going into work and going back to their cars.  Tent communities in public places of pensioners and once affluent Americans who've lost their homes.