Renting, landlords not accepting housing benefit

[Googoodol]

Hi i live in a two bedroom rented flat in the south east, we used to live in the area where I grew up London but renting prices where to high so had to move when I was pregnant which ment leaving my job :( when me and husband moved I was still getting maturnity money , now I'm a stay at home mum had to give up work as can't afford child care, I'm now pregnant again with a little boy problem is our flat is so small we have to move but as I'm not working my husband has his wage topped up by housing benefit as he doesn't earn enough, no landlord will accept us at all as soon as we mention housing benefit :( I just dont know what to do the council will not help us which is fair enough but if the landlord at the property I'm at now doesn't renew our tenancy we will be homeless :( I feel like a failure so guilty on the children, my anxiety is so high but can't take my antidepressants as am pregnant, cry myself to sleep most nights I know a lot of people are worse off than me but I'm so scared for the future wake up with dread every morning. I just do t no what to do no family can help with childcare ect as I had to move away from everyone, just feel like here is no hope, we a decent family always pay rent on time, keep place really tidy but they just see benefits :( feel worthless

That is sadly the situation I found myself in. It’s horrible and we are still in temp accommodation that is much too small 2 years on and my kids have suffered greatly but as well as not accepting hb I couldn’t get on affordability calculators anymore as I’d originally rented with an ex so landlord returned from living abroad did house up moved in then sold it. Meanwhile we are stuck in this house in limbo
look really hard op there must be some places that accept, ask if you Ll can write you a reference (but understand you might not want to let them know you’re planning leaving yet) or you can show bank statements with all your rent payments on?,.
Even a family member who could be a guarantor?...it is worrying and I think for people who do get hb shouldn’t be punished for those who get it and don’t!! I’ve never missed a rent payment. Was just very very bad luck.

But you’ve got a roof for now, so relax and try not to worry, if the worst happens you should speak to your council they will support you and contact shelter also. Take care of yourself

@PPopsicle actually I got pregnant while on the pill so no fault of my own! just because we don't earn alot of money does that mean we can't have children, if you haven't got anything nice to say or helpful why bother commenting 🤷‍♀️ and thank you @SaskiaRembrandt for the advice :) xx

@Kaykay066 thank you and oh that's awful hope things get better for you and I know I need to be grateful and stay positive alot more people are worse of than me it's just the uncertainty of the future that worrys me but suppose that's the same for alot people. Thank you @chocolatespiders

I got pregnant unexpected whilst on the pill, but I still sat down and figured out financially whether it was possible and a sensible idea.

I was actually going to write exactly when ‘keyboardwarrior’ put!!

How big are the bedrooms? Realistically, you can remain in a two bedroom property for a good few years yet.

We've just moved from a two bedroom to three bedroom house. My DC still share a room and likely will do until they are in their teens.

As others have said, a council or association property wouldn't guarantee you anywhere bigger.

@PPopsicle I couldn't go through with a abortion and told myself we would make it work which I am trying to do you bitter old crow it's people like you with your useless advice that really don't help the situation

Old? I beg you’re pardon!

You're worrying too soon. If you have been good tenants, there's no reason why your landlord will not renew. A 2 bed property is perfectly fine for two kids. The baby can stay in your room for some time and then, if they're of opposite sexes, I believe they can share a room up until age 10.

One of my tenants went on housing benefit I had to fill in a form for the council confirming she was a tenant and how much her rent was. I didn't care where the money came from. But I owned the property outright so didn't have to inform a mortgage company.

Some of us do. But I know from when a previous tenant was temporarily unemployed she was only entitled to rent for a two bed with dc older than yours and opposite sex. So you wouldn't get anything bigger anyway.

And if I'm completely honest, I'd have huge doubts about letting to someone in your situation. Lone parents working pt with preschool dc, or those unable to find jobs within childcare hours, those unable to work because of disability or a couple where one works and the other is a carer don't give me any concerns about the likely responsibility of a tenant, and they are situations not of their choosing I can sympathise with. But with a couple where one has decided to be a sahm when they can't afford it, I'd also be concerned about whether they'd done their sums before committing to the rent, and how much responsibility they took for themselves, and therefore how much they'd take for my property.

