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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To want to move house? It's f***ing impossible.

93 replies

MyDogShitsMoney · 06/07/2012 18:52

I'm renting and want to move as the house I'm in is starting to need a fair bit of maintsoenance. (damp issues, wiring problems, garden wall falling down, kitchen tap broken.....)

The problem is every single fecking advert says no housing benefit. Every single one. WHY?

Surely a Landlord would be happier with HB as it means guaranteed payment?

I do work as well but only part time so since stbXh left I have to claim a little help.

My credit history is absolutely fine, I keep my house immaculately, I have never once been even a day late paying the rent and I have great references from 2 landlords from houses I have lived in for 4 and 6 years respectively to prove it.

Yet just because I no longer have a husband I'm not deemed worthy of renting a little 2 bedroom house. Anywhere.

I'm so fucking pissed off. I just want a nice little home for me and my son. Is that really too much to ask?

OP posts:
Original poster
MyDogShitsMoney · 07/07/2012 00:15

That's really kind but I'm in the North West I'm afraid, near the border. Good to know about the guarantor thing, never had to have one before so glad it doesn't sound too complicated!

I'll have a proper look at the link in the morning, thank you.

OP posts:
Original poster
MyDogShitsMoney · 07/07/2012 00:29

I mean North East obv Blush

OP posts:
emmieging · 07/07/2012 07:35

Sometimes it's a restriction in the mortgage terms and the landlord can't.

Im beginning to feel sorry for landlords- according to many MN threads, they are either evil bastards who won't consider HB tenants OR they are greedy bastards who keep rents high by Raking it in from HB tenants! Seems they can't win. I imagine many private landlords nowadays are ordinary people who have had to move for work/ family reasons and can't sell. They aren't all well off, I expect many are just covering their mortgage with the rent

KazzaRazza · 07/07/2012 08:59

Sometimes you can be as nice as you like but the landlord has to say no.

Most of the big buy to let lenders, BM Solutions (part of the Lloyds group), Woolwich, Aldermore, Godiva (part of Coventry Building Society), to name a few, make it a condition of the mortgage that you cannot rent to DSS/HB claimants.

If the landlord knowingly lets a property to a DSS/HB claimant then they are in breach of their mortgage conditions.

Know this isn't what you want to hear.

CrikeyOHare · 07/07/2012 11:00

Please don't assume that going direct to the landlord means you'll get an inferior property and a dodgy lease - that's simply not the case.

All leases, whoever provides them, are governed by the law - there's simply no difference between one given by a LL & one given by an agent. And, here's the thing, you STILL have an implied contract even if your new LL doesn't actually give you a lease. The law is very, very strict about such matters so your concerns in this direction are unfounded.

I live in a flat that I rented directly from the landlord - he had a big sign in the front window. It's a conversion that's recently undergone a full and complete makeover - video entry, concealed lighting, brand new kitchen with integrated, top quality appliances etc etc.

Although I'm thankfully back in work now, I was on full HB when I moved in and the LL was perfectly fine about it. He was even willing to accept fortnightly payments so that I could pass the rent on to him as soon as I got it rather than hang onto it and then pay monthly.

You are massively limiting yourself by assuming you'll get a better deal all round by going via an agent. You won't. Plus - you'll have to pay all of their admin fees on top of your deposit. I would never, ever go via an agent.

Cheriefroufrou · 07/07/2012 11:02

I agree with Crikey, most people I know who rent their homes started renting them through an agent and got "bitten" either by them doing shoddy maintenance or not acting on non payers etc

so now they look for the right person themselves, and TBH they now rely more on gut feeling than anything else since their box ticker agent tennants were so terrible

Original poster
MyDogShitsMoney · 07/07/2012 12:51

Thanks for all your help, I really do appreciate it. Not sure where to look for a private landlord tbh but I'll definitely keep my eyes open.

Please don't fell sorry for landlords though. That's incredibly naive and tactless.

I don't in any way think they are all loaded but they're not the ones having to pay someone for the privilege of being allowed to live in someone else's house.

