DSS tenants. Yes or No?

Ivrytwr3

Been a newbie landlord i have read lots of posts here and the general consensus is DSS shouldn't be let to if at all possible.

So i have gone with a letting agent to let out my nice home and stipulated no DSS.

Now, as i was mailing flyers for the house i met a lady recently seperated from her hubby, 2 kids, looking desperately for somewhere to live as she has only seen houses she didn't like on estates she didn't like; mine was perfect for her. However, yes you guessed it, she is DSS (hubby was bread winner).

So my questions are:

The letting agents have put my property up for £465 pcm, will the DSS pay all this?

Where do deposits come from?

Do letting agents allow DSS tenants?

Any other info you can think of???

Ta all.

[Deleted User]

I wouldn't.

nmiah786

I would advise against it.

The local authority might not always pay all of the rent and the tenant might not want to make up the differrence. I'm actually dealing with one London Borough which is paying me more rent then I would have got if I rented it out through eastate agent.....but I was lucky!!!

The local authority can ask for the money they pay you as rent back at any time if they find out that the tenants status changes and they didnt inform the council.

The amount of benefit the tenant receives might reduce at time.

Its too much hassle for very little gain.

Dont symphatise with her, business is business and keep emotions out!!!

aliasojo

Don't want to hijack this thread and turn it into a discussion over the pros and cons....but can someone give me a short answer as to why DSS tenants are so frowned upon please?

In my naivety I would have thought DSS payments would be pretty much guaranteed to be regular, especially if rent was paid directly?




Edit: Post above explains a little and was posted at same time as my q.

Anya

If they are on DSS they would probably be entitled to Housing Benefit to help with cost of rent. When my husband and I first got married, we moved into a rented house. We were on benefits and, with housing benefit, could afford the monthly payments think it was £434 a month. The house we were shown and wanted to rent was not for DSS tennants but because my mother in law would act as a guarantor for us we were then allowed.
I think you'll just have to weigh up the pros and cons. Just because people are on benefits, it doesn't always follow suit that they are lazy slackers who are going to trash your house. Maybe if they have a guarantor you could consider them, and try and meet potential tennants as well. First impressions and your own instincts normally will give you a good clue.

$17mma

I would consider signing your proerty over to your local council or housing association for them to rent. They pay you and return your property after the agreed period of time in the same condition you gave it to them.

nmiah786

$17mma wrote:

I would consider signing your proerty over to your local council or housing association for them to rent. They pay you and return your property after the agreed period of time in the same condition you gave it to them.

I would suggest checking your area and see if there are any of these agents which deal with the council. Usually those agents take your property on a 3/5 year lease and rent out to the council. They usually also offer to pay you regardless of the property being empty or not. They also manage it and then at the end of the lease return it in the condition you gave it to them (minus normal wear and tear I think). This way you have very little to do. They also should not be charging you any fee.

mummytofour

I would, some tennants are good some are bad no matter how the rent is paid.

If you are worried maybe start her on a 6 month lease.

$17mma

And make sure she opts for rent to be paid direct to teh landlord rather than to her to pay to you other wise she may be tempted to spend it!

BobProperty

aliasojo wrote:

Don't want to hijack this thread and turn it into a discussion over the pros and cons....but can someone give me a short answer as to why DSS tenants are so frowned upon please?

In my naivety I would have thought DSS payments would be pretty much guaranteed to be regular, especially if rent was paid directly?




Edit: Post above explains a little and was posted at same time as my q.

OK my experience is a little out of date but here goes:
Specifically: I have had 7 tenants on Housing Benefit (HB) over the years. 2 of them were already tenants who's circumstances changed. They weren't a problem. There were problems with all the other 5. The last one's benefit kept stopping or changing as he kept being fined or caught working. It seemed that everytime there was a change, the HB stopped for several weeks.
Generally: the rent took months before it started to come through. HB is supposed to be addressing this and it is supposed to be getting better.
There is a new system being introduced which is being piloted in a few areas. If you are thinking of renting to DSS then you need to check this out. It will be rolled out nationwide in the future.
Some DSS tenants are perfectly OK. Some of them have serious problems which they aren't going to tell you about e.g. heroin, alcohol. ditto some of them may be looking for accommodation because the local authority / housing association has evicted them. I know of a situation where the tenant sold the gas fire for money for drugs.

Going back to the OP. The HB may not pay all the rent. Your insurer will certainly need to know you are renting to DSS. (Ask yourself why). Make sure you get the rent paid directly to you, only do realise that the tenant can ask for this to be changed and not tell you. Try and get a deposit and a guarantor for the rent. In fact don't try, don't do it without it. Try and find out the real reason(s) they want to rent your property. I'm coming up with a real negative here but the applicant here has split up from her husband. OK. But it could be because she has a boyfriend with a habit and her husband has just found out and he hasn't had time to get the courts to give him the kids yet.

simonfr

Yeah,

I agree with Bob. My circumstances with DSS was bad.
My tenant changed his payment method from direct to me to himself without letting me know, and i had all the excuses under the sun.
Had to forcibly evict him in the end.......

Wouldnt touch DSS with a bargepole now....

Simon