To think it's disgusting the amount of landlords who won't accept DSS?

[7hup]

My friend is 36 and just been kicked out by her boyfriend because she had a mental breakdown and multiple suicide attempts .

She's just been released from hospital and has been given a B&B room as temporary accommodation.

She has to claim universal credit as she is in no fit state to work.

Council said if she can find private housing they will cover her first month's rent/deposit/fees.

No where takes housing benefit.

It's unfair.

There's no council accommodation and no private landlords will accept it.

She's 36. No children. No pets. Doesn't drink. Doesn't smoke. Is quiet and polite. Keeps to herself. Clean and tidy. She just needs a home :(

Its working people too. My Dsis has a kid and can't move out of my mums because she works only 16 hours because of her son so would receive housing benefit. So she can't move either.

Even on Spareroom. Co. UK in our area there are 674 rooms.

ONE takes DSS. And is dou le the price of similar rooms

It's so unfair :(

@HelenaDove I'm not sure social care will step in in the near future - I'm worried we're hurtling towards a time where there's no help for disabled people aside from a group home like a workhouse for people who absolutely cannot manage at all.

@pinkgin24, you wouldn't take any of them? A working mother, never defaulted on her rent, good credit history? You would just refuse?

@Dragon, housing and food are not analogous, try a more appropriate comparison, say healthcare or education

People who want to ‘Do Something’ about the housing situation.

Support planning applications and allow people to build. Yes, your parents will lose their view and the field they walk their labador around. Yes, it will mean more traffic on that road until buses are established.

But all housing is a SUPPLY SIDE PROBLEM. We must build, build, build.

I’ve seen a large number of properties advertised as community lets - so own room but communal living where each resident is expected to be part of the ‘family’

This is a good idea and a great way for a lot of looked after teens to transition into independence

I feel more of these schemes will start to appear to help reduce the pressure of affordable homes

Imo this is indirect discrimination. People with disabilities (and depression IS a disability when it is as severe as OP's friend's) are more likely to be dependent on benefits and this practice therefore impacts disproportionately on them.

I'd love Shelter or CPAG or someone to bring a test case on this basis. If it succeeded, then all the BTL mortgage providers, insurance companies, letting agents and landlords that make this stipulation would have to change their tune.

OP, your friend may well be entitled to help from the council because she is more vulnerable than most because of her poor mental health. She needs to see a housing advice specialist at CAB, law centre or similar.

@Floandme yep, afraid so. Business not charity and easier not to have to deal with it full stop.

We have 4 tenants - the mortgage company won't let us take people who aren't employed.
On a previous mortgage we had a DSS tenant who didn't pay the rent for a year and it took us almost 2 years and court to get her out. Cost us a bloody fortune in time and money.
Council won't pay the benefit money as rent direct to the landlord as it's the responsibility of the tenant to pay. The property was left in an absolute state!
The other three tenants are all employed / professional - never had any problems with them paying or causing damage.

@based on a stereotype, not on the facts in front of you...where are your critical thinking skills?

OH MY GOD

ONCE MORE FOR THOSE IN THE BACK

MOST PEOPLE ON HOUSING BENEFIT ARE IN WORK.

IN WORK

THEY WORK

THEY HAVE JOBS

THEY EARN MONEY

THEY CLAIM HOUSING BENEFIT WHILST THEY ARE WORKING

Also to add - as a landlord I can't just ring up my mortgage company and say "oh sorry I can't pay my mortgage this month", but our benefits tenants did this "because they can choose not to pay".

It is not private landlords’ responsibility to provide social housing for people in benefits or who are disabled or mentally ill. Unfortunately, as a previous poster has said insurances refuse to provide cover if premises are rented to tenants who are unemployed.

Superb post dragongirl 10 you’ve got it so right.

I had to work quite hard to find a LL insurance company who would accept a non working tenant, even though his rent was guaranteed by a charity. It was two or three times what I had paid previously. ( Had't previously realised that they were excluded!)
I have had 2 other benefit claimants at various times.One left the place in a poor state, the kitchen flooring, and one carpet had to be replaced as he was doing some sort of traditional chemical film developing on the floor, and the entire flat needed to be redecorated. The other was a single parent, and she was paying £50 month towards the rent ( leaving us £445 short) but was renting out her visitors' car park space for £60/month as it was near the station. This landed us in a problem as it contravened the leasehold lease. As she paid something, the Council were reluctant to pay the rent directly to us. Council helped her move as she was on the second floor and apparently didn't tell the new LL she was in arrears. Again another complete re-decoration job.
However, we have had not so good working tenants, so would have HB tenants as our LA know.

'@pinkgin24, you wouldn't take any of them? A working mother, never defaulted on her rent, good credit history? You would just refuse?'

If the LL can get a person or couple, both working FT, with no kids, he/she will more than likely punt for them first than a person in receipt of benefits of any sort with a kid.

