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 :(

@Ilmmaiss the 'system' can't force landlords to rent to DSS tennants. I suspect if they tried that alot of landlords would drop that line of income thereby reducing the rental market anyway.

Why SHOULD landlords even have to risk/chance on DSS tennants, they aren't some public service!?

I hated renting private no security landlords and their 101 rules and your not even allowed to hang a picture up without permission so it never feels like your home.
Everyone I know that is stuck in the renting trap hates it and wants social housing.

I agree with PinkGin.
It's my choice who I rent to - no one can force me to take someone I don't want. Irrespective of the fact that mortgage and insurance don't allow it anyway. It's still my choice who I have.

Never had trouble with the insurance side, had DSS but I look for very long reference periods or recommends from other people. Been extremely lucky with quality of tenants but I can imagine it being horrific trying to find a rental if young and unemployed./ low pay with children.

Yeah I get what you're saying, nobody should be able to make you. I do understand that. It just makes me incredibly sad! To see people reduced to being homeless or not based on whether they earn enough to avoid top-up benefits. Not whether they are decent people or have good references, but simply are you healthy enough and lucky enough to earn enough to avoid needing additional top-up housing benefit in this age when wages won't cover rent? It's just sad, for those of us decent people who've had to face this. And while I understand your POV, I hope you can understand ours on the other side

not even allowed to hang a picture up without permission

So you think you should be able to damage walls and LLs pick up the bill for putting it right again?

The government could choose to make a huge difference here.

They could force councils to accept homeless applications from the day a tenancy ends when notice has been served, instead of forcing tenants to cost their landlords thousands by waiting for a bailiff eviction.

They could stop landlords on direct rent payments being liable if ta tenant claimed falsely.

They could give landlords police suppprt if their property is damaged or time in the property is stolen by non payment of rent, the same as they would if give any other business owner if someone trashed a hotel room or shoplifted.

If landlords didn't have to take as big a risk, then they'd be more willing to accept tenants who have to claim benefits. Of course things should be done to ensure people should have fair access to something as basic as housing, but it's not realistic to expect private individuals to take on a a risk that is caused by a problem with society.

At least there's some changes coming with letting agencies not allowed to charge reference or admin fees from tenants. Hopefully dss thing is next.

Don't most people fill in holes and repaint so you can't tell where they've hung pictures?

My LL won't let me put floating shelves up despite me showing him the shelves and offering to sign a document promising to remove them upon leaving. it's s bit annoying because the alcove is too thin for a regular bookcase and I have nowhere to store my books. I think if tenants sign to say they'll restore the house to it's original state it should be allowed?

Try gumtree . Landlords who manage their own properties usually advertise there .
I hope your friend finds somewhere suitable soon .

How will hanging up a picture seriously damage a wall?
Anyway main thing is I'm not paying for someone else's mortgage anymore as with renting that's all your doing and at the end you will be kicked out with just a few months notice.

Seline- could you offer to leave the shelves if you move ? Surely you would be improving the alcove if it’s too narrow for a regular sized bookcase . Why can’t a tenant hang a picture ? Can the next tenant not make use of the same hook ?
Tenants deserve to make a rented house a home . Landlords are being paid to provide a home .

@Plabom Oh come off it! Damage a wall by putting a picture up? is your house bare of them? Can you imagine for one second giving half of your salary every month and not being allowed to hang a picture of your kids on the walls of your own home?

Private landlords are a problem for society

Unfortunately what the council give to cover the rent is a joke and won’t even cover the morgage repayment thats one of the reasons, also our local council will only pay the rent to the tenant for them to pass it onto the landlord but sometimes it doesn’t get passed on.

Its not that landlords don’t want dss its the councils who won’t give assurance that the rent gets paid and won’t pay landlords directly, though I do understand they are looking at changing that because of the issue.

When I moved into my current home (rental) the joy I felt when I saw the walls had picture hooks. I've ten in my lounge I had none in my last house. Ten years of bear walls.

People need homes
Allowing people to buy multiple properties and force owner occupiers out of the market has been very damaging
The housing market has been regulated in a way which favours the wealthy, this has a destructive effect on society as a whole

They could force councils to accept homeless applications from the day a tenancy ends when notice has been served, instead of forcing tenants to cost their landlords thousands by waiting for a bailiff eviction.

Or when people are served notice they could you know find somewhere else to rent like the rest of us did. My first port of call was Rightmove or the local estate agents when I had to move rental, not sticking it out then going to the council. I don’t know anyone of my friends/colleagues who have ever thought that would be the appropriate course of action. Never took more than a week.

If the HB was paid directly to the LL then any fraudulent claims, overpayments, mistakes etc would also obviously be claimed back from the LL.

landlords accredited by local councils often will accept tenants in receipt of HB

I was a landlord for three years and personally couldn't care less where the rent came from as long as it was paid. However the .mortgage company stated that I couldn't accept people on benefits. I had one tenant who started off working and then lost his job and ended up on benefits. Historically the money would be paid directly to the landlord but now its paid directly to the tenant. It is hard generally living of benefits id you have debts or you are in arrears you are constantly trying to prioritise what to spend it in. There is such a delay in the benefit system. I would ha e loved to offer people like your friend a stable place to live and I was a good and responsive landlord who always responsible. Unfortunately my mortgage provider dictated differently.

benefits won't suddenly be stopped but anybody could lose their job tomorrow.

False statement

Benefits are often stopped. Have you never heard of people being sanctioned for not meeting basic conditionality of JSA?? HB is claimed alongside JSA and if one stops so does the other. Also, if hours at work increase over the threshold HB will stop.

The difference is, people in work who lose their jobs are more likely to be able to turn things round quickly in finding another job. Benefit claimants are at the mercy of the system.

We are l/l in UK and rent abroad where dh works. We don't hang pictures from hooks either, as we have to give the property back without any damage at all (and no concept of wear and tear here), so we use Command Strips. They hold all but the heaviest of pictures and don't leave marks on the walls.

Because housing costs are out of line with wages it is normal for working people to need benefits in order to pay the rent

banks ought not to be able to stipulate that landlords can't rent to those in receipt of benefits
in effect it means that landlords can only rent to those who are well off

people who are well off should be able to buy their own properties but they can't because the landlords have bought them all up and pushed up the prices

if letting fees can be banned than the banks should be brought into line as well

I think a lot if private landlords would also like someone who will decorate, someone who will replace white goods if something goes wrong, will fix things if something gets damaged and obviously a professional couple are more likely yo have the money to do this.
Also they prefer no pets and no smoking. Again more likely a professional couple will fit this lifestyle.