No DSS, No Smokers, No Pets

[JustAnotherPoster00]

Sick of seeing those 3 on every single house I look at, I'm disabled (mainly MH related) and I need to move but can't simply because of those

So many pets are being abandoned or put into rescues because landlords wont allow pets :( Dogs that have been part of a family for years are dumped because peoples circumstances change and nobody will allow them to rent with a dog. I think its really crappy not to allow pets. Maybe just add a clause stating that any damage has to be paid for or an extra £200 as security for having a pet to guarentee the damage will be covered. My sister recently split with her long term partner and no landlords would allow her small deaf and blind old dog! If she hadnt eventually found one to allow her the dog by paying an extra couple of hundred pounds she would of ended up on the streets with her dog. Theres no way she would of given her dog up but thats what alot of people are forced to do. Rescues are then full to the brim and healthy dogs are put down. Sorry for the rant

" I don't actually know what DSS is, is it a type of disability "

You must be very young if you don't know what the DSS is. It's the old Department for Social Security that used to administer state benefits. It basically means Housing Benefits in this context.

Those old enough to remember Bread will remember the DSS lady :)

Hi, just skimmed through as so many messages, I have a flat I rent out, have had tennants with a baby and cat, the agreement was that they get a professional clean on moving and it all worked out ok, smoking is a no for me, also I'm a community nurse in London so go into a lot of smokers houses with tar literally dripping off the walls and on HB and the places are dirty and not kept up but that I think is mainly to due to the fact that they are ill and housebound, sure some are ok, not taken on any HB tennants, not been approached but would hesitate from what I have seen but each case is individual, also the flat is in a block so don't want neighbours complaining, stressed enough as it is, when I was living there about 10 years ago there were some polish guys living above us, one of them kept banging on the door bell in the middle of the night, opened the door and this guy was covered in blood saying please call the police, the other one was throwing his belongings out into the landing swearing, called police and ambulance, the landlord came round a couple of months later saying he's given his tennants notice and was renovating the flat, he asked if the tennants had been ok, my response....... Lol

Why would a LL take smokers and risk fire, have to redecorate everything, replace fabrics, and curtains when you move? Would you if it was your property rented out?

Statistically DSS tenants are more likely to default on payments, to the point where mortgage companies ask if a LL will be renting to DSS tenants (and usually students too) before offering a mortgage, and insurance companies for BTL will charge more too.

Pets can create terrible mess and damage( or possibly not ) but few LL want the risk.

Offering a greater deposit against damages will sometimes encourage LL to consider pets, as will a good reference from a previous LL.

People upthread who said they'd smoke indoors anyway have provided a cast-iron argument for not letting to anyone who smells of smoke - unfair as that is on responsible smokers.

We have a house that we rent out. Initially we advertised as no DSS, no pets and no smokers. The DSS because of all the reasons given by pp and we couldn't afford our mortgage if HB was stopped. However after meeting a potential tennant who is a smoker we agreed to rent to them but they could not smoke inside. They have lived there for a few years and are perfect tenants. They look after the house and treat it as their home, which it is. They recently asked if they could get a dog and we agreed as they are long term tenants and we want them to stay. We have never put the rent up for the same reasons.
If we had different tenants every 6 months then it would be a different matter as you would need to fully redecorate every time and fix damage caused by pets.

Not all landlords are greedy or unreasonable

Gwenhwyfar I think tenants in the UK get a far better deal with what the l/l has to do, than they do in Belgium (tots up hedge trimming, chimney sweeping. boiler service, buildings insurance, water softener service, annual rent increase, and no wear and tear, as a tenant, then tots it all up again as a l/l in UK!)

Sadly all housing benefit tenants are tarred with the same brush! We are not all like that. Some people have hb top ups from local authorities if we don't earn enough in our jobs. This is the situation millions of families and singles find themselves in. There aren't enough council properties for every one & not everyone can afford to buy! Crap situation to be in 😞

19lottie82 Councils tell tenants to stay put after the date on which the court orders them to give possession and before the bailiffs arrive which can be weeks. Even if the tenant pays the rent during that time (which is unlikely) they are staying in breach of the court's order and the councils are condoning it.

"Gwenhwyfar I think tenants in the UK get a far better deal with what the l/l has to do, than they do in Belgium "

Yes, as far as maintenance goes, but then in Belgium the landlord can't raise the rent more than inflation, has to give long notice periods if they want to use the property, etc. Swings and roundabouts really.

