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This is ma wee gaff now, d’ye like it? I love it. I didn’t always love it. Felt pure lonely.

Only you can be sure if moving into your own home is right for you. Thereare many things to consider before you commit to moving into your home, and youshould ensure you give yourself the opportunity to have all the relevantknowledge and support available to do this.

Support can come from lots of different people in yourlife. Most local authorities have support available for care experienced youngpeople. We cannot detail what this looks like for every area of Scotlandbut you should feel supported..

It is very normal for young people to want independence and to look  forward to having their own home. But living independently does not mean you  should be alone, as support during that stage in your life can make a huge  difference.

For every person, whether they grew up in care or not, living alone for  the first time is not easy. There is a lot to learn and it is normal to make  some mistakes, like forgetting to put the bins out or having to pay extra for  using too much electricity. No one would expect you to get it right  immediately and you should ask the people in your life for help when you need  to.

There are a few things you should always remember, so that you can avoid  losing your tenancy. (Though of course, should you be in that situation, there still is support available for you and you should approach your local  authority)

Most importantly, you need to pay your rent and bills on time. If you know  that will be difficult, ask for help soon, ideally before the next payment is due.

Homelessness is not the fault of the individual and usually, there are  very complex reasons behind homelessness.

A survey by the Scottish Government in 2020 highlighted some of the  biggest challenges homeless people face throughout Scotland. These involved independent living skills including how to manage a tenancy, a need for more support and  mental health problems.

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‍Don’t find a house, find a home

There are many steps to moving into a new home. It is easy to get overwhelmed, so try not to do everything at once and ask for help when you need it.

For example, you do not need to buy all furniture and decorations at once. You can start with the most important bits (like a bed) and leave other expensive items for another time, so that you can avoid debt.

Finding a home:

There are several areas to consider when you are looking to move into your own home, first of all where would you like to live, how will you pay your rent and other important bills including your council tax. There are several housing options you can look at. You can find details of how to do this here:

A Guide to Social Housing - Shelter Scotland

Renting privately - Shelter Scotland

The two main housing options are either social housing or renting privately.  If you have a resource worker, they would be able to support you with a housing application for either tenure of housing.  

Paying rent:

Before submitting a housing application you need to know how you would pay your rent this could either be from your salary from your job or you may be  entitled to the housing element of universal credit.  Information regarding universal credit is detailed below:

Housing costs and Universal Credit - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Household bills:

You may also be exempt from council tax payments, more details below:

Care Leavers and council tax exemptions — Scottish Care  Leavers Covenant

Once you have a house its helpful to have a budget to work with for all your household bills.

Your household budget | National Debtline

You may also be entitled to a care leavers grant from your local authority. This could help towards the cost of setting up your new home.

Benefits, Grants and Support for Care Leavers - Shelter  Scotland

New legislation in the form of the Children (Care, Care Experience and Services Planning) (Scotland) Bill has implications for formally extending aftercare and support with housing.