@trainspottingwelsh well wasn't my choice actually childcare cost are sky high here I would be working for nothing, don't judge until you know the facts

@trainspottingwelsh and I have looked for many jobs why my toddler does half day at preschool and there is none that can do them hours

You lie

Don't be ridiculous, you'd get help with childcare costs, and long term would be better off, plus you're a two parent family so alternatively you could work round each other.

I'm not judging you on an individual level, I'm just saying that as a LL, I'd be reluctant to let to someone in your position.

You may be "working for nothing" but at least you'd be self reliant, rather than letting the taxpayer pick up the bill.

I'm a LLand my mortgage stipulates tenant s must not be in receipt of benefits or students. Just the mortgage we have nothing personal. This is relatively common I think.

as pp stated the best you would get from council is a 2 bedroom & in London only one is some cases. I would also point out that some of the accommodation the councils offer are pretty dire (ie no floor covering ancient kitchens & badly in need of decoration & as many will tell you council housing LL & social housing LL such housing associations can be poor - repair times & quality etc -

I am also a LL, and wouldn't rent in this situation.

1. the insurance
2. universal credit is unreliable, paid in arrears, and definitely leave the landlord at risk of non payment, besides the fact that the removal of direct pay has been proven to be detrimental to a large portion of claimants. Not your fault, but not your landlords either.
3. you seem to be going into this situation with a victim mindset, and with no desire to change things. If you can't work as childcare is too much, you could have looked at shift work as your partner gets home, or weekend retail work. If you'd have said you were using the time at home to retrain, the list of answers here would have had a much different tone.

Your landlord hasn't expressed that he wants you out, you have 2 separate bedrooms so are not overcrowded, so try and relax about it all- stressing won't help anyone, and will do your baby harm. Start making a plan! What can you do to help yourself out of this situation, how much do you need to earn to stop receiving housing benefit? How can you earn that from home work, or retrain so you can in the future? Think positive, and you might be able to sort it yourself in the future.

Growing up my father worked days, my mother worked evenings and some nights. Hard work yes, but we all had a decent standard of living, a nice holiday or 2 a year and instilled a decent work ethic in my brother and I.

told myself we would make it work

So what are you doing to make it work? You can't change whether landlords will accept housing benefit or not, so if you can't find anyone that will accept HB, then your only choice is to get yourself in a financial position where you can cope without. That realistically means your or your partner (or both) earning extra money. That means looking for jobs that you can do when your partner is at home, or a job that includes your toddler's pre-school hours so that you only have to pay wrap around childcare. Doing something proactive to help yourself is also likely to help your anxiety.

Between you and your husband you need to channel your energies into earning more rather than panicking about what hasn’t happened. Many people work for nothing in the childcare years but it means that you’re going to have a steady record of employment and far better prospects in 4 years time when why’re all at school so it’s still very much worthwhile.

I am a LL and have tenants on benefits.

I don't have a mortgage so don't have to tell anyone. However, I had to search harder for insurance to find someone who would cover tenants on benefits and I did then have to pay a premium for it.

My tenant has been excellent. He has a guarantor (parent) and has never been late with rent and is very pleasant to deal with.

So, it might be that larger landlords who own a number if properties and might be less likely to have mortgages might have more flexibility. If you don't meet the affordability criteria though, you will need a guarantor and also might expect their bent to be a little higher to cover additional costs such as bigger premium insurance.

I agree it is really tough. However, the mortgage issue plus higher insurance premiums (and you to have to search quite hard to find an insurance company that will take tenenats in benefits) plus the reports of more liklihood of damage do out people off.

Unfortunately, statistically, those on benefits are a greater risk - that is why mortgage companies say no and insurance premiums are higher.

It's the same as always - a few bad eggs tarnish everyone else and all the good tenants lose out. The trouble for landlords is that it isn't always easy to tell who the good or bad tenants are.

I think all you can do is to make sure you have everything you can in your favour - so make sure you will have excellent references at this place, have always paid on time and leave places in a great condition, have a guarantor lined up and unfortunately be prepared to pay a bit more. You will find somewhere, but you will probably have less choice and not get offered the best properties.

I hope you can stay where you are for as long as you'd like.