looking for advice - first time renter, disabled, can't work and on benefits, looking for a 1-bedroom place in a city center. what are my chances?

looking for some advice. for the last 20-odd years i have been living at home with my family in a very rural village in Devon; this has had a hugely detrimental effect on my development and upbringing (the lack of opportunities and public transport, extremely limited social life, plus living with/having visits from a bullying family member and being unable to meaningfully escape). now that i’m in my late 20s and have recognised the impact of all this especially on my mental health, it’s time to fly the nest as soon as possible, and i’m set upon Exeter as the place for me to start a new life. however, there’s a few caveats, requirements, would-be-nices, etc, which i present here:

  • i want to move into a 1 bedroom flat in central Exeter (maybe 2 bedrooms if any such properties are affordable in my means, so i could use the second room as a hobby room, but i could settle with a spacious enough living room for that purpose instead - beggars choosers etc). i ideally want somewhere central because i can’t drive, and it has to be Exeter because it’s where my friends live, and my friends mean a lot to me.
  • i do not want to move into a HMO, houseshare etc - definitely not with strangers, and all my friends are already accounted for with their own flatshares/rental situations. i really just want to live on my own if i can, for the freedom, independence and responsibility it will grant me.
  • i am long-term disabled physically, am autistic and have some history of mental illness (although my physical disability requires no accommodations to be made to living spaces).
  • because of my disabilities i cannot work and have not ever done so - i am currently on Universal Credit with the LCWRA/disability rate, and PIP with the higher daily living rate. combining this with the UC local housing rate, which i would recieve upon moving out, my total monthly benefits would be approx £1930 a month or £23,160 a year.
  • i have never rented before and have never had a credit card, and so i have no history in either of those areas - which i understand may be a drawback when it comes to the referencing stage of an application.
  • my retired parents own the family home outright, and either one of them would be able to act as my guarantor, with savings/pension income each of approx £80,000 - this would certainly be enough to cover the 30-times-rent income thresholds for many of the properties i’ve seen listings of in Exeter.
  • i don’t smoke or have any pets (the family dog stays behind at home!).
  • if it means anything in terms of affordability, my living expenses would not include streaming services, car costs or gym membership (the latter two for the same reason - Exeter is a very walkable city).
  • i have applied for Devon Home Choice (the local council housing scheme), but am regarded as a low priority candidate and the properties there are in even shorter supply and higher demand than private rentals.

i know i’m far from the ideal tenant (although i certainly consider myself domestically tidy and reliable with payments, especially with direct debits) and that this is likely to be an uphill struggle in a particularly competitive urban housing market, especially with the Renters Rights Bill making things trickier for new tenants to get a foothold (if a bit more secure for existing ones). is there any advice or recommendations that can be given to someone in my situation and with my desires and requirements, especially when it comes to succeeding at the application stage? don’t let me down easy, be honest about my chances or if i'm being hopelessly unrealistically naïve - but at the same time, if there is any chance at all of getting the life i want, i want to take it with everything i’ve got. it's what i need to do if i want any chance of being a real human being who exists in the real world.

Posted May 5, 2026, 5:23 PM UTC

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