Private renting whilst receiving UC

[PinkBird76]

I posted this on the Property/DIY board yesterday and only received one response. Hoping I’ll receive a few more comments on the Chat board.

Name changed for this post.

Bit of a backstory, I was homeless in 2020 whilst pregnant and instead of staying in temporary accommodation long term, the council helped house me in a private property. They paid the deposit and in return, the LL was happy to accept someone who was on UC. I moved into the property in 2021.

Fast forward to now and due to issues with the LL and a persistent rodent problem, we have to move house soon. I now have 2 children (1&2 year old) and they both have a disability/additional needs. Despite being a carer, I just about manage to work 2 days a week and receive UC too. We receive an additional bedroom allowance because of DS’ disability which means that the LHA is covered by UC. I don’t need to top it up at all.

It is practically impossible to find a suitable property that will accept someone on UC. I have a strong reference from the current EA which highlights the fact that I’ve never been late with a rent payment and have always paid the full amount. I’ve never been in arrears. I have a bloody guarantor and that’s still not enough.

My monthly wage is about £700.
UC is around £3100.
DLA is just under £600.
Child Benefit is £160.
Their dad gives me £400 a month too.
That’s £4960 a month.

I can understand that LL’s don’t want to rely on DLA/CB/Maintenance but I don’t understand what else I need to do to show that I can pay the rent. UC will cover the whole rent and it’s still an issue.

Does anyone have any advice on what I can do/say to show that I’m a reliable tenant. Just because I’m on UC does not mean that I’m going to be an awful tenant that messes up their house. Unfortunately, I’m not in a position to provide 6 months rent upfront as that would be about £10k. I’d really appreciate hearing from other single mums/parents that have rented whilst receiving UC. Thanks

Are they even allowed benefits claimants with the mortgage they have?

Your monthly income is equivalent to a £65k wage. Is this for real?

Landlords do not generally accept those relying on benefits.

😮

Are you on the council list to be rehomed ? Have you reported the rodent problem to the council? You'd be better trying to get social housing for your needs. Unfortunately as you're finding, private rental now is a nightmare, quite apart from the affordability side, many landlords prefer no children.

There's very little social housing available

It’s more than that, it’s around £75k.

This has to be a joke, if not it’s no wonder people are annoyed about the benefit system.

Are you able to save on the 5k a month?

Maybe LL’s are concerned that on such a good take home income you can’t pay 6 months rent upfront?

Do you have any savings?

Is the rent £1650 a month? Even 3 months upfront may help you get in a property.

I have to admit when I was an accidental LL in the 2008 crash my specification was working couple, no children and no benefits. I never had an issue finding tenants.

I think LL who are professional and target the UC market are out there I was not one of them.

It's likely to be mostly high rent and childcare

It was a three bed semi in Manchester.

The additional elements that I receive on UC are due to having two disabled children and being registered as a carer. DLA and maintenance bumps up the monthly amount I receive. I mean, if you want to begrudge a single parent with two disabled toddlers then go ahead.

I’m on the council’s housing list and on Band B. I do have priority on some flats due to the nature of my son’s disability but there’s hardly any council properties available. I can save on the 5K but only enough for a deposit and first months rent. I was ideally looking to hear from others who have been in a similar situation and wondered how they were able to secure a rental property. NOT to be bashed

I'm not begrudging benefits to people who need them. It sounds like you do. But it does irk me that you have more than me and my partner combined and we work and have 3 kids.

Have you tried to see if your council has a private renting team if so they may have access to landlords that accept you. Might also be worth setting out your income for any estate agents and looking for landlords that rent directly. Good luck

If you think it’s so great just quit your jobs and go on benefits.

Op will have additional costs due to her kids being disabled. Why would you envy that?

@Overthebow I'm glad benefits are there for people but £75K! I can only dream. Me and my partner are way below this. Combined.

You are band B .... why are you not accepting the flats offered to you?

I don’t begrudge you benefits and you caring for your disabled children is much cheaper than them being cared for in a state institution.

I think you have to accept only specialized landlords will consider UC tenants. LL’s like I was just want an easy life waiting til the market picks up again. I wasn’t in it to make a living just ride out the financial downturn in property.

The letting agent we hired had the ‘no benefit’ tenant policy in place so we just went with that as we lived abroad for the years we rented out our house. We specified no children, smoking or pets too.

After 10 years we realized we never wanted to be LL ever again and sold the house.

Just keep looking and hope for a council property.

There was a post on here earlier this week saying lots of landlords were saying ' no, not suitable for children'

Op you should have just said that uc will cover your rent.

What has been done to stop the rodent problem? Have you contacted environmental health ?

75k and no real pension, no opportunity to own her own home as not earning enough and won’t get UC if she owns, plus two children with disabilities… a bulk of this may stop or will go to the children when they come of age, and what will OP do then? It’s shortsighted to think she’s living her best life especially when she is living one step away from homelessness right now, and even closer in later life. And despite all of this I think it’s commendable she still manages to hold a part time job.

And? Like I said , most of it is rent and childcare

I wish people would stop posting threads like this, brings out all the bashing

Do you have three disabled children?

OK, so I think you skirted over the moving problem.
Have you been told to leave, or have you decided to leave?
Landlords very, very, very rarely accept social tenants, despite your income being very high.

What I'd do, in your position, is if the landlord hasn't expressed a want for you to leave, it try and tackle the rodent issue myself, to keep a roof over the families head.
Then I would set about saving and seeing if there was anywhere near that did shared ownership properties and see if I could get one of those.

Your rent portion will be covered, you'll have a stable tenancy for tge rest of your life and rent can only increase about 2% per year.

You will be liable for most repairs, but on your income you should be OK. I think there is now some sort of help towards repairs in the first 5 years, upto £400 per year or something, but I wouldn't be concerned about that, more the stability that it can offer.

How is this bashing? I just gave information about when I was a landlord. I’m not bashing OP. Just offering her my perspective as an ex LL.

OP’s rent and childcare is 2k and her take home is nearly 5k I don’t think suggesting OP could save on this to get her family in a better position whether rent upfront or deposit for shared ownership is bashing.

The reality is most LL’s don’t rent to UC tenants no matter what their income is.

Is moving immediately necessary or can you hold off for a few months to save an up front down payment?

When I had to start private renting on UC I found the only thing that worked for me was paying 3 months down up front. I had to stay at a friend's house and save and in contrast I get just over 18k on UC and PIP combined for me (I'm disabled), and 3 children, no maintenance. I don't begrudge you the income you are getting (although I have to admit the massive difference in benefits income between us both is pretty confusing and I don't understand how it's worked out but whatever that's not your problem), but surely if you stay put a little longer you could save up rent upfront on 75k even with your childcare costs etc,? I think that's what I would do. As soon as I started ringing people saying I could pay up front for 3 months and had a guarantor landlords were more open to me being on UC I found.