To never ever feel secure in their home. To know that however "nice" the LL seems they could still call tomorrow and ask you to leave no matter how good a tenant you are. Yes the law may not agree with them but can you imagine how uncomfortable and unpleasant it would be to know they want you out?

To know that although the LL is legally obliged to maintain the property you really are at their whim because if they don't do it you're terrified that they'll decided to sell up if you badger them?

I don't for one minute think that being a LL is a bed of roses but I know which side has all the control.

I also know which one is going to have the better retirement. I will pay rent til the day I die, a fact I spend a lot of time putting out of my mind.

Sorry, rant over Blush

Just not feeling much "sympathy" with LL's right now!

I genuinely appreciate all the advice Thanks

OP posts:
Cheriefroufrou · 07/07/2012 13:00

there's no security in being a LL either, you are at the mercy of your tennants paying up on time, if they don't you can't pay your mortgage/rent! its very scary! I'm glad we didn't have to do it, now we just have to rely on ourselves to go to work and earn money to pay for our home, if we'ld rented we'ld have always felt that we were always just one feckless tennant away from being completely stuffed, and all the while we would have been RENTING someone elses (smaller less nice) property.

All my friends who rent out homes they own, also are tennants in the homes they live in!

These days you don't have the options you used to, you can't "just sell" easily if you have to move, so you end up handing over your home and just crossing everything!

Cheriefroufrou · 07/07/2012 13:02

so if the tennants don't pay their rent, the landlords can't pay theirs.. so in cases where LLs don't own the one they live in their tennants actually have more potential to stuff up the LLs life then the other way round

CrikeyOHare · 07/07/2012 13:03

I am in exactly the same boat as you, I will always have to rent unless I marry a millionaire or win the lottery. And it is insecure when all is said and done.

What pisses me off is that I am paying more in rent than I would if I had a mortgage on the same property. Why the government can't look at this I don't know - could they not act as guarantors for people on HB to get a mortgage? Even funded through HB they'd save money - and give you, me & our kids some security.

Grrrr.

Good luck. Keep looking, you'll find something.

Cheriefroufrou · 07/07/2012 13:09

I think rent always has to be more than mortgage, otherwise noone could afford to rent their homes and cover gaps between tennants and clean ups after bad ones and maintenance and ground rent and non payers and legal action etc

CrikeyOHare · 07/07/2012 13:10

Just to add - it's actually is scary to be a landlord.

A tenant could move in, pay the first months rent - and nothing else. The LL has to wait until rent is 2 months late before he can do anything. He will then have to approach the courts and it'll be another 8 weeks or so before he gets a date for a hearing. Then the tenant is told to get out in 2 weeks, but if they don't the LL then has to instruct a bailiff which usually takes another 8-10 weeks.

It can take about 6 months to get a non paying tenant out. And, if they're on benefits then the court may tell them to pay back the amount they owe at £1.50 a week or something stupid.

The scenario is not rare - happens all the time.

So, life is not a bed of roses for either side.

Cheriefroufrou · 07/07/2012 13:12

"The scenario is not rare - happens all the time."

from the friends I know who've rented out their only property (while paying rent somewhere else) it seems to happen at a rate of roughly 1 in 4 tennants being wrong 'uns

CrikeyOHare · 07/07/2012 13:13

Yes Cherie, but that's not really the point I was making. If I can afford to pay rent I can afford to pay a mortgage which would surely be the best thing all round. The govt. need to look at that - in my opinion.

Of course rent will always be more for the reasons you have stated.

CrikeyOHare · 07/07/2012 13:13

Er yes - and that's quite a high proportion. Terrible odds if you're a landlord.

Cheriefroufrou · 07/07/2012 13:15

hmm but owning costs more than that, when you rent (As I've done most my life) you just pay rent and bill, when you own there's always £££s here and £££s there in unexpected stuff and maintenance etc so you need a much much larger rainy day fund

I get what you're saying about affordability, but IMO you need to add up all the other expenses of owning before you can compaire, you can't do a straight comparison of rent + bills Vs mortgage + bills, that's not accurate at all

Cheriefroufrou · 07/07/2012 13:20

our home has cost us thousands, I'ld say at least 4k in verious urgent repairs etc and about 3K in maintenance so far and we haven't been in it that long, we are now facing a bill of hundreds for an item of maintenance, which if not done will damage the building (and our capacity to ever sell or rent it if we need to ) as it's causing damp, the price'll add up the longer we leave it as it'll get worse and worse, we've put it off as long as we can already!

