Drama Quotient: Too High

[emanix]

There is always something about moving house that makes me sad. Possibly something to do with the fact that most of my moves have been unwanted, forced by other people or by situations outside my control. There is something particularly wrenching about the process of packing to go from a place you've been happy.

I'm trying to reduce the amount of Stuff that I have. I really don't want to have to move all of the junk I have in this room to a new place. Unfortunately, parting with Stuff has always been a bit of a wrench for me too. I'm a packrat, and always have been. Things that might be useful. Things that are pretty. Completely ordinary objects that have sentimental value for inexplicable reasons. I find throwing stuff out difficult even on a normal day. It also doesn't help that when I look at about half of my stuff, even a couple of years on, it still comes attached to the thought 'this is one of the things my psycho-ex didn't bother to steal from me', or alternatively, 'this is one of the things I had to buy because x stole my original'. Unpleasant memories, even attached to the things I treasured before. Perhaps more reason to get rid of them.

This move is less fun than most.

Thanks to our glorious landlords selling the place out from under us, we are faced with the impossible task of trying to keep the House of Joy together. A task only made more difficult by the change in the Houses of Multiple Occupancy regulations, which came about in April (but we only heard about for the first time last week). In the last several days I have learned far more about housing regulations, licensing and enforcement than I ever wanted to know. I might go into that in another post.

In short, the effect of the new regulations is that landlords are running scared, and will NOT rent to house-sharers. We've been looking since August, with a deadline of the end of this month. We've viewed an uncounted number of houses, and made offers on several, only to be told AFTER negotiations started that the landlords wouldn't take sharers. Seriously, how difficult is it to decide on that before you have people cross the city to view your fricking property?

The deadline is looming, there seem to be no houses out there. We've made offers on two more rentals in the last couple of days, and both are 'thinking about it'. Oh boy how I love that feeling of my fate being in someone else's hands.

Juggling the needs and wants of half a dozen people, trying to find a house that suits everyone while still being in budget, in a climate where the cost of rental houses similar to the one we're in has risen by about £1000 in the last 12 months, and the average income per member of our household has actually dropped. Want to try it? Right now, poly isn't making life any easier.

Oh, and I'm supposed to be running a conference/convention next weekend.

Can someone please just slip me an extra week or two? Someone out there must have some spare time I could use, right?

On the verge of something,

M.

Comments

[seinneann-ceoil.livejournal.com]

You've been doing amazing at handling all of it but yeah, it's hard. You have some lovely restful holiday time on the other side of it, though. Just have to get through this tunnel of crap!

[weegoddess.livejournal.com]

::sigh:: Oh honey. You've been going through so much. Moving is always stressful but this sounds absurd. What do landlords care whether people are sharing a house or not?


There is something particularly wrenching about the process of packing to go from a place you've been happy.

This this THIS. Leaving Boston was one of the hardest things I've ever had to do. Luckily there were lovely folks like werenerd there to take me in, if even from a distance. You guys really made a difference for me and I daresay, a lot of other lost souls. ;-)

I wish had more to offer but support, sympathy and good vibes. But they are yours.

[emanix.livejournal.com]

This is why the landlords care: http://www.your-story.org/new-legislation-for-multiple-occupancy-homes-could-lead-to-rent-rises-warns-manor-lettings-158986/

And of course, rather than the regulations ACTUALLY making life safer for people in shared housing, it just means that the only people willing to rent to sharers are the dumb and the unscrupulous. Grr.

[emanix.livejournal.com]

I have just realised I need an 'angry' icon. I'm kindof proud of that though. I've never needed it before.

[tartful-dodger.livejournal.com]

There have to be more big houses than there are big families able to rent them. The fact is that it needs six professionals to be able to rent most six bedroom houses in London...they can't all shut up their doors over night. Those landlords still need to make money.

Don't give up hope, even though its hard. I.... how about apartments all within the same block or would that be ridiculously priced too?

Alternatively could you all claim to be cousins and partners or similar? I don't know if they check your family tree before determining whether you're family or not.

[theozzardofwiz.livejournal.com]

It's more the clause in the contract saying (approximately) "The information I have given is true to the best of my knowledge and belief." If you give false information and are found out, that's a breach of contract. The usual aftermath of that is "thanks very much, goodbye NOW, no please don't ask for your deposit back."

[emanix.livejournal.com]

Actually I did check up about that with the council, as we are a polyamorous group and do consider ourselves to be intentional family, and as such a single household. Apparently changes in the law as of 2004 preclude us being able to say so for more than two people, which I'm not too happy about. (Although the law does also say that we are able to consider live-in household staff as members of our household. Now that's a thought...)

E's suggestion was to make a DVD to take in to the council offices. "Yes, we're all in sexual relationships with each other, here's video evidence. NOW will you consider us a household?"

Also considering changing all of our last names to 'of Joy' by deed poll to imply that we're a family without actually having to give false information.

We can't afford separate apartments for all of us though, sadly it completely defeats the purpose of house sharing. :(

[blazingrowan.livejournal.com]

Sorry about the argh: thinking of you and the lovely house. xx

[conflux.livejournal.com]

If we can help let us know? As I think I mentioned I can help with moving stuff or putting people up while you get things sorted.

Sounds like the staff option might work. Would doing some work for E’s company do the trick? Or you could dress B up as a butler and A up as a maid...