What does no DSS actually mean?.......

sillygirl73 · 26 May 2011 at 6:56PM

Hello,
This is probably a stupid question, but I am new to renting and just wanted some clarification on the above terms. I know that it refers to housing benefit etc, but wondered as to the actual details. We are looking to rent a property for around £700 per month and based on our earnings etc, will be entitled to a small amount of housing benefit, about £20 per week. Having never claimed any benefits other than child benefit and the usual basic child tax credit, having a bit of help with our rent would be quite nice:). However, if it means that we are limited to DSS accepting landlords and letting agents, we will struggle to find anywhere. Does anyone have any experience of this? Thank you in advance:)

Matt1977 · 26 May 2011 at 7:00PM

'DSS' is a bit of a '1980s' term. DSS stands for the now defunct 'Department of Social Security. Basically, the landlord doesn't want to entertain anyone claiming any unemployment benefit or incapacity benefit because of a theory that they are less likely to pay the rent than employed people.

G_M · 26 May 2011 at 7:35PM

As Matt says. The problem you migh have is that a landlord will want to be sure you can afford the rent. You tell him you're working full time, he's happy. Then he asks your salary and realises you will struggle to afford the rent - he's less happy. Then you tell him you'll be topping up your income with HB and.... well, depends on the LL. Some will be reassured, some will say no.

However, if, as most sensible LLs do, he asks for a credit check and needs payment for this, tell him upfront all about your income/credit history. If he falls into the catagory of LL who says "no", you save yourself the fee. If he's the 'reassured' catagory, then the checks will throw up no surprises and you'll be OK.

zaksmum · 26 May 2011 at 9:17PM

Occasionally you'll see "No DHSS" in our local paper. What is the DWP nowadays used to be Department of Health and Social Security, later called Department of Social Security. (DSS)

Most landlords won't accept any tenants on benefits which is what No DSS means.

Housing Benefit is often quite a bit lower than the required rent for the property and a tenant on benefits is deemed to be unable to afford any top up.

daisygrabber · 26 May 2011 at 10:51PM

I advertise as "no DSS". When I first let, I thought "I'm not bothered how they pay, it's none of my business if they are on benefits" & the first chap I showed round was lovely & wanted the house & was on benefits.
Then the fun started!
I was happy with the amount the council would pay. However, they would only begin to process the HB claim once the tenant was in the property so I would not have my upfront rent as with a non-HB tenant. They said processing would take 6-8 weeks after receiving the form.
Also, the chap told me upfront that he was rubbish with money & had been told that if he & I saw the council together, they could pay me the money direct (he would be happier with that as would know his rent was paid & he wouldn't be tempted to spend the money). The council informed us (very rudely) that under no circumstances would they do this.
As a LL, I just couldn't afford the delay and the risk. That's why I now put "no DSS".
With private LLs though, everything is negotiable. I would be happy with the OP's circumstances. Also, if a current tenant had to go onto HB, but had always paid ok, I would be happy with that.
DB x

gizmo111 · 26 May 2011 at 11:04PM

The LHA is a bit of a minefield as they pay the tenants fortnightly and LL want their rents monthly ususally meaning there is a shortfall from the start. With my tenants whom I have had for over 2 years we agreed at the start that they would pay me whenever they got paid - so they pay me twice a month and then twice a year I get paid rent three times a month to balance it out.
If you are just claiming a small top up I can't see it being a problem for any LL.

Good Luck

[Deleted User] · 27 May 2011 at 2:42AM

I am six weeks into renting a house. Some of the rent will be paid via housing allowance.., its taken til now for that to be processed but I knew this could happen and made sure we kept ourselves really short the first month so I'd have the second months rent ready if needed. It was, obviously. It is also true that Housing allowance is paid every four weeks not every calender month.., so initially there will be some months with a larger shortfall than u think. It does even out in the long run though. U just have to be prepared to manage your money very carefully and always assume the worst is going to happen lol!

I did however, after a lot of searching, find a landlord that would accept a tenant needing a housing allowance top up. It wasn't easy though, I have to say, but they do exist. £20 top up a week isn't a great deal though so that should go in your favour. Just make sure that that amount of housing allowance will be paid tho.., I was caught out because I had two same sex children so Housing allowance would only be allowed for a two bed house. Because one of my children has special needs, we had to have a 3 bed house and top up over the housing allowance amount to get one.., and even that was increased above my expectation because HA amounts paid reduced in April. U do have to be very careful and check everything.

fatbelly · 27 May 2011 at 3:09AM

So 'no DSS' is code for 'no LHA'

But how would the landlord know? The tenant applies to the Council, the council pays (4-weekly in arrears) to the tenant and the tenant is responsible for paying the rent, usually calendar monthly.

You can be working and earning an OK wage and still get some LHA.

millym · 27 May 2011 at 4:28AM

I've been on IB/DLA for many years, and when I was planning to move, saw the property I am now in on Rightmove. Phoned the agency, viewed the flat, liked it, told the agent what benefits I was on, and they said that they didn't class me as 'DSS' but as a 'Disabled' applicant, and if I had a guarantor, deposit etc, then there would be no problem.

The whole process was simple and straightforward - maybe just luck?

Morglin · 27 May 2011 at 6:07AM

We had the same thing - when we thought, briefly, about renting privately, I contacted more than a few LA's (all of whom stated 'no DSS') to find out what they actually meant by this.

We do recieve pensions, DLA and IB, but we don't claim housing benefit and wouldn't have been entitled to LHA because of income thresholds.

They all assured me that they would be quite happy to accept anyone on disability benefits and/or pensions and that it wouldn't be an issue.

We could have supplied excellent landlord and bank references, plus normal deposits, but I made it very clear that we had intention of supplying any sort of guarantor or extra up front.

In the end, due to the state of some of the properties and the rent they wanted for some complete hovels we didn't bother. :eek:

We were willing and able to pay about £1300 pcm but they must have been having a laugh with a few of them lol, so we decided to stay in social housing and just transfer back to London, where we needed to be because of family issues.

So, it's always worth checking out about so called 'no DSS'.

Lin

00ec25 · 27 May 2011 at 12:07PM

millym wrote: »

I've been on IB/DLA for many years, the agency, said that they didn't class me as 'DSS' but as a 'Disabled' applicant, and if I had a guarantor, deposit etc, then there would be no problem.

Looks like you dealt with a switched on LA

if a LL/LA states no DSS and then refuses people on IB/DLA they risk being done for discrimination unde rthe Disability Discrimination Act (DDA), therefore the blanket term no DSS needs to be applied very carefully and should never be used to exclude *everyone* on benefits.

also in response to fatbelly #8 - a competent LL will always do a credit check and that would show up someone on LHA because the T could not afford the rent on their income alone, so yes you can hide receipt of LHA from the LL and not tell the LL upfront, but that does not mean it will not be noticed.

PLEASE READ BEFORE POSTING

What does no DSS actually mean?.......

Comments

Categories

Get our FREE Weekly email full of deals & guides - and it’s spam-free