Why might an estate agent turn down...

[ClairityVerity]

...these potential tenants?

Lovely family, three daughters under 10, one working father running his own business, SAHM, income is three times the total rent, excellent previous landlord references, good credit score. No pets, non-smokers.

Any ideas?

Kvetch, what I meant is that the previous landlords probably didn't have a problem with late payment. I'd definitely mention defaults if I were writing a reference for a tenant.

D'oh! I mean they probably didn't pay their rent late, I assume, at least - not sure I phrased that right earlier!

I let several times to tenants paying with housing benefits because I know how tough it can be to find somewhere and I was able to as no mortgage. But had I had a mortgage it just wouldn't have been possible.

But you said he rented an office

That's bloody posh

He could do cheap computer stuff from home. Or in a shed.

Renting an office is loads of cash.

Is your friend ok with you discussing her personal business like this?

Laurier, you should see some of the offices round here. Cheap and definitely not cheerful. Anyway I think it's more of a desk her rents than a whole office - she kicked him and all his geeky hardware out of their 2 bed after child no 3 was born!

Can people with vans not be middle class? My dad has a 'middle class' job (in my opinion) and has a work van.

Anyway. This is all rather different from you OP asking why they have been turned down when you clearly know. Why is this any business of yours?

Damn! Why does autocorrect keep calling you Laurier?

Fairienuff, we were chatting about it and I said I'd canvas opinions on MN, which she didn't mind, as long as I altered a few minor details.

Do you know, Pip, I totally read the 'vehicles' thing differently - I thought Giddy meant dealing in commercial vehicles! Casualties of speed-reading.

Clarity some houses have 'no work vans' ie plumbers or electricians van written into the deads!

I would love to know why! Snobbery? Phobia of pipes and wires?

Did your computer autocorrect 'deeds' to 'dwads', by the way?!

Damn autocorrect!!

No Clarity, I made a spelling mistake. Oh the shame I shall go and shoot myself now.

he can't afford to pay the rent.

That's why he qualifies (and receives) housing benefits.

Not that big of a mystery.

You will get a lot of people arguing how it's not fair, discrimination, that's it is somehow more secure than being able to afford it in your salary.... But end of day, the estate agents look at the first line. If there's a line of people interested in renting the property that can afford to without HB, that will be first preference.

Where is your friend living at the moment, surely she has been through all this before or has she just been lucky in the past finding landlords than can accept HB tenants?

There has also been a lot in the press about Universal Credit which include HB. However the HB element gets paid to the LL directly unless the claimant is in a HA house. I may be wrong, but agents expenses are not part of the allowable claim and therefore either the LL pays out of the money recieve in rent or the householder pays out of other (non HB) income. It is not in the interests of the Agent to take on a family that may or may not pay the additional top up or alert the LL to the fact that they are overtly paying for a service that doesn't add anything to their rental income.

I'll be brutally honest.

What 'middle-class thing with computers' does he do? Take them to Pizze Express?? Seriously, there are a huge levels of delusion going on here.

Your friend's family are on benefit. That's why they are struggling. As other posters have said, a LL with a mortgage will not be able to take on a HB benefit tenant. The market of un-mortgaged LLs willing to take on HB tenants is very small. Their best bet is social house - council or HA.

If I was to guess - and this is a good guess as there are so many people going this route - you friend's DH has set himself up as self-employed to claim tax credits. An optimum choice to work as little as poss and extract the most benefits. I'm not blaming your friend; its the system that is nuts.

Tax credits are lucrative in the short-term but a disaster in the long run. Your friends OH will have dropped out of work and will struggle to find gainful employment - a year or two hole in your CV/work history will really dent your future employment prospects. The self-employment tax credit scam only last 12 months. After that, your friend's OH will find themselves scratting around for hours.

Working-age benefits are set to be slashed. You can expect the the whole tax-credit system to be dismantled after the election - there is not the money to fund it and its been a disaster for the state and the people claiming it.