Are you 16 or 17 years old and thinking of leaving home?

Leaving home is one of the most important decisions you will ever have to make, therefore it is not something you should rush into. Ideally you should stay at your family home for as long as you can until you are in a position to move in a planned manner.

The idea of moving may seem exciting, no-one telling you what to do, no-one stopping friends from visiting, having your own space. However the reality can be quite different. Living on your own can be lonely, isolating and expensive – all things that can lead to homelessness.

The best time to leave home is:

• When you feel ready and able to live on your own
• When you can afford to pay your bills
• When you have a property to move into
• When you have people who can help you to move in

Disadvantages to Leaving Home

• Your housing options are limited - you will not be allowed to register on the Council’s Waiting List until you are 18 years old unless you have a support package from an agency such as Framework
• You are not allowed to have a tenancy by law until you are 18 years old (some Landlords may let you rent a property if you under 18 but only if you have a guarantor who is willing to pay the rent if you fail to pay)
• Supported housing through organisations such as New Roots or Retford Young Persons Housing Project is in great demand and there are very long waiting lists
• You will have to be in receipt of an income – you may have to live on a low income or benefits which means you will not have a lot of spare money to spend on mobile phones, clothes, DVD’s, going out with friends, visiting family etc. If you do not have an income you will not be able to afford to leave home.
• You can apply to the Council’s Housing Benefits Unit for help towards paying your rent but it is unlikely you will receive full benefit. This means that you will still have to pay something towards the rent out of your income or benefit.
• You will be responsible for paying the full cost of all your own bills including rent, gas, electricity, water rates, TV licence etc
• You will have to purchase your own furniture, electrical goods and carpets. You may ask for some money towards the cost of purchasing these items by submitting a crisis loan or other application, however help is only usually given to those who have to leave home through no fault of their own. It is unlikely you would get help if you chose to leave home knowing you had no means of purchasing essential goods
• You will have to do all your own shopping, cooking, washing and ironing, cleaning and decorating. In some cases you may even have to do the gardening
• You will have to abide by your Landlords rules and failure to do so may lead to you losing your home
• You may spend a lot of time on your own, particularly at night-time
• The only accommodation available may be a long way from your friends and family
• You may not be able to continue attending work, college or finish your education

Advantages to Leaving Home

• You will be independent and able to make your own decisions
• You will have your own home and personal space

If you do leave home without proper planning, you could find yourself in trouble and faced with having nowhere to live. You might then have to sleep on someone’s settee, in a hostel where there are lots of strangers or even on the streets. You can ask the Council to help you find somewhere to live but there is no guarantee that you will be entitled to be rehoused on a permanent basis and you may not like or want what accommodation they offer you.