Getting a rental if a sahm if I leave my marital home...

[Greenmum2019]

After a bit of practical advice. I'm playing the long game to leave. I'm worried about being able to get a rental property in my name, being on benefits only. Will have a deposit and a month rent in advance. But no income except benefits. I can't get a job first as I am.aoso a carer to a disabled child x

It depends if you can comfortably afford the rent. I am a LL and would have no issues with this providing (a) you can afford it (b) you can pass a credit check - meaning no CCJs etc.

As long as the place is within budget for you, you would make a great tenant. Parents of disabled kids aren't going to turn the place into a party house, weed farm or be likely to move out suddenly leaving me with an empty house and a mortgage to pay!

The key here is affordability- have you researched prices in the area you want to live in? Do you know what your income would be?

Does disabled child need specific things in home (downstairs bedroom/rails similar) that may limit property choice? If you can afford the rent it sounds doable

try on openrent website where it lets you search for LL's who accept benefits and you deal directly with the LL rather than an agency

These kind of places seem to be very infrequent with agencies

I'd second what @lubeybooby said... i used openrent as a LL and it is a good system for both parties, plenty of protection for you as a tenant with things like deposit protection, gas safety certificate etc. Check it out!

Thanks that great advice.
I imagine that I would be able to afford it with my universal credit plus sons DLA and maintenance when that gets sorted.
I have a good credit rating just no employment.

Most LL's insurance prevents them from taking tenants on benefits.

If there's a way of getting a job, that's probably the best way forward.

Is there no chance of you staying where you are and your ex leaving?

In my experience, landlords will not take tenants in receipt of benefits. Unless it's housing association.

You might not get UC if you still own part of the house? Unless it's on the market. But then as soon as you receive your share of equity then UC will stop (assuming its over £16k). It's doing my head in.

Many landlords won't accept benefits, that's true, but in my experience it has less to do with insurance and more to do with making unfair assumptions about the potential tenants. I've just renewed my landlord insurance and this question did not arise!

My tenants are a lovely family where the dad is self employed as a builder and the mum is a SAHM. I don't know if they claim any benefits but she would absolutely qualify due to her health issues. He actually failed the initial checks due to lack of an employer reference but was able to show proof of income in the form of bank statements etc. They have paid the rent on time without fail, and I've had no issues with my insurer or mortgage lender.

I did reject a few applicants who happened to be on benefits but had other issues...

1. Bloke whose plan to pay the rent was based on fraudulently letting his council place and living off that plus job seekers allowance / UC. He was late to the appointment because of "work" which i queried- "oh its cash in hand". Erm, no I do not want to do business with a self confessed fraudster!

1. Lovely lass who just couldn't afford it. She would have been £400 short each month, had no idea how she'd cover the gap. Also had multiple CCJs against her.

1. Applicant who constantly bombarded me with questions over FB messenger, having not read the advert properly. Then the next day asked me all the same questions again, and did not understand when I advised him to read up the message chain but just kept repeating the questions - if you're that much hard work before you even get the keys, what are you going to be like when you're in?!?

Anyway the point of all that is to illustrate that landlords who are going to vet the tenants themselves and have their heads in the right place will absolutely consider you. You're not a fraudster. You can afford it. You don't have CCJs. And you can carry on a conversation without being a massive pain in the arse!

I think you'll really struggle to find a landlord who will take you I'm afraid.

Have you spoken to women's aid for advice?

As you’re married and presumably plan to divorce, I’d see a lawyer with as much financial info as possible and discuss your options.

I'm sorry you've got so much on your plate. A lot of private landlords would exclude you due to the benefits.
Are you able to contact the council and discuss suitable housing for your daughter?

Is there a reason you can't stay in the hone as you will be caring for your daughter and the partner leaves?

I've really struggled in the same situation - I've even got a job now but it doesn't pay enough to pass the credit check (I work PT and I need to earn £36k to rent a house for me and the kids apparently 😱) so I've had to pay a years rent upfront. It gets complicated because I won't pass the credit check when my tenancy expires so I'll need to do the same next year but I'm not able to save another £16k this year... Christ knows what I'll do!

I used to rent a flat out and it was a condition on the buy to let mortgage that I didn't rent out to people on benefits. I'm not sure if that's still the case as this was about 15 years ago.

Hey Op,
I had horrendous trouble 4 years ago with the same problem you're facing.
The way I did it was to ask my dad to be guarantor, 3 months bank statements and luckily I had 8 years worth of references from previous landlords. Even with that I was getting no's.
However, the best thing I did was to go into the agencies in person and introduce myself. Horribly nerve wracking but I ended up meeting a nice estate agent lady who really backed me the next time a flat became available. I didn't really get much of a choice, but it was better than throwing myself at the mercy of the council and being moved away from dd schools/to a rough area

Use a guarantor. Look on OpenRent and be completely upfront about your finances when you are asked questions.

Not all landlords will take clients on benefits but some will if you have a home-owning guarantor with a clear credit check and enough earnings to pass affordardabilty.

Watch out for unscrupulous landlords that will take you on with no checks as you might find yourself in a complete shithole

Why don’t you ring your local rental agencies and find out what if they have anything available for someone in your situation?

I found it very hard (naive) as I had a child and a pet and no job (carer too.) I had savings fortunately so I agreed to pay six months in advance and rolling. With references they accepted that on one property but some I couldn’t even view.

My mum has a house she rents out cheap x2 ppl init. One pays every month from benefits she gets it direct every month from state. Other one has a job and never pays and hes subverted to pay rent and isnt paying rent!! Benefits much better tenants however hers is cheap and as its rented to x2 ppl who are 2 men they share the rent etc but one isnt paying so it's a nightmare. So this is why they are strict

Have you checked the max you would get for housing under UC? The local housing allowance for my area is £1000 pm for 2 bedrooms but the average rent is £1300.

You may struggle to get a private sector landlord to accept you, and the rents have increased in recent years. One reason is that landlords can no longer get their mortgage interest payments back under expenses from HMRC. So rents have gone up. Where I live, rental properties in my street used to go for £850 about 5 years ago, but now they are £1100. Due to having a disabled child, you may qualify for social housing (although the wait-list in most areas is long). If you pop down to your Housing Options centre run by the local authority, they can discuss it with you.

I am a.private landlord. There are no restrictions.by.my insurance who I can rent to and one of my tenants is, and was at time of let, unemployed and on benefits. You do need to ensure your benefit covers rent or are able to make up shortfall. Depending on your local council you could go into homeless and you would be priority to be rehoused. Different landlords have different requirements and a lot of them personal preferences.