to be a little bit hesitant about renting to DSS?

[traininglady]

Don't get me worng, I'm not flaming everyone who claims housing benefit, but I've had some terrible experiences recently and am wondering if I'm being over cautious?

We rent out a flat that we used to live in before we had dd and moved somewhere else. The first tenant we had was on housing benefit and always paid late, asked if she could decorate, I agreed in neutral colours only to find she painted BRIGHT RED!! She then proceeded to hand in her notice and move a month later.

Next tenant, again on HB, didn't even pay her rent when HB was being paid to her, we couldn't do anything until she was 8 weeks in arrears then the council paid it to us directly, they said we'd need to claim money back from her through court.

She proceeded to move in 2 dogs without even asking us, made a hughe mess of the place then handed her notice in promising to get up to date with rent and sort out flat.

When she came to move out and I mentioned that

1. The carpets were filthy
2. The house stank of dog wee
3. There were holes in cupboard doors and bannisters broken.
4. Still in arrears.

she basically said what did I expect her to do as she was on benefit and it was my problem.

AAAAARRRRRGGGGHHHH!!

It has taken my husband and I 2 weeks of scrubbing and redecorating (still not finished) so far to get the property in a decent state to let again, it just pisses me off so much that someone could have so little respect for something belonging to someone else that they work incredibly hard for.

The deposit service is now a legal requirement. It's to stop unscrupulous landlords squirreling away tenants' deposits and being 'awkward' about giving them back.

If we decide to go with agency, I'm sure they'll keep us right in terms of the deposit scheme etc. I'm beginning to think it's the best path to choose..

Make sure you get a deposit and a months rent in advance, HB pays a month in arrears and nowadays it can only go to the tenant if they are not in arrears.

Id not risk it, and i've been on HB myself but always had it paid to the landlord originally before it changed so stuck with that, Im now working full time though so have to pay it myself!

Yes, its very easy to set up, www.depositprotection.com or google DPS there are two types of scheme I think, if you look on your council website it will tell you more, I can't remember much about the other one.

Linerunner I have no idea what went wrong, I was heavily pregnant in the beginning and passed it to my family solicitor to deal with and rather stupidly told him I didn't want to be bothered with it, so I can't remember much of the reasons why it was delayed. I know the section 21 ended up being issued 3 times in total. Her eviction date was 6 dec 10, she wouldn't go, had to apply to courts etc the whole thing just took forever. She was to be evicted by court appointed bailiffs and left the house that morning before they came. Also managed to find myself with a second solicitor - a litigation specialist appointed by my family solicitor - I'm still not really sure how that came about!

I am not a landlord and wouldn't rent to DSS. The chances of getting a bad tenant is higher if they are DSS in my opinion.

They sound like shit tennants, nowt to do with HB.

Refences, meet with prospective tennants, base your decision on the individual not on the method of payment. In special circamstances, the council with sometimes pay direct to LL - but you have to be aware of the (ridiculous) way HB is paid.

Whilst I can understand previous crappy experiences discouraging you, please don't turn someone down purely because of HB. I am an awesome tennant, for example ;-)

Be stricter with your tenancy agreement, and arrange visits ever X months to make sure you are satisfied with the state of things.

Both the tenants you mention were female. Maybe you should never rent to a woman again? Or maybe you should do something novel and unprejudiced like get references from previous landlords, or not allow people to redecorate, or interview people so you know if they are nutjobs. But hey, it's easier just to be a bigot, right?

Also ffs get people to set up a direct debit to pay rent. It's not the 1950s.

YANBU to feel 'a bit hesitant' but I think if you focus on the person, whether private or DSS, and make sure you're clear on the rules, you'll feel in a stronger position to make a decision.

References - I always ask for two; one character, one financial (demonstrating ability to pay). The latter could be from an employer, or with DSS, could be from a previous landlord (as character would usually be - reliability etc). Always ask for a reference from the previous, not current landlord, as the latter may be keen to get rid of problem tenants. Follow up the references.

Meet them - I'd always recommend meeting prospective tenants yourself. You can get a sense of whether people seem trustworthy or not and I've found that early impressions are usually quite accurate. I think establishing a good relationship is important and that if you both know the other is basically ok, things stand a good chance of working.

Deposit - I've always asked for more than one month's rent (about 1.5) as, if someone decides not to pay the final month's rent, you've nothing left to cover any repairs. This is tricky with DSS as tenants may not have funds available. Some Councils run schemes with 'bonds' covering a month's rent - worth looking into. A tenant might be able to find the additional portion themselves.

