Getting rejected for houses because we have dc

[Whatsthestitch]

Little bit of a click bait but partly true

Me and dp currently live with an abusive parent and we are trying to leave. I have had dc so can't work and am on uc. Dp works full time. Even though we have money for a depoist and holding depoist I still don't understand how we can afford to move out!

Has anyone had experience of moving out on housing benefit? How did it work for you. I can't see any landlord accepting our situation and as our budget is so small (900pcm) most flats we see say they aren't family/children suitable. I didn't even think of the possibility of landlords/ladies discriminating against children. Surely a family of 3 living in a 1 bedroom isn't that overcrowded or absurd given the current climate. I'm willing to get a part time job but even that will only be about 2 days max as it will be family looking after dc for free childcare.

Help! Seeking advice and posting for traffic

And yes you need to widen search area, even if it means a long commute

@Whatsthestitch you need to go to Citizens Advice or speak to your local benefits office as you don’t seem to understand how the benefits work or what you can claim.

You have 2 days a week you can work with free childcare. I’d be grabbing that with both hands (assuming it’s not the abusive parent you mention in your first post)

UC is made up of all of what were the separate benefits. So you can’t cancel to claim a benefit that no longer exists for new claimants.

No landlord would rent a one bed to a growing family. They’re typically after long term renters, and a family in a one bed flat isn’t going to be that.

If your housing situation is dire have you put yourself on the social housing lis? If you haven’t, do. Yes there’s a long wait. But it’s impossible if you’re not even on the list.

Go to Shelter they can advise you on housing and decent landlords in the area. You would then claim your housing and child care costs through UC. Shelter can advise on benefits too.

You haven’t been rejected. You haven’t even applied for any houses because you know you can’t afford them. You need to think a bit more strategically than throwing your hands up in despair and saying everything’s unfair.

Most parents do not have the luxury of not working in this day and age OP. You're very lucky that your MIL has offered free childcare 2 days a week. You need to look for a job 3 or 4 days a week and put DC in nursery on those days. Could you consider moving to a cheaper area?

2 days of MIL childcare, 2 days home with Dad, means max 1 day of paid childcare required, if at all. Work weekends and evenings.

Having kids is not a barrier to work.

What did you di for work before dc?

Take the free childcare and get a job for two days, in the current climate you will be able to get something. My DS worked a night shift for 18 months before he started his degree apprenticeship and at 19 was earning between 15 and 17PH.

I had three PT jobs years ago, the hours made one FT job and I had a toddler at the time. I had a mixture of free childcare and paid nursery. What you have to remember is that this kind of arrangement is temporary. Then when I had my next child I was in a well paid job with free lunch, a clothing allowance and a nursery on campus. The difference was night and day wage wise and the way I felt about things overall.

It may even be worth it from a head space perspective to work FT to get away from the parent you are living with. Even if you end up with not much to show for it.

We are landlords and it affects our insurance and landlord credibility if we allow overcrowding.

In popular areas it’s a landlord’s market. It’s totally understandable that they would rent to a single or professional couple with no children given a choice. Reduced wear on the property as they are out all day working and possibly socialising in the evening. Good salary which the landlord can verify. Likely to have regular salary increases so landlord can increase the rent in the future. If young, more likely to have high-earning parents as guarantors. No spilt food from weaning, toddler scribbles etc. No buggy in the hall scuffing the paintwork, but there might be a bike or two! Having said all that I have a family member who rents a property to a family of 5 for at least 500 pcm under what they could get but they like the family and they are good tenants.

you cant claim Housing benefit anymore. you have to claim rent costs through UC its just an element now. UC is split into different elements, Housing, personal, Children, Sickness and Childcare refund

If you add housing costs then you stay on UC you just gethelp towards rent.

That isn’t true. HB is paid through UC if you’re eligible.

I feel for you OP, it does sometimes feel impossible but people do manage and you can too. Definitely go to the citizens advice bureau, they can work out what you can claim for. I'm sure you would get housing benefit and child care funding on UC. Also, if you want a part time job I would suggest trying supermarkets. That's what I did, I work 6:00pm to 11:00pm three nights a week and take on extra shifts where I can/ have childcare available. It's made a huge difference to our income and no childcare costs. Good luck x

OP, what i your DH work schedule? Because there are lots of night work that you can do. On top of that you have 2 days free childcare which is a bonus!
It's not gonna be easy but that's life.

