am i being unreasonable to feel like i’ll never be accepted to rent anywhere!!

[justtryingherbest]

i’m newly single, 2 children, self employed (3 years now) but i do receive universal credit and honestly, i am finding it very difficult to get accepted to rent anywhere. all i seem to keep getting is either ghosted by the estate agents or i view and apply and twice i’ve been told that ‘they’ve had bad tenants before and had people who haven’t paid so we’ll let you know once the landlords had more applications’ which sounds like they’re just assuming i won’t pay also….

any tips?! support?

They seem to want 6 months up front for self-employed people. They don’t like to see any benefits at all because we’re all tarred with the same brush. It’s really tough out there, you’re not imagining it.

I know of someone successfully self-employed in the creative field, no benefits, who had no choice but to get an office job for two years just to get secure a rental!

Are you housed now?

I can feel your frustration:-( you might be able to get some advice from Shelter or the Citizens Advice Bereau. Do you have somewhere atm?

Keep trying and look on open rent for private landlords
I've been a self employed renter all my life and have always managed to find somewhere

That's interesting. What kind of proof do they need of your income? I've found it really difficult being self employed myself.

We've own a couple of rentals Two are suitable for small families. Just ask to meet the owners, pay up front and you'll be fine,
I don't rent to people who have lots of tattoos or badly behaved children

The new legislation is driving a lot of the landlords out of the sector and the remaining ones are being incredibly cautious.

i did ask one of the girls who was showing me around a property whether i could pay up front and she said legally that’s not even an option now due to them not being able to actually give the landlord that money in a lump sum…i just don’t even know what to do! yeah im housed, if i need to i can move back to my parents with my children for a bit whilst this house sale goes through. i have 2 more viewings this week and i just hope i get 1 of them. what can i do or say?! it’s so frustrating, i have saved and bought 2 properties myself in the past and successfully sold both…the only reason im looking at renting now is to get away from my ex and test the waters in a new area for 2/3 years and i just don’t see the point in purchasing if i may move

i know on paper i dont sound great, but at the end of the day if i dont pay the rent then i have nowhere to live!

do you have to state that you receive benefits?! because surely it makes no difference where your money comes from?

Have you got a guarantor? More landlords will be interested if you have a rich guarantor.

It’s a nightmare in some places. My son had a good job and money in the bank but still took several months to get a flat to rent, some of his work colleagues had to live in hostels for a few months. There are far too few homes so landlords can be very picky and selective.

@jetlag92 what do tattoos have to do with anything?

@Badbadbunny annoyingly one of the homes i have applied for has been on the site for weeks and has recently been reduced…after i applied for it! i emailed the estate agent basically stating that surely if he’s struggling for a tenant then he should just be happy for someone like myself wanting to live there!

In a similar position to the landlord you mention. We have people wanting to rent the property but who don't meet our criteria. The plan is to wait and keep decreasing the price until we get so many enquiries that we find the right tenant. For us the ideal tenant would be an employed couple, with or without children, who easily meet/exceed the affordability criteria.

I don't know how long it would take to get a non paying tenant to leave under the new plans. Years maybe? Non fault eviction is gone and whilst it will be possible to evict for not paying rent the courts won't have capacity.

Can you get a guarantor?
Where we are at least, there are countless applications for every property that goes up for rent so the landlord can pick the one that's best on paper. Makes it hard for a lot of people.

I don't know how long it would take to get a non paying tenant to leave under the new plans. Years maybe? Non fault eviction is gone and whilst it will be possible to evict for not paying rent the courts won't have capacity.

Under the new bill you need 3 months of arrears before you can evict, instead of two. In the less busy courts, it currently takes about 6 months from application to bailiff date. In places like Central London, Clerkenwell & Shoreditch or Willesden it takes 18 months. This is likely to get worse after the reforms.

@AhBiscuits i could get a guarantor but i was also advised on this occasion ‘it would make no difference’ 🙃

has anyone any advice on using a professional guarantor service?

If they're not renting to you because you're on benefits, they're breaking the law. If anyone has said that to you, or hinted towards it, you might want to confront them.

Look on open rent and local private rental groups, they tend to be easier to go through than estate agents

Probably this particular landlord is holding out for the most straightforward and low risk option they can find.

However the advice is sound. To find a guarantor could open up other options.

The government’s policy means private landlords have to be super vigilant about risk. At least you still have parents as backup option.

Is it definitely just that you are on benefits? I think its more likely that its due to self employment or your income level - how high is your income? They won't want your rent to be more than 25-30% of your after tax income. How many years of tax returns do you have to show that your self employment income is a really reliable source of funds?

If you are needing UC top ups, would you perhaps earn more just getting a job?

Yup after covid and the 3 million self employed and freelancers who were excluded from void support grants, landlords, banks etc are now very apprehensive about self employment and risks of them not having earnings protection for whatever reason.

Also all the mlm huns /influencer stuff means loads of people are now "self employed" who actually work very few hours and don't bring in a great income from it. These aren't entrepreneurs who've started a business for the love of it, they are often women looking for anything they can fit around children and that's not typically how you maximise your earnings.

Is that entitled to amount with childcare costs? Which you wont have from next month, as 11 year old will be going to secondary from September? As others have said, work on 17 year old being 18. And then they will either get a job so you will lose single person discount. Or go away to uni?

Anyone can join the council housing list, but you would be very low priority.

The house you are currently living in with DH, do you own it? In which case the equity could count as savings (not 100% sure on this).

Sorry, please ignore post, wrong thread

do you have to state that you receive benefits?! because surely it makes no difference where your money comes from?

Being on benefits is regarded as an indication that your income is low, otherwise you wouldn't be on benefits. Which is ridiculous, as in high rent areas households on reasonable incomes can be entitled to a top up of UC.

Renting just seems to get tougher and tougher imo. Every change in the law intended to make things easier for tenants seems to end up making it harder.