Payment in arrears - this is I think the big down side with DSS and is about the system not the person. The problem is that by the time someone fails to pay their rent they are already a month behind. If you then give a month's notice you've lost two month's rent before they leave. With a private tenant, paying in advance, this wouldn't happen.

Letting agents - depends on your circumstances of course. Personally I have a low opinion of letting agents from both landlord and tenant perspectives and think they charge a lot for very little.

So essentially, my advice is set your own standards and make these clear to any prospective tenant. Know how the system works and decide whether you're willling to accept the inbuilt disadvantage of the DSS approach (arrears). It might be worth it if this brings more interest, so gives you a wider choice of tenants.

do you lot really refer to groups of human beings as "DSS" or "not DSS" ?

< struggles to locate twinge of sympathy >

No af, but speakin for myself, if I am talking about potential renters then I say dss or private because it makes a difference. Not as I said earlier, because one is good and one bad, but because the process is very different.

another question: If the HB system were supremely reliable, fast and efficient and rent paid directly to you, would you be so wary of 'DSS' tenants?

I hope it's not because they're more likely to be 'bad' tenants. For every 'skank' there's a family who have lost their jobs and house.

Not read all the responses. I have rented as someone claiming housing benefit and someone earning an above average salary and renting a large house in a desirable area for quite a high rent. I know they would not offer this house to someone on benefit and in some ways that is right as it is expensive.

However in terms of caring for your house I am the same person. In fact I would say my home was tidier and cleaner when I was unemployed because I had more time to do housework.

I know when we were a landlord we could not rent out to people on benefits. I think this was because of our mortgage agreement .

hully, I don't have an issue or an opinion on renters of either payment source

but would it be just too difficult for people to type "private renters" or "people in receipt of housing benefit" ?

it sounds very dehumanising to say a blunt "DSS" to describe what i presume are families made of women, men and children or any combination thereof

perhaps some of these problems are self-fulfilling ?

just a thought...

I suspect paying a letting agent gives you some security . We have a house inspection every few months .

Using a letting agent gives NO security. If you get a good agent it's great, but keep an eye on them because there are some absolute piss takers out there.
Some security comes from Landlords insurance, a landlord's forum would be a good place to look for recommendations. However, most landlords insurance only covers you if the tenants are employed.

Thanks Pekka where did that great nugget of wisdom spring from.
We are currently on HB and probably will be for some time as our son is disabled and I am going to Uni soon. We are reliable and we would always pay our rent ontime

I would have thought just the experience and authority of your letting agent would help.

As tenants we have been asked for personal and professional references as well as giving references from previous landlords. We have handed over a deposit of thousands and as I said we have a house inspection every few months . We also had credit checks carried out.

I know when we were landlords we were not as thorough and paid the price.

Pekka there are just people who are twats, I don't think it has anything to do with being on benefits. I have been at both ends of the spectrum and suspect I was a better tenant when I was unemployed.

I am curious... Who gives a fuck where the money is coming from as long as the rent is paid?
So I work and pay my rent, so far so good, now I'm on maternity so I apply for HB to supplement my low wages, ooh grey area, now I'm on IS as can't manage the hours with nine month old, entitled to full HB... Right don't do DSS tenants Happydog, you and your skank kid get out, out, out!

Me and dp are on HB as he lost his job and is now undergoing serious treatment for a hip disease.

Our HB goes directly to our LL, however he's a private LL who approached HA. Tbh I think were bloody good tenants, the house is cleaner and in better repair than we moved in!

But that said with your previous experience I see why we ended up homeless for so long, some people are animals.

Protect yourself.

Wibbly, a direct debit is only open to an institution with a heck of a lot of financial power. You need a BACS ref etc. A standing order means that you tell what/how much is paid. Little is of much value as either can be cancelled by the account holder at moment's notice.

"people in receipt of housing benefit" ?

or

dss

shorthand every time, espec on MN, land of acronyms.

I do understand your point of course, but (for me) it is just shorthand, not dehumanisation. I even rent to dss...ooo get me!

"Wibbly, a direct debit is only open to an institution with a heck of a lot of financial power."

I work for a tiny agency, I'm one of 5 including the Y11 Saturday girl. We set up standing orders for LL's so they get their rent. You can also get insurance so that if the tenant doesn't pay, you still get your money (think it's pretty reasonable on policies covering up to six months, more expensive on longer periods)

And, OP, you wouldn't be alone in specifying No HB - although be careful about a generic No Benefits as DLA, Carer's Allowance, Child and Working Tax Credits are all Benefits!