Where I live you can often spot rental properties. They're grottier and less cared for. You don't get that so much in Belgium.

"We are not all like that. Some people have hb top ups from local authorities if we don't earn enough in our jobs."

So are you saying that people who get housing benefits and also work are better than people who get housing benefit because they're unemployed? A kind of hierarchy of claimants?

Andrewofgg

i agree currently in that situation i feel like such a cow .If we leave when requested the council will not help us.We have to wait for the bailiffs .But we will still pay rent i dont want to be any more of a pest than we already are

Rented a property to professionals who both then lost their jobs and ended up on HB and they still didn't pay their rent. When we eventually evicted them the back garden was covered in dog poo and carpets ripped to shreds (even though we had said they couldn't keep pets) and they had obviously been smoking. Rented to a friend from work who moved his new girlfriend and her 3 kids in (was only a 2 bedroom semi nowhere big enough for all them), and evetually sold up. Put me off for life although not everyone is as unlucky.

I reckon an airbnb style feedback website for landlords and tenants would be a good plan.

Its a free market so just choose somewhere else.

Yu are lucky there are landlords that are even offering you to stay in their house.

"I reckon an airbnb style feedback website for landlords and tenants would be a good plan."

What's to stop people posting maliciously? My last landlady thought I had been a good tenant until my last days. What was my crime? I left a bucket full of cleaning products for the next tenant to use as I thought they were too expensive to throw away. She also claimed I left things in my 'cellar' - I didn't even have a cellar so that must have been a mixup.
It's not like restaurants where hundreds of people post and you can take an average, most tenants might only have two or three landlords commenting on them.

"Yu are lucky there are landlords that are even offering you to stay in their house."

Do you think there are many people who want a smoker as a lodger? Or a pet, unless they're pet lovers themselves? These things are even more difficult when living in the same house as the landlord.

I had "model" young professionals in a new house.
Fast forward a few years. They split up, she lost her job and was on HB. She could not afford the rent but wouldn't move out.
The cat had become elderly, and doubly incontinent. Every carpet and underlay in the house had to be replaced, also 4 doors, where the pee had soaked up the carpet and into the bottom of the doors.
She didn't smoke, but still managed to cause over a grand of damage by burning candles and joss sticks all over the place. The wax had bled into the walls, ceilings, windowsills, even staining the marble fire surround. It took months to clear the smell of piss and patchouli.
The deposit did not even cover a quarter of the damage, and she left owing six months rent.

I rent out a property. So far, it's had three tenants, one full DSS, one paying full rent, and the current one is partial DSS. The first absolutely trashed the house, no problems with the second and or the current tenant. It's my belief that if someone's paying at least some of their own money, they'll look after the house. If they get something for free, it has little value.

Have to laugh at all those posting about renting to non HB people who then magically turn bad after loosing jobs etc & end up being HB scumbags.

Doesn't it twig with anyone that they might have been scumbags anyway & it's not the HB element that made them that way?

specialsubject See this

www.adjacentgovernment.co.uk/local-council-news/local-authorities-warn-homelessness-legislation-will-work/28669/?utm_source=MailingList&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Local+Gov+23%2F09%2F16

It may be that Bob Blackman's Bill is what is called a "handout Bill" - one which the Government Whips give to a backbencher from their party (which Blackman is) who wins a good spot on the Ballot and (1) does not want the hassle of being responsible for a bill and prefers to have it all done for him or (2) wants to lick the arses of keep in with the Whips or (3) both.

In either event it is a Government Bill in all but name. So watch its progress with interest!

Tess I agree with that

Thanks. What we also need is more incentive to fix and renovate, (20%vat) rather than tatty new builds with no nearby services.

But - too many people (not changing), not enough money ( can be changed)

Fair enough to not want smokers. No kids really fucks me off.

I hate the no DSS rule but I understand that it's not the landlords fault. I had to give up a decent job a few years ago because it barely covered the cost of 2 FT childcare spaces and DS2 would scream the place down if anymore than 1 foot away from me. Now we claim a bit of HB and are stuck in a shitty rental that's falling apart. We have no-one to be a guarantor, dodgy credit (due to giving up work), no chance of social housing and living in total fear of a section 28 as we couldn't get enough to for a deposit together in 2 months (we are in the south). I'm training to be a teacher so I have a professional job but a house I'm too embarrassed to invite anyone to