How do you know if a letting agent will accept housing benefit?

[hurt86]

Excuse the silly question but I've just separated from dh and seen a house I live on property pal, dh still pays the rent on the house I'm in just now (army) but as it's tied to his job I need to be out soon.

Do you apply for housing benefit then look at houses or do you get a house then apply, is it normal to message them asking them if they take housing benefit or is it none of their business 😕

You get the tenancy agreement and then apply. Most people can't make a new claim for housing benefit, so it would be part of universal credit.

You need to ask the letting agency is they take benefits.

england.shelter.org.uk/housing_advice/benefits/how_to_rent_when_a_landlord_wont_accept_housing_benefit

Have a chat with the agent, but it's up to the landlord rather than the agent. There are clauses in the mortgage and in landlord's insurance that prohibits letting to UC or HB recipients. As part of due diligience they will check affordability so you would have to disclose this. It is very much down to risk, and many landlords like me are risk averse. As it stands at present there is a substantially higher risk to let to HB or UC recipients.

So I couldn't not tell them I'm planning on claiming once I've rented the house? I know that sounds sneaky but i'm not sure how to do this.

If I offered a higher deposit (say £1000) savings I have does it make me more attractive to them?

Phone the agent and ask them.
There's always an agent locally who accepts housing benefit tenants, and every other agency knows who it is, and is generally happy to let you know.

Phone and ask them if they accept. I find they usually state in the advert if they don't accept it, not always but most do.

Its not always the letting agent who have the restrictions, its normally the mortgage company of the owner who state no benefits

Sometimes the local council have a list of landlord that will accept housing benefit.

I found lots of agents won’t

There is now a legal limit on the amount that can be taken for a deposit which is i believe 5 weeks of the rent, so that is not going to help. It would be worthwhile having a chat with the housing and homelessness team at your local authority who may have a duty to assist you through practical advice. Regarding being sneaky, this isn't a good idea and you would be wasting people's time if you are not upfront, because as I said earlier, you will not pass the affordability checks and due diligence that a good agent carries out on behalf of the landlord.

You could try not telling them but most letting agents will do affordability and referencing checks to make sure you can afford to rent the property so the truth will likely come out.
Unfortunately the vast majority of letting agents will not rent to those claiming HB.
Your local council will have a list of those agencies that do but the properties are limited and often not great because they know people on HB can’t be picky.
Have a look at affordable rent schemes in your area too. I know Hyde Housing have some new builds which they rent at cheaper rates to low income families but again they are limited.

If I offered a higher deposit (say £1000) savings I have does it make me more attractive to them?
Probably not. I had to give my sister 7k to cover 6 months of rent in advance before anyone would rent to her.
She was fleeing domestic violence and was homeless, no one was interested.

www.hyde-housing.co.uk/rent/ affordable rent scheme.