Mortgage companies want to know that you have enough money to upkeep the building so it keeps its value for them

maddening · 07/07/2012 13:21

we're thinking of letting our cottage out so we can rent elsewhere so we can have another baby (in negative equity) and have been wondering why some ll don't accept hb (as trying to decide what we should do with our property).

one letting agency we saw said if we allowed hb tenants then they have to have a guarantor for their lease which adds some protection- maybe see if some agencies do that near you?

Megan74 · 07/07/2012 13:22

I am a landlord and the reasons we don't take HB is primarily because it's a condition of the mortgage not to but also the insurance would be much more. Also I have been told HB is paid in arrears, if you want to take the flat back and the person can't get some where else privatley and go to the council for a property the council will advise the tenant to stay in the property until they are forced out following court proceedings. This is expensive and can take a long time.It is generally considered HB tenants are more likely to not pay or cause problems.I know that is unfair in your case but the fact insurance is higher suggests some truth to it. As a LL you are also at the mercy of whatever HB the coucnil pay which given the current climate could change.

The bit about the LL having to pay HB back only applies I believe if HB is paid directly to the LL which in most cases it isn't.

What most LL want is relaible tenants who want to stay long term. So, if I were you I would try and find the ads without agents so you are calling the LL (even if it says no HB) and tell them your history, your references and you want to stay long term. Even invite them to your current property.I have to say if someone like you called me I would definitley consider it even though I normally say no HB. Definitley call,not email. You will come across better on the phone. Good luck.

CrikeyOHare · 07/07/2012 13:23

Yes - the one bonus when you're renting is that you can just call someone when the boiler breaks down or whatever.

Unless you have a LL like the OPs who appears to do very little maintenance.

Bills are the same whether you're renting or own. There may be added things like insurance & maintenance, but that would probably be covered by the fact that the mortgage repayment is less than the rent would be.

The vast majority of us would prefer to rent rather than own, I believe. If I ended up paying slightly more per month for the security of knowing that I don't have a LL who can kick me out or sell up, or whatever.

But that's just me.

Cheriefroufrou · 07/07/2012 13:31

I know I HATED renting and had terrible land lords who did nothing (including leaving a room unusable so we all had to sleep in one room because there was a HOLE in the roof that you could actually see out of, but it wasn't urgent it could wait till he got loads of quotes! Hmm) Also had to move all the time cause landlords kept selling/converting so had no security

but I'm just saying that they're not comparable expenses if you just think in terms of rent vs mortgage

owning costs WAY more than just the mortgage and bills, way way more, so where you might be able to afford a rent of £500/month, a mortgage of £400/month could easily cut it too fine! (I know they're not typical values)

Its in mortgage lenders interests to be satisfied that you keep up the value of the property so they don't want to lend unless you have spare cash to do that after paying the mortgage

Original poster
MyDogShitsMoney · 07/07/2012 13:47

All good arguments for and against, all very valid.

The single remaining fact though is that the LL owns a house.
The tenant doesn't.

OP posts:
Cheriefroufrou · 07/07/2012 13:50

"The single remaining fact though is that the LL owns a house.
The tenant doesn't."

these days loads of tennants own a house SOMEWHERE, they just cant work and live there and can't sell it and have to pay for it even though someone else has the use of it

its aften more of an albatros round your neck than a source of security

Cheriefroufrou · 07/07/2012 13:52

I don't know why anyone in their right mind would CHOOSE to be a LL TBH, it used to be mostly buy to let people but these days there are way more to let properties that were the LLs ex home

Serenitysutton · 07/07/2012 14:01

The issue is slightly different to a working person now paying the rent. A working person, can in theory, afford the rent. Someone on HB can't; so when that £280 lands in their bank account the temptation is higher than it would usually be to spend it on something else. Of course many people just pay it over as agreed, but many won't and don't.