do i stay in my damp cold expensive house or lie through my teeth so my kids can have a nice home??

[bellarose2011]

just looking for some advice really, i am a single mother to 2 DD, 10 months and 2yrs.
we currently live in a 3 bed semi detatched house, it has an old back boiler which makes the gas bills huge yet we are still always freezing. the garden is a vertical hill (literally!) there is mold growing on the kids bedroom wall. the double glazing doesn't work and there is puddles of water on all the windowsills every morning. i hate it!!
in the area i live there is a shortage of social housing and my name is on all council/housing association lists. my only hope is a house from an estate agents. but of course they won't accept DSS.
now i get my housing benefit paid to me so there is no reason i need to disclose this other than it being dishonest. but i know i would be a great tenant, i have never not paid my rent, i'm a clean freak and have no pets.
i have found a perfect house that i can afford and have the application form in front of me, i know i won't get it if i tell the truth. i have a friend who runs her own business and would say i worked for her. i just don't know what to do??
the eatate agents use MARAS, will my bank tell them where my funds come from?

[DudeIAmSoFuckingRock]

framey believe me i have thought it through plenty. it is you that is not thinking here.

i really dont know how you can say with any confidence "how will they ever find out"

do you have a crystal ball?

[bellarose2011]

yes i have done research, i could ring up the same company that theses estate agents are using, say i am a private landlord and get a credit check on anyone.
i would just need name, DOB, addresses and account number and sort code.
they are just checking that you havn't got county court judgements or been declared bankrupt.

[FrameyMcFrame]

How do you suggest they'll find out Dude?

[bellarose2011]

beebaby, what proof of income were you asked for?

[expatinscotland]

Wow, who is this agent? I need one who doesn't do a bunch of checks :o.

[DudeIAmSoFuckingRock]

i gave a few examples upthread framey.

[TantrumsAndBalloons]

Are you entirely sure they aren't going to ask for wage slips?

What if your "pretend" employer slips up?

Basically it's fraud isn't it? Because you are lying about your employment status.

You can't just say "if it happens I'll deal with it"

You are putting your family at a risk of being evicted, and yes you can be evicted for breach of tenancy agreement.

[DudeIAmSoFuckingRock]

and as i have also already told you a LL on this thread has said twice that they would indeed evict the OP if they found out she had lied to get the house.

[FrameyMcFrame]

Better to just say you're self employed and then offer a guarantor.

It's not fraud, look up the definition of fraud on Google.

I don't any landlord can just decide to evict someone if they find out they are on benefits. A contract is signed which is legally binding, unless there is a clause in the contract which states 'you can be evicted for being in reciept of housing benefit' then it is illegal to just evict someone on a whim.

[TantrumsAndBalloons]

Yes, op it would be a very real possibility.

I can't believe there are people advising you to commit fraud.

It's ridiculous.

Sorry, but either tell the LL the truth, or concentrate on fixing up your current home, the LL will have certain legal obligations, repairs they have to do.

There are many ways you could get caught out, can't you see that? You can't bury your head in the sand when you are being evicted.

[FrameyMcFrame]

think*

[TantrumsAndBalloons]

framey it's breach of tenancy, no?

The op gave false information to obtain the property.

[FrameyMcFrame]

Its NOT FRAUD....

try finding out what fraud means first before you accuse people of trying to commit it!!!

[TantrumsAndBalloons]

1. A deception deliberately practiced in order to secure unfair or unlawful gain.
   

Definition of fraud.

So lying about working in order to obtain a house is deliberatley practicing deception.

What's your point?

[worsestershiresauce]

bellarose if you want to take some risks to improve your life, and feel your kids deserve a garden great, now do the decent thing, go to the landlord, explain your situation, provide a good reference and a guarantor, and take your chances with everyone else.

Why lie? What does that teach your kids? Why lay yourself open to action for misrepresentation, eviction, and being black marked. If you do lie and get caught out don't expect sympathy from anyone, and don't expect any decent LL to touch you with a barge pole going forward.

For what its worth if you came to me and were honest, I'd take a chance on you and give you a 6 month let, with possible renewal if we were both happy. If you lied to me you'd be out.

[DudeIAmSoFuckingRock]

oh btw and this has just come back to me or i would have mentioned it earlier. when i was house searching earlier this year when i was arranging to view the first house i saw i asked the agent if it was a problem that i was on HB. they said that they dont discriminate and that all applications are forwarded on to the LL. and when i think about it now, none of the agent advertised properties specified no DHSS. it's worth checking with the agent whether it really does discriminate or not.

[worsestershiresauce]

To answer something earlier in the thread, a LL has the right to end an assured short hold tenancy on various grounds.

Ground 17 - This final ground was introduced by the Housing Act 1996 and covers cases where the tenancy has been created as a result of a false statement knowingly having been made by the tenant or someone acting on his behalf. It is worth noting here the importance of a Tenancy Application which seeks factual information from the tenant.

So if you lie to a LL to obtain the tenancy they can give you notice to move out.

[bellarose2011]

yes i agree that if the landlord wanted to they could legally evict me, i personally think there is a good chance they wouldn't if they rent was paid and i had proved myself a good tenant.
i don't understand why you say no LL would ever touch me again, clearly im not going to start my application saying i was once eveicted for lying! people all over the country lie every single day to get jobs, mortgages, rent houses.
its incredibly naive to think otherwise. people paint the best picture of themselves and leave out stuff they don't want people to know.

also i am going to say that i recieve a small amount of HB so if it is an insurance problem they will know about it.
so i am only going to lie about working a few hours a week, i think everyone is blowing it out of proportion.
like i say people tell lies like this evey day!

[cowardlylionhere]

Honestly, I think you'd be best to tell the truth. There will be other houses. I was in a similar situation, in a teeny house that was damp and wanted to move closer to my family. I saw a beautiful house, within budget, and just emailed the landlord to explain my situation, that being that I was on income support since being made redundant and my partner leaving, so it was me and 3 dc. I, like you, could provide excellent references from my landlord. They called me up and told me they just 'knew' I was the right tenant which was lovely t ohear. The fact that I'd been honest counted in my favour (that and my posh accent truth be told ). If you lie, it will bite you in the bum. I have only been here 2.5 weeks and I feel safe and secure, a feeling that comes with being transparent. If I was worried my landlord or the council were about to knock on my door and ask questions, then I'd be living on edge. Even in the nicest house in the world, that's no way to live. I am massively that they never questioned HB being paid to your mum. You might want to be careful that when they renew your claim for the new place they don't notice that and ask some questions.

[DudeIAmSoFuckingRock]

"clearly im not going to start my application saying i was once eveicted for lying!"

are you forgetting that you have to provide a reference from your current or most recent LL when applying for a new house?

[DudeIAmSoFuckingRock]

and you are the one saying there are NO houses in your area, even less for those on HB unless you would be intending to lie to the next prospective LL after being evicted?

[FrameyMcFrame]

If she pays the rent on time and is a good tenant why would any Land Lord evict her just for claiming housing benefit though?

They'd have to be pretty prejudiced against 'DSS' to do that

[expatinscotland]

Can you go back to renting from your mum?

[bellarose2011]

im not going to think that far ahead, it is like planning step by step what you would do if you were in a car crash. it is very unlikely that they would ever find out?
also if they did i could say that i lost my job after i moved in and hadn't lied, how would they ever know otherwise?

[expatinscotland]

'If she pays the rent on time and is a good tenant why would any Land Lord evict her just for claiming housing benefit though?

They'd have to be pretty prejudiced against 'DSS' to do that '

Because they can get one who doesn't.