Why is there such a stigma about being a single parent on benefits

[starshaker]

Im trying to move house and its a nightmare. Anywhere i like they dont accept housing benefit. Its not my choice to be on benefit but with 3 young children its impossible for me to work.

we have never done credit checks - we have just asked for references from ex landlords and employers.

amiees - to be honest, no i wouldn't. and this all comes back to what i've been saying in my previous posts.... that if the person didn't pay rent or trashed the place there would be no point me trying to get the money back by taking them to court as i would not be able to get an attachment order (if the court finds in your favour this is how you get your money back).

having had lots of fabulous references from some very iffy tenants i would never put all my confidence in these.

i would feel the same about a married couple with no children. I actually like tenants with children because they keep the place clean, are more settled and tend to stay longer, and don't have wild parties.

we currently do have a single mother who gets financial help from the council - but she was already in our place before her circumstances changed and therefore was low risk - its all about risk

To be fair, there are landlords out there who do specialise in renting to single parents. Just in the same way as there are insurer's who specialise in insuring young drivers.

As others have said, its all about risk and sorry with the current rules, many LL's simply feel its not worth the risk of taking on HB tenants.

It's not some Daily Mail crusade against single mum's, its simply making sure you stand the best chance of getting paid each month.

Would you rent anything to someone who doesn't have the means to pay if things go wrong, whom a 3rd party (ie. council) can claw back the money paid at any time directly from you despite you providing the services and you are unable to get insurance yourself for? I doubt it.

That is a fucking massive house.

This isn't about stigma, it's about market forces and statistics.

If you want to rent in an area where there are few houses and lots of people wanting to rent, landlords can afford to choose the lowest-risk tenants.

If you are statistically a high-risk tenant, then you will either have to find a way to prove that you are personally not going to fail to pay or cause any damage. Or you'll have to look in areas where there is a lot of housing stock and fewer people want to rent, where landlords cannot afford to be so picky.

Thans dreamingofsun totally get where you're coming from there.

I agree with you realityisknockedup i had to work too, i've only been forced to claim benefits in the last 6 months or so as dd has been in hospital a lot, my land lord decided to sell his property shortly after i started claiming, but was fine with me claiming as had previously paid all rent on time and looked after the property well. I was very lucky to be housed by HA.

Desperately looking for a part time job atm. Their like gold dust round here, but sure i will find something if i'm persistent.

hi

i'm sorry but i havent read the whole thread but i'm a single mum currently on benefits and lookin for a house

have u tried gumtree some of the landlords do take hb on their i have a friend who is on hb and got her house through that site

also i have come accross a site called tenantstips and they have landlords who take hb unfortunitly for me theres not many in the area i'm looking at

i hope this helps and good look :)

sorry its taken so long to reply. I know i will only get help for 3 bedrooms (i have a dd (5) and b/g twins (7) months). I will be able to pay £150 on top of what i get from HB and i am doing lots of ebaying at the moment to get deposit and 2 months rent to see if that makes a difference which would cover me until HB is sorted. I am looking everywhere between glasgow and aberdeenahire. Idealy id like 4 bedrooms but 3 would do as long as they were good sized rooms.

There is 1 property near aberdeen that has been empty for nearly 2 years and the estate agent wouldnt even speak to the landlord and see if he would consider me.

Star,I remember you posting about your useless bloke years ago-remember the non driving bit.
I wonder why you stayed around so long?

I have just finished reading the thread and realityisknockedup if i was to put my 2 babies into childcare that would be about £300 a week and there is no way i could get a job that would cover that until i finish my degree, which i cant do until the twins are at school for the same reason. And yeah i would get help with childcare costs but i would be left with no money at all to live on. Would it be better if i was getting working tax credits and childcare costs which would probably come to more than housing benefit and income support??

Moondog i stayed around so long because i didnt want to be in the situation im in now. After cheating for the 7th time i decided enough was enough

Jesus, what a cock.
You should have kicked him into touch years ago. Hope you get sorted.

Just keep in mind the caps that will come in vary by area when figuring out exactly what you can afford.

I'd strongly consider sticking as close as you can to wherever your family is because your ex is not helpful wrt childcare and the reality is that this is that you will be placed on JSA or perhaps even compelled to 'volunteer' probably sooner than you think.

It would not be wise to try to stay near him because he is already whinging about coming to see them and he is only 4 miles away.

Also, since you're going through a relationship breakdown and have family support in Aberdeenshire you qualify as priority for being housed by teh council (or HA if housing stock has been transferred in that area).

It might not be a three-bed with garden, but it will be a secure tenancy and you won't have to worry about their taking HB.

And you can always move.

'Would it be better if i was getting working tax credits and childcare costs which would probably come to more than housing benefit and income support??'

You can still get HB when you're on WTC.

