Landlords - WIBU to omit this detail?

[MockneyReject]

I need opinions from landlords/private tenants, please.

I'm currently in refuge, miles from 'home'.

The support and housing help I was led to expect hasn't materialised. There is simply no social housing available locally.

DS is settling well in his new school, so I am very reluctant to move him again. This is his second school since Easter, due to the separate infants/juniors here.

So, our only option is to rent privately. The LA will lend me the deposit, and I am entitled to full HB.
I have no guarantor. Unsurprisingly, very few agencies/landlords will even consider me as a tenant, as I'm not working. (Obviously, I want to get back to work, but need to know where we will be living/going to school first - it's a vicious circle).

So far, I have been honest about my situation. But I'm wondering whether prospective landlords are being further put off, by the fear of an angry ex turning up and damaging their property.

I need to maximise my chances of finding somewhere, ASAP, as I only have 4 weeks left at the refuge. So far, I have applied for, and been turned down for approx 100 properties, this week alone.

So, WIBU to not mention the refuge, if it doesn't come up? If you're a landlord, would you dismiss us as 'trouble?' (We're really not, BTW!)

Can you ask the refuge / LA / shelter (the homeless charity) if they know of any charities for women in similar circumstances that act as guarantors? That would seem the kind of thing that a specific charity might have as their mission given the unique circumstances involved.

Ex doesn't know where we are.

DS doesn't know that we're in refuge - it's a self contained flat. He cried when I told him we need to move out of here. I could just about cope with losing the few new friends I've made here, but he will struggle. He still gets upset because he misses his old school and his friends. It's just heartbreaking that I have to even consider uprooting him again.

It looks as though finding a job, any job, ASAP is our best option.
4 weeks to secure a job, a home and possibly a new school. It's daunting, to say the least! Oh well, at least we have Halloween and Xmas, for some light relief...

Seriously, though, thanks for the responses. I get that it's tricky for LL, too. I knew it wasn't going to be straightforward.

@gruffalo - I hadn't considered that guarantor option. That's something I can look into.
There are 16 families here, at any one time. Some housing officers seem to be more sympathetic than others, but they just don't have the time or resources to deal with the turnover here. They give out a list of LL's who have previously accepted HB, stapled to a page of 'tips' , such as dressing tidily for appointments/viewings!

Why did you tell DS you'd have to move? Do you have a date that you need to be out by? Or were you trying to prepare him? If it's just an arbitrary date in the future I'd be inclined to only tell him nearer to the date when it's inevitable. x x

Sort of skim read, but I was in a very similar situation recently, (son under 1 so no worry about school), and very lucky to have support from a friend who has paid upfront and now I pay them back monthly, but in order to even be considered, I didn't tell them I had fled domestic violence, just told them I had to move due to a split, and that ex does not know where I am.
In another point, can you get any work references/character references? Even if they're from a few years ago, it's something that shows initiative, and if you have police incident numbers from your split (as i did) quote them if the agent asks for more details, it shows that it was really not your wrongdoing to have to leave your previous let (or whatever ).
Keep an eye out for properties in local newspapers, shops, gumtree etc, as then you can talk direct to the landlord and 'sell yourself'
Also, when you call letting agents, explain (briefly) your situation, instead of just ringing up and asking 'do you accept DSS', for example 'I have recently had a difficult split, and have had to relocate, therefor I will be receiving hb for a few months, as I cannot start a new job without knowing where I will be living.'
Hope that helps a bit, and hope you get sorted soon

@KatieC0811 - glad things are looking up for you.

Staff here have told me that I am due a 28 day notice to quit, but I haven't got it yet. One problem here is the high staff turnover - I've had 5 keywords in as many months, and they're all part time. Often, they're cover staff. I think it really is a case of being proactive and helping myself.

*keyworkers

Hey OP have you checked your local housing associations? They will usually always accept HB and not just for social housing.

I agree I don't think anyone cares about the refuge, it's the lack of job and benefits dependence (universal credit coming soon!)

And you can't really lie about that :( what you need is a good corporate landlord not some two bob second home with loads of restrictions. You're really not their market

Having watched ( too many) episodes of can't pay we'll take it away ...and been horrified at some of the states houses are left in and the amount of debt that's been run up, it leaves me with the big question...why o why don't LA's pay HB direct to the LL

As long as you promised to look after my property, report any problems when they start to develop not wait until you have to get a boat to get from one side of a room to another as a boilers burst or a roof is leaking...and I got my rent...then yes I would.

I think councils not doing this ( direct payment to landlords) have created a really unfair situation.

When my tenants decide they are moving out ( can't see that happening) I'm selling up?

For those suggesting the op gets a job. I'm currently in a refuge myself and the rent is just under £300 a week. Working and being in a refuge is unsustainable

Oh OP I feel your pain. I was in refuge for nearly a year not so long ago and had similar issues. Looked at and applied for so many places before getting the place I've got now and that was down to freakishly perfect timing and good luck.

I think it's all very well saying OP should get a job but in my experience not the best idea while in refuge for many reasons including practical ones like housing benefit will cover the entire cost of your rent but not necessarily if you're in employment. Not to mention if you're miles from "home" and family and friends it's even more difficult as well as everything OP and her son have been through.

OP have you contacted shelter? They might be able to help? Do the staff at the refuge you're at help wth housing and benefits? The ones at the one I lived in are amazing! They still help me now. I told letting agents and landlords I was in temporary accommodation due to being made homeless by my ex. Not a lie. I just didn't tell them he abused me.

Best of luck OP hope you and your DS find your forever home soon x

I'm a LL and rent to those in receipt of HB. I bet people very carefully and sit down over a cup of tea to get to know them first. I've taken on a lady and her DC who had been in a refuge for abused Women. She was fab.

What sticks out to me is that you travel 2 hours a day to your DSs school. Can you target that area for a rental home? Also while your DS is young and at school would OU be something that you could do so you have some qualifications when he is ready for staying in aftercare?

Refuge would not be an issue and hope you can find a guarantor to clear the insurance hurdle.

The usual hard of reading shrieker hasn't noticed that the problem is insurance and mortgage. Because it is so much easier to follow the herd and go 'nasty landlords'.

School is only 2 miles away - it takes me 2 hours to walk there and back twice, as I am old and decrepit! Sorry for the confusion.

OU is not an option right now, as there is no WiFi here. I do, at least, have a phone now, but no other technology - no laptop, limited. TV. I'll check that out, though, I think my previous credits are now invalid (husband hated me studying and made it impossible to continue).

*And landlords wonder why they are so unpopular. "Just get a full time job" to someone in a refuge ffs.

The quicker we have Government in invests in proper social housing the better and believe me there won't be much sympathy when there is a much more robust taxation regime on landlords and hopefully a housing market price correction. If I here one more time from some selfish twat "I'm only a landlord as Gordon Brown fucked me pension" I will scream.*

I absolutely agree - the government has been shedding social housing as fast as it can for decades, leaving hundreds of thousands of people without adequate housing.

However, the OP has not asked us to discuss the moral position of private landlords in the UK. She asked was the refuge address likely to be putting potential landlords off her, and the answer has been pretty consistently "no".

OP try Openrent You can speak to the prospective LL and many of the properties indicate if they will accept HB in the description.

I hope you find your own home soon, you've been through so much already.

I do wonder what all our super moral landlord haters do for a living. They can't make money from anything essential, so no selling food, teaching, healthcare. Selling inessential items is immoral, due to waste. What else is there?

Landlord taxation is becoming tougher, although it doesn't affect those without mortgages . interest rates may go up and possibly house prices will go down. And then mn will really start howling.