As has been stated many times here, most people on Housing Benefit work.

So to the LLs on here - what do you propose happens to the large proportion of the population who work, have a family, have their income topped up by HB and therefore can't privately rent?

It's well and good saying that people shouldn't get themselves into these situations but from experience I know you can be the best tenant and have children thinking you're as secure as possible, but then you'll lose a job or the LLs will decide to sell and you're up shit creek. Receiving HB doesn't make you a criminal, but IMO being able to turn decent people away and therefore make them face homelessness because they claim HB should be. As people are saying, how is it different to the old "no blacks, no Irish" rules?

Landlords don't know if their tenants are on benefits apart from the very first checks.

And getting past those very first checks are impossible

Also to add - as a landlord I can't just ring up my mortgage company and say "oh sorry I can't pay my mortgage this month", but our benefits tenants did this "because they can choose not to pay".

Actually the process in both situations is very similar, just as you have to go to court to evict the tenant (if they won't leave voluntarily), the lender would have to go to court to get possession of the mortgaged property.

You have a legal obligation to pay rent in the same way as you do a mortgage. I'm not sure who you are quoting in speech marks, because it's not true.

My MIL once (a fair while ago) relented and agreed to rent to a young couple on benefits. 18 months later, 4k lost rent, several thousand pound of damage, she did the flat up again. She had no intention of renting to anyone other than professional couples with several references. Maybe she was just unlucky though but now she has two trainee Drs (who even have a cat). I know which two I’d pick if I had to regardless of if that makes me a See You Next Tuesday.

As a pp said - landlords are not social housing providers. Their responsibility starts and ends with letting the properties they own, to a decent standard, at a rate in line with the current market to tenants of their choice.

How much of this problem (people on benefits finding it difficult/impossible to find private rental properties) is due to the council house sell-off that was one of Thatcher’s proudest achievements? The theory was that the councils would build more housing, to replace the properties they sold off, so everyone would benefit - but statistics show that only a fraction of the properties that were sold off have actually been replaced.

My memory of this policy was that local governments were actually banned by central government from re investing any monies received from selling off the council property under the right to buy scheme. There was never any intention to replace the properties that had been sold off! An integral belief (and wish) of Thatcher's housing policies was that private landlords would fill the gap.

At the same time, there were other schemes for other council property to be transferred to Housing Associations. The Thatcher government (with their free market policies) did their very best to get rid of any direct responsibility for housing, thereby saving them from having to build, maintain and pay the costs of paying housing staff. It also absolved them of taking responsibility for the ever increasing problem of the housing crisis.

A fairly immediate and noticeable effect of this was the sudden increase of homeless people on the streets.

Thatcherite policies are the root cause of the current housing crisis. It was so predictable at the time, that the outcome would be disastrous for those in need of social housing.

For the record, I'm a landlord of a couple of well maintained properties. I believe I offer a good service to people in need of a rented home.

I've never despised any person as much as Thatcher.

@ilmmaiss

*As has been stated many times here, most people on Housing Benefit work.

So to the LLs on here - what do you propose happens to the large proportion of the population who work, have a family, have their income topped up by HB and therefore can't privately rent?

It's well and good saying that people shouldn't get themselves into these situations but from experience I know you can be the best tenant and have children thinking you're as secure as possible, but then you'll lose a job or the LLs will decide to sell and you're up shit creek. Receiving HB doesn't make you a criminal, but IMO being able to turn decent people away and therefore make them face homelessness because they claim HB should be. As people are saying, how is it different to the old "no blacks, no Irish" rules?*

As lots of other posters have said, LL's aren't obligated to rent their houses out to people who claim benefits. It is ridiculous to translate that to 'but you're making them homeless!' and demanding proposals and answers.

As long as a private LL is abiding by the law and maintaining their house at a good state of repair, they are fulfilling their role, and can let their houses out to whoever they want. Being a LL is a way of investing and making money, and what's wrong with that? Why such vitriol for people who want to make money for their family? Would you demand that people with premium bonds withdraw them to share amongst the community? Are you planning to distribute your savings amongst decent people?

@ralphfromlordoftheflies

No i get that LLs are abiding by the law. But in the past the people who said "no blacks, no Irish" were also abiding by the law. My point is why is it allowed to be the law. Why is a decent, hard working single parent or somebody who is disabled and claims HB allowed to be turned away from renting, and therefore potentially made homeless? I'm not attacking the LLs as such, more the system.

And as for "it's a business not a charity", you would still be making money off the decent HB claimants. Nobody is suggesting you rent your house to them for free ffs. And has been said on here before - benefits won't suddenly be stopped but anybody could lose their job tomorrow.

Dssmove.Co.Uk has LL's who take DSS. My part of North London nearly all Estate agents do DSS tenants on condition housing benefit goes direct to them. But Housing dept flat out refused to let me find my own place. I had to go thru them & they offer LL's £1200 incentive to take you.