And, yes, it would be better to be in that situation than on HB and IS if that full-HB means you can't find a place to live.

The fact is, wrt to private lets, most landlords don't want to or cannot take on someone who is unemployed.

There have been loads of threads about it.

We're renters ourselves. We'll never own, but tbh, if I had a place to let out I'd let it to someone employed over someone unemployed every time.

It's sad but true.

Also, why is this father not paying to support his children? Have you contacted the CSA or is he on benefits?

realityisknockedup-you posted exactly what I waa thinking!! Sorry op but you are not entitled to live in a 4 bed detached house when you are living on benefits! Before I get flamed for discriminating against single mothers let me say I was brought up by one.
We stayed in our grandparents 2 bed council flat(3 adults and 3 children) and it took my mum 16 years(!) to get her own council flat(2 bed).
Your expectations are totally unrealistic.I am sahm and my dh works his arse off but we can only afford to live in a 2 bed terrace(with 3 dcs!).

You may have to give up on the idea of a house with a garden, tbh.

But check with the council in Aberdeenshire they might have a list of LL's willing to take on HB tenants.

Instead of 'anywhere between Glasgow and Aberdeen' is might be more fruitful to focus on one particular place and go from there.

Im not going through a marraige breakdown i kicked him out 2 years ago but i now want to move. And my dds dad does pay for her, where in my thread did i say he didnt. The twins dad doesnt and he has never even made the effort to see them. And before i get jumped on i wasnt on benefits when i became pregnant (was unplanned though) I was at uni trying to get my degree. This thread was about LL not even looking at me cos i get HB. I couldnt even get a 1 bedroom flat above a pub. And there are plenty properties avalible where im looking with gardens i just cant find anybody who will accept HB.
Although saying that there is 1 place that is 5 bedrooms with a garden for £600 a month that do take HB but i dont need that many rooms so for the moment im not considering it

Note from the other perspective - I am a landlord (not actually planned - I bought a flat then 6 months later met my husband, moved in with him and due to housing market renting was a better option than selling).

I rented to a single mum on benefits - at first wasn't sure cos of all the stereotypes but then thought ok, she has references and a guarantor so i'll give her a chance.

1st month fine, second month rent was late - she blamed the council for changing the date that the housing benefit was paid but only bothered to mention this the day after the rent was due.

For the rest of the tenancy she made promise after promise of paying the back rent that she owed and didn't pay anything. Time came for her to move out and guess what, nope she's still there.

The council have actively TOLD her to say there (at the date the tennancy was up she had just had another baby - well the first was going to school so she was being expected to get a job!) but tennant didn't inform me of this. This was in October. The council promised that she would be out within 2-3 weeks, she's still there and i'm having to pay for legal action and probably bailiffs to get her out.

Unfortunately, stereotypes are sometimes there for a reason and she has meant that i will NEVER rent to someone on housing benefit again (single mother or not) due to the complete lack of responsibility that the tennant has shown and the councils actions.

All the reasons above about the claw-back and increased insurance are correct, but, i'm sorry to say, some of the blame for landlords not renting lies with some single mothers on benefits who have been seriously bad tennants and people are too scared to risk a hell of a lot of money on them.

I moved into the first house I looked at. I simply did not tell the letting agent I was going to apply for housing benefit. She didn't ask (the house is quite scruffy though, and they're very slow to do work on it, but this is the price I pay to have got a house so easily).

I pay every month's rent on the nail, btw. I know various people who rent property out, and their worst tenancy horror stories have concerned childless working couples- two doctors at the county hospital being the most notable.

And just to add to the bitter sub-theme going on here, DS' father, although local, wants nothing to do with him,offers no financial support whatsoever, and has been heard openly slagging off single mothers on benefits. What a charmer.

I'm sorry but where is the resemblance of 'if they ut no blacks or asians on the advert' ??!!

Blacks and asians aren't likely to not pay rent, someone who is purely on benefits might not because the government changes benefits allowances all the time. I understand it is hard and horrible but these landlords have mortgages to pay and if they feel you are a isk, they wont rent to you.

I have a good income and still needed to provide 6 months bank statements, employers reference and credit check before I could rent.

I don't think you're U for being frustrated but to compare your situation to racial discrimination is at best naive.

mal, you lucked out, because i can't think of any private landlords who don't even ask where the rent's coming from.

star, can your family help at all - as guarantors, with deposits, etc.?

still think you're going to be best off going through gumtree or the like where you can contact the ll yourself.

it's hard, you can expect to be rejected a lot because it's not their ideal tenant .

i agree it's not the same as racial discrimination because a person who is able-bodied can always get off benefits one day, but if you are black or asian or gay you will be that forever.

Expat: I quite agree, the lettings agent did seem Ever So Slightly A Little Bit Mad....

(but this is Cornwall, too, and things are often a bit more slack relaxed down here..