to think that not considering renting to people on housing benefit is really unfair?

[whattimestea]

If i am being unreasonable then fair enough-if people can explain why then that might help me see things with more perspective and stop me feeling so down and disheartened by everything at the minute.

Basically due to changes to my families circumstances and also to the benefits system as it stands we have no choice but to look for cheaper rental accommodation. That's ok, not disputing that. The problem is that although we're on our housing association list, local council list - of landlords that have registered with them - there is literally nothing that we are eligible for. With local housing agency's tho and estate agents there are about twenty properties in the area that are within the price and spec that we need. BUT we can't get within a sniff of these as they all say 'no housing benefit/DSS. Why is this that without so much as meeting a person you can be completely excluded from even enquiring about a property?

We have rented from our current landlord for 11 years-have never missed a weeks rent (have only claimed HB for previous 9 months). We can provide a guarantor if needed, a deposit, and as many references as required. But it makes no difference they just don't want to know.

I understand from others that certain mortgages and insurance that landlords have on rentals state that they cannot let to benefits claimants? How is this fair to state that the way a person receives their income can make them illegible for housing? You wouldn't be able to state on an advert for a house rental 'will not rent to members of the armed forces/plumbers/shopworkers etc would you? Or would you?!

If after reading replies i see how i am being unreasonable then so be it! Just feeling very demoralised at the moment - like Im banging my head against a brick wall with it all! For the record - my family would be lovely, reliable, trouble free tenants!

[ProudAS]

Not sure what part of the country you're in OP but maybe check this out.

www.gumtree.com/flats-and-houses-for-rent/uk/dss+welcome

[whattimestea]

Thanks proudAS but already looked. Only 2 houses listed that meet our needs and nearest one to me is Newcastle - about a 2 hour drive! I'll keep checking tho.

[dreamingbohemian]

YANBU

It's bad enough you can't get a flat in the first place if you claim. I think it's disgusting that you can get evicted if you need to claim temporarily, even if you're a good tenant in every other way. They should really put some regulations on that so that the insurance companies can't compel that.

What's going to happen when Universal Credit comes in? HB will be lumped with everything else. I don't see how people can say no UC, that includes everyone on tax credits now, it's a huge number of people.

[TheNebulousBoojum]

Can anyone think of any advantages for a LL renting to someone on HB or DSS bnefits, as opposed to tenants who are not?

[whattimestea]

Not all of us are unreliable, house trashing, destructive, rent-thieving nutjobs. Some of us just want a home and a quiet normal life to raise our families. That's a good reason, no?

[CloudsAndTrees]

Hotcrosbum, you would only have to refuse to move out if you want teh council to house you. If you are prepared to find another private let, then it won't affect you. The thing is that council housing waiting lists are so long, they refuse to give you a place to live if you have become 'voluntarily homeless'. You count as being voluntarily homeless if you leave a rented property without being evicted, even if you are overstaying your contract and are unable to pay the rent.

It's ridiculous, but it's another reason that makes anyone claiming HB a higher risk tenant.

Bernadette, you really are talking out of your backside unfortunately. It's not a case of doing the right thing instead of the easy thing. You don't seem to see that what you consider to be the right thing, will actually cost a ll a huge amount of money and place them at a massive financial risk. Therefore the right thing for them and their own family, is to lower the risk that they will lose a significant amount of money.

[CloudsAndTrees]

There would be an advantage to renting to someone on HB if councils would guarantee that landlords will get payment, but they won't. They want the money to go through the claimant, which is understandable, but it also means that landlords are at risk of not having that money passed onto them.

Not all claimants will be unreliable about paying rent, obviously, but the fact is that enough claimants are unreliable enough that they all become a statistically higher risk group.

[eggsandwich]

having a guarantor does'nt mean anything! we rented our flat out, and the tenant's mother was his guarantor, when he decided to stop paying the rent, his mother couldn't be contacted then we later found out she had left the country, so be aware. Housing benefit is often paid direct to the tenant and not the landlord which can cause problems if a tenant does'nt then pay their rent.

[Viviennemary]

You are certainly not unreasonable to be annoyed with this situation. I don't like private landlords cashing in and making a mint. But I suppose they just think that with all the rule changes and supposed cuts there is no guarantee the tenants will be able to pay the rent. But a person could lose their job and be in the same situation. So yes it is unfair. But in future with UC rent the HB will be included in the benefit and not paid directly to the landlord. Show will a landlord even know whether the tenants are on housing benefit or not.

[hotcrosbum]

Clouds, I see, thank you.

I understand that some people have tarred all HB claimants. It's so unfair on everybody else, especially on families like mine, with one working full time and one trying to better job prospects by studying.We live in a high rent part of London, however, we can't move too far due to custody constraints with ds. So we are stuck, we rent the cheapest flat we could find, there is no cheaper two bed anywhere in our area.

OP - When we were looking to move from our first flat as we were struggling with the astronomical rent top up, what helped us find our flat was going into letting agencies in person. I cannot remember how many times I was laughed at or had the phone slammed down on me as soon as I mentioned HB, so going in person seemed the best bed. DH and I went in, spoke to them, they could see that we were not the stereotypical HB claimants you see in the press. Our lovely agent promised to call every LL on their books and tell them about us and what we were like and we viewed our flat that afternoon. It's smaller than we would have liked, and we have a 2 mile walk to ds school, but it's a roof and I am so grateful.

