Young Person's Housing Guide

If you're still living with your parents, moving out of the family home may feel a little scary but it's also an exciting time. There are things you can do to prepare for this new chapter in life and we want to help by providing useful advice and guidance. 

Planning to move out/move on affordability 

Moving to your own place or even sharing with friends will mean an on-going financial commitment.  

A crucial part of preparing to move into your own home is working out how much money you earn or receive each month (what comes in) and how much money you spend (what goes out).  

Using a Budgeting tool is a good way to do this.  

There are several things you need to consider when moving into your own place, for example rent and upfront costs. including a deposit, bills you'll need to pay and other living costs. 

Money Helper can guide you through the different stages to renting and offers guidance on shopping around for the best service provider deals, ways to cut other living costs plus help if you can't find affordable rent.    

If you plan to move to a Private Rental, Council housing or an Housing Association home and currently claim benefits or are earning a low income from work, You may be eligible for Housing Benefit to help you with payments. Find out more and apply for housing benefit. 

Alternatively, you can check your eligibility before applying by completing a Benefits calculator . 

Bills and expenses 

Below is a list of essential bills you'll have to pay as a tenant plus other household costs associated with living in your own home.  

If your renting with a partner or housemates each person should understand what their responsibilities will be in a sharing arrangement and agree how to split bills fairly. 

You might also have other personal outgoings such as gym memberships, hair-cuts or debt to factor in when working out affordability and budget setting. 

Ways to furnish your new home affordably 

You may be eligible to apply for a discretionary housing payment or Community care grant to get financial support to help with housing costs, depending on your circumstances. 

Other affordable ways to furnish your home might involve a visit to local charity shop or re home webpages like Gumtree, Freecycle or social media platforms. Friends or family members may be able to help by contributing or donating items to help you get started. 

Homeless or threatened with homelessness 

The number of younger people under 25 experiencing homelessness accounts for approximately 20% of all homeless applications. In many cases the reason for failing to maintain accommodation is because they've been asked to leave by family or friends. We want to help young people and their families as early on as possible to try and prevent the threat of homelessness. 

If you've been asked to leave and you have nowhere to stay, please contact our Housing Options Team immediately to get homelessness assistance. 

Other services like Quarriers and  Barnardo's offer housing related services and information to assist young people aged 16-25 years old.

Is your mental health impacting your home life 

RAMH service can support residents in East Renfrewshire with immediate support in crisis situations. They can offer counselling and individual care/practical support in your home. 

Operating in the wider Glasgow area are services which offer a range of support 

Right There: offer family support and mentoring  

See Me Scotland: provide information and advice for young persons struggling with their mental health.  

Youth Groups in East Renfrewshire 

There are various Youth groups running in East Renfrewshire, they provide a place for people to meet, make new friends and take part in fun activities. Youth work staff can also offer support if you need it.

Find out more about youth groups and get involved. 

We know young people are adversely affected by rent and housing costs. To fully understand just how this impacts our younger people, we'll be collecting more evidence soon from young people residing in East Renfrewshire. This will allow us to fine tune the advice we offer to match our local young people's housing needs.

If you have a suggestion about how we can improve the advice offered on this page or if you'd like to express an interest in participating in the young persons housing research, please contact our Tenant and Customer Engagement Team.