@LadyLapsang · Today 09:02
''It’s totally understandable that they would rent to a single or professional couple with no children given a choice. Reduced wear on the property as they are out all day working and possibly socialising in the evening.''

So basically you want someone to pay you rent but not use the property...

And then we wonder why landlords have a poor reputation.

When my children were small my husband worked on a 6 week shift rotation finishing between 4 and 10 and alternate weekends - it was impossible to work around his shifts - so he found a 9 -5 job and I worked evening and weekends until we had free childcare. It was hard work but doable I think finding a solution so you can also work is priority if you want to be considered for housing in a landlords market.

Landlord here, here's my opinion. We're currently looking for new tenants and I'd say 75% of the messages I've received, people are in receipt of some form of benefit.

When we went out, we do a credit check and most likely these people will not pass the check alongside the affordability assessment.

We've worked hard for this property and have a mortgage to pay on it so we need to ensure the tenants in there, can pay.

There is nothing discriminating about wanting to rent to people with the ability to pay.

You've said it yourself in your OP "Even though we have money for a deposit and holding deposit I still don't understand how we can afford to move out!"

Have you applied for properties? It didn’t sound like you had in your post, just presuming what will
happen

You can't get a jobe because you have one young child? What do you think everyone else does?
Get a job, use childcare, earn more money and you will be able to rent.

”I have had dc so can't work” - you lost me at this comment. You can work. You’re choosing not to. Millions of parents work. Did you not know how much childcare was going to be when you decided to have a child? Poor planning. You need an evening/weekend job to fit around your OH’s hours if you don’t want to have childcare costs.

Did you think all of this through before having a child?

Most responsible parents would ensure that one of them was earning enough to support a child if the other parent didn't work.

Or, you would have a job that paid enough to allow you to fund child care.

Why go ahead and have a child when you are not living independently in the first place?

I'm sorry but it looks as if you didn't predict your financial circumstances and expect to rely on benefits.

All you can do it work when your partner is able to look after your child.

That means evening and weekend work, or some kind of work where you can work from home.

@SchrodingersKettle By a family of 3, the OP means 2 adults and one child.

It’s a landlords market. So of course they’re going to pick the best people for their property: two working adults, no pets, no DC. The latter two complicate matters.

They’re not a charity and they don’t have a responsibility to house you.

Since June 2019 there has been a legal restriction on the amount of deposit landlords can hold, only 5 weeks' rent. The penalties for even accidentally taking more than this are severe. This has changed the rental market because often the landlord can't hold enough deposit to be adequately protected against the possible damage. Add to that the fact that, if the tenant simply stops paying rent, it generally takes at least 6 months and more commonly a year to get the property back, plus several thousand pounds in legal fees. During all this time the landlord still has to pay the property costs eg mortgage. It means that accepting tenants who are on low incomes etc is now more of a financial risk, so agents tend to recommend stringent checks.

I was happy to have tenants have tenants on HB/UC because if it's paid direct, you know the rent will be paid. But the tenant can start out this way then ask for the benefit to be paid direct to themselves and say they'll pay the landlord. The landlord can't stop this. Or the tenant can tell you their claim is in process, but not do it. I had tenants do a runner owing several thousand in rent, leaving the property in an awful state needing repairs costing £5k. I was still not even able to find new tenants until processes had been gone through to legally establish that the previous tenants had abandoned the tenancy. Because even though they'd not paid most of their rent for some time, and even though they'd clearly done a runner after trashing the place, they had a right to return unless due legal process had been gone through, and that takes time and money.
It's a really tough one - we can all understand why tenant protections are there, but every time there is a new legal restriction or a local council brings in its own requirements for minimum space per occupant etc, it has the effect of reducing availability, and taking more properties out of the private rental market. This probably benefits those looking to buy by increasing supply, but it makes things harder for those who, right now, need to rent.

I'm not a LL but if I were, I would only take on tenants who could pass the affordability check and preferably no children depending on the size of the property and most likely professionals.

I would be very very selective when it came to the tenants I choose.

LL's are in the business to make money, they're not a charity (A LL actually told me this many years ago when I was renting after I complained about her increasing the rent) I didn't understand it then, but I do now!

Whare area of the country arer you in @Whatsthestitch ?

So could the people that work though? They could cause damage just as much as someone who claimed housing benefit? Just because they may work doesn't make them any better of a person