[whattimestea]

I completely get what you'd saying - a landlord needs to know his rent will be paid, in full, on time. Absolutely. Im just wondering where the info comes from that housing benefit recipients are more likely to withhold rent than those not claiming? I mean legitimate stats - or is it all based on an assumption/knowing lots of landlords who it has happened to?

[hotcrosbum]

We agreed to pay double the deposit as well and two months rent up front as a sweetener, thankfully, MIL lent us the money.

[sydlexic]

I am a landlord and have not had any problem with getting insurance.

The reason I would not be keen to take a tenant claiming HB (although I have as when someone's circumstances change you cannot just evict them) if a tenant is found to have received HB to which they were not entitled it can be claimed back from the landlord for upto 9 years. This has happened when tenants move their partners in or work cash in hand.

[CloudsAndTrees]

Landlords are always seen as cashing in and making a mint on this website. I have seen countless complaints about landlords raking it in off the back of housing benefit, yet the reality is that the majority of landlords don't take people that claim housing benefit. Then when they don't take HB claimants, they are still told they are wrong and being unfair to people.

They can't win either way, so they may as well just do what's best for them.

[TheNebulousBoojum]

'Not all of us are unreliable, house trashing, destructive, rent-thieving nutjobs.'

I completely agree, having rented as a student there were many of the same concerns by some LLs.
However, if you think about the reason you gave, that's not a positive reason. It's a neutral one. There are thousands of people wanting to rent who are not on benefits and who could also say 'Not all of us are unreliable, house trashing, destructive, rent-thieving nutjobs.'
Until there are real positives for LLs, they are not going to take the risk just to feel good. Even if the risk is hearsay and anecdotal. Why would they?

Not a LL BTW.

[whattimestea]

hotcrosbum - that's exactly what Im going to do. Just visit every letting agent in town and hopefully in person things may come across more positively. Spoke to one woman from local estate agents who was lovely (over the phone) as soon as i mentioned housing benefit it was as if id farted in her face! I could hear the tone of her voice change instantly. Its very soul destroying and undignified. For someone to have such a negative and unfounded opinion of you based on a stereotype is a depressing place to be at

[Vickibee]

Would they know you are in receipt go HB, I understood it was paid to the tenant not the LL? If you have a low paid job perhaps this would be considered enough?

[OBface]

Unfortunately not all tenants are as reliable as you OP - we've had our fingers burnt and will not consider HB renters in the future. To cut a long story short, our council changed the means of payment from paying us the money directly to giving the money to giving it to the tenant to pay us. After 3 months of no rent we investigated our options. It took us a further 9 months to get her out all of which time the tenant was pocketing the council's money leaving us stretched to pay the mortgage.

It was a bloody nightmare.

Such a shame that a few ruin it for the overwhelming majority of good HB claimants. Unfortunately it just isn't worth the risk for us.

[whattimestea]

But those thousands of people at least get a shot at renting these houses. I, on housing benefit do not get that chance. Im arguing with myself in my head here! For every argument one way, there's a counter argument the other. I just am exasperated with my situation tbh. What do i do? Again, thinking out loud-i don't expect a miracle MNer to solve this one!

[TheNebulousBoojum]

Insurance issues
www.guardian.co.uk/housing-network/2013/feb/28/housing-benefit-claimants-excluded-private-rented-sector

Issues facing LLs when renting to HB claimants
www.thepropertylandlord.co.uk/renting-housing-benefit-claimants.html

[Wallison]

It is very tricky when you're claiming housing benefit, even if you work.

Some things you can do:

1. Your council may have a list of landlords who rent to claimants; ours does.
   

1. Find a landlord who owns the property outright and then contact them yourself. If you see a place you really like the look of, do a land registry search (can do it online and it costs £2). This will tell you the name and address of the owner and whether or not there is a charge (mortgage) on the property.
   

1. When you contact them, play to your strengths. You've got kids, so you're going to be a long-term tenant because of the trouble of finding schools etc if you should move. Stress that you can provide good references, that you are reliable and trustworthy, always pay your rent on time etc.
   

1. If you can borrow it from family etc, offer more money. It really does talk. Even the most sceptical of landlords will be swayed by an offer of, say, three or six months rent in advance. Incidentally, this will also persuade many an otherwise unwilling letting agent.

[TheNebulousBoojum]

'But those thousands of people at least get a shot at renting these houses. I, on housing benefit do not get that chance.'

And I completely agree that it's unfair. I meant my question without judgement.
If a LL has a number of prospective tenants, why choose the one on benefits over the others?
What's in it for the LL? They can't usually afford to be swayed by sentiment.

[fergoose]

there are of course many tenants who don't claim housing benefit who will wreck a property and not pay rent - that is not just reserved for HB claimants.

[whattimestea]

Point 4 of your post...so some landlords or agents who say that its insurance or mortgage etc that stipulates no benefit claimants can 'overlook' that providing that a few months rent is stumped up upfront??

[TheNebulousBoojum]

In the case of student lets, the LL letting to DD and friends wanted a hefty damage deposit and each tenant was asked for a person, usually a parent to guarantee the rent would be paid.