Some background info. I'm 28 years old. In my early – mid 20's I was a mess. I got too in to partying in college and unfortunately when college ended, the party didn't for me. I developed a full blown drug addiction, spending 6 years getting high every day, doing whatever I could to get money to feed my habits. This included instant payday loans. I have about 6 of them on my credit report and unfortunately it's brought my credit down to 430.

Two years ago I was living on my own renting a single bedroom in Oshawa. My parents had all but abandoned me, as did the rest of my family. I was dealing just to support my use and honestly, I had given up on the idea of having a normal life.

Then I met her (my now girlfriend). She saw me for who I really was. She didn't treat me like everyone else in my life at the time had. She showed me nothing but compassion and support, I fell in love very quickly. She had a 4 year old daughter (now 6), who I agreed to meet.

Once the little one came in to my life, she clung to me. Her father was an abusive piece of shit and was not a part of either of their lives. As much as I'd like to say I chose her and her mother to be by my side, the little one really chose me. She changed my life. They were both living with my girlfriend's parent's house at the time and honestly it was not an appropriate environment to raise a child. My girlfriend and her mother had a power struggle for who the authoritative figure in the little one's life was. I offered to move them in to an apartment with me (Markham 3 bdrm basement for $1850/month, was an under the table arrangement with the homeowners who posted the listing on Facebook) while she finished her last year of university because it was a better situation for everyone.

First I stopped dealing. Then I got clean. After about a year, I got out of the toxic industry I was working in (restaurants, both bartending and cooking at a high level. The industry was also ravaged by covid and made it hard for me to support the three of us) and found a career in a niche area of General Contracting with great pay, benefits, RRSP, etc.

The amount I saw the little one progress so quickly being with just her mother and I daily and out of the negative, often hostile situation at my girlfriend's parents house was incredible and made all of the financial setbacks of supporting the three of us on one income worth it. I'd do it again in a heartbeat if I had to.

Now, after a year and a half in our basement apartment, it's time for a change. The landlord who owns the home lives upstairs with his family. They are incredibly disrespectful, having family over for large parties often with no notice, disturbing my daughter's sleep. When I ask them to watch the noise or give us notice of having company, I'm met with snarky comments like "sorry for having my family over in my house". They have flooded us three times in the last year, destroying over $200 in value of her toys and coloring books, leaving her heartbroken, while taking no responsibility. It's no longer a positive environment for her.

Now that my girlfriend is working full time and we both have a steady income, I figured we should find a townhouse or condo to rent to regain some privacy and get our daughter in to an environment that facilitates growth.

We're both so busy with work and our daughter that we decided to go through a realtor. With my credit (430) and her lack of much credit history (578 score) we had her dad sign on as a guarantor (855 credit). We've spent the last month doing viewings, being hopeful, offering three months rent upfront with a guarantor, rent over asking price, proof of income, reference letters, etc. But no one will bat an eye at us. Our budget is about $2500/mo. The fact is there are candidates who can offer what we offer with better credit and no guarantor.

We have about 60 days until we have to leave where we're at. I didn't realize how badly my credit score, despite most issues being 3-5 years in the past, would affect us. I've ordered a secured credit card in the meantime. I don't have the money to clear all of the depts ($7k or so, I also failed a consumer proposal during my addiction which is posted as well) while supporting my family so honestly I just have to wait for them to fall off my report.

I feel awful for who I was and how it's affecting us now, and I wish I could change it.

What are my real options here? I toyed with the idea of making this post for a while but kept hope we'd find something eventually. I'm feeling pretty defeated here and I don't want to let them down.

Thanks in advance.