Looking to Rent - why are so many properties advertised as no DSS?

barnaby-bear

lone_saver wrote: »

Thanks for the replies, I can see those points of view!
I would have enough money for a deposit and at least 3 month's rent before the Housing Benefit claim was sorted and paid, but as I am part-time self-employed don't have an employer to give a reference! I would be able to get a guarantor ok, plus character and bank references, would that be enough? Is it worth me enquiring about such properties or would I be wasting everyone's time?

A guarantor will probably help a lot, but also consider your own position - there are a lot of amatures out there, people who don't want to sell their houses for less than think it should sell for, who think oh I'll let it for a year until the market picks up. Often without the skills, contacts, wit etc to do repairs and still think of it as their house and just a tenant so 2 months notice will be fine... older established LLs less reliant on mortgages do do long term DSS rentals as a business... a lot of the rentals on offer may well be wasting your time.

lone_saver

Thanks Barnaby-Bear, and sorry for repeating question - I did look through old threads, but not back far enough!!
I am only looking short-term at the moment, as within 1 year intend re-locating anyway, but need to stay local when house first sold! Not sure whether telling LL/LA this would help/hinder my application! I would NOT be doing a runner though and leaving rent unpaid etc, but don't want to make them think I might by telling them I intend to re-locate eventually.

barnaby-bear

lone_saver wrote: »

Thanks Barnaby-Bear, and sorry for repeating question - I did look through old threads, but not back far enough!!
I am only looking short-term at the moment, as within 1 year intend re-locating anyway, but need to stay local when house first sold! Not sure whether telling LL/LA this would help/hinder my application! I would NOT be doing a runner though and leaving rent unpaid etc, but don't want to make them think I might by telling them I intend to re-locate eventually.

I knew where the thread was, perfectly reasonable question. A guarantor and a plausible explanation of your circumstances sounds fine. Some "DSS" tenants really don't realise they are signing to pay the rent regardless of delays by councils etc so making it clear you have reserves and are aware of what your obligations are sounds good. I hope you find somewhere.

zzzLazyDaisy

Not sure if this helps, but if there are concerns about your ability to pay, could you take an initial 6 month tenancy and pay six months in advance. I know its a lot, but if you can do this, you can claim LHA and over the period you would put back the money. Also if you have capital, even if it is to be used for rent, that may reduce your entitlement to LHA, depending on how much capital you have.

barnaby-bear

zzzLazyDaisy wrote: »

Not sure if this helps, but if there are concerns about your ability to pay, could you take an initial 6 month tenancy and pay six months in advance. I know its a lot, but if you can do this, you can claim LHA and over the period you would put back the money. Also if you have capital, even if it is to be used for rent, that may reduce your entitlement to LHA, depending on how much capital you have.

Remember to be very careful if the LL does not have permission to let - the mortgage holder can repossess with virtualy no notice.
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=1377883&highlight=permission+to+let
LLs with the cash in hand can also be worse at repairs.

SingleSue

hostiegirl wrote: »

If you take a drive through any council estate you have your answer! People (granted not all) who do not go out and earn a living to put a roof over their head dont seem to have the same values and respect as people who do.
There are sofas dumped on front lawns, mattresses dumped on nearby waste land fences are broken council mend it days later broken again.
Front doors with glass broken etc etc the list is endless and always makes me think the outside and garden in such a state what the hell is it like inside!.
I think the mentality is they dont own or pay for it so who cares.
So as a homeowner you would'nt risk people like that living in your home.
I know this is a huge tarr everyone with same brush and it's just a small majority but I wouldn't take the risk with my house if I were a landlord.

Good luck finding somewhere.

Could you change that to some or many and not any.....if you happened to drive through the estate where I am, you would not find any broken windows, mattresses dumped or broken fences.

What you would find is carefully tended gardens, immaculate outsides and well behaved 'inmates'. We work hard to have a lovely community, we all look out for each other and for our elderly neighbours and crime is an extremely rare occurance...I can even leave my front door unlocked!

Also there seems to be a slight misconception that a person living in social housing doesn't work...again that is not completely true although I do accept that there are places where that happens, just not everytime or everywhere.

For the record, we have an even mix of those who do and don't work...still doesn't make it a bad area.

socrates

barnaby-bear wrote: »

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=1564133&highlight=no+dss
if the claim is fraudulant the LL can have to pay it back etc.

LHA is paid directly to claimants in all but about 10% of cases so this
is no longer true

socrates

zzzLazyDaisy wrote: »

Not sure if this helps, but if there are concerns about your ability to pay, could you take an initial 6 month tenancy and pay six months in advance. I know its a lot, but if you can do this, you can claim LHA and over the period you would put back the money. Also if you have capital, even if it is to be used for rent, that may reduce your entitlement to LHA, depending on how much capital you have.

Why do people keep advising tenants to pay 6 months in advance.

I am sorry but this really angers me!

If the LL is going bankrupt - who is going to give the tenant back their money - if the place is repossessed?

Perhaps the people on here who advise them to pay up front can do so!

I have a mixture of LHA and private tenants - you get good and bad with both types.

Merlinexcalibur

Amazing how waiving six months worth of cash under a LL's nose will change their attitude to 'DSS'. I won't rent anywhere unless it's through a properly regulated estate agent eg through Letsure with the protection that also offers. And a properly drawn up agreement eg one seen by a solicitor on behalf of the letting agents. I mean look at my old village; ooh, plenty of 'undesirable' yobs with money moving into what was once a great place to live, now despoiled because some have a little bit of money (which in no way makes them better people IMHO) have moved in. In fact one 'luxury village' nearby was turned into a drug infested place. Funny thing is, they were really very well off people, with privately educated children; yet the drug problem never was there before until that luxury village establishment was put there. Rented, mostly by people working in the city. Oh, but the needles and empty bottles found there around the outskirts of that place since; makes you think. Yet those are the same people saying 'no DSS' wanted. I mean a country village and all that is a sought after place to live spoiled like that. One dreads to think what homelife must have been like. No, will skip on that.

Again, I will only rent through a letting agent. Had an experience of a private landlord not through an agent and that was enough to open my eyes shall we say. There are rules when renting/letting, that certain lines do not get crossed. He broke everyone in the rule book and plenty more. And still does. I digress.

Lonesaver. Maybe contacting someone like Welfare Rights via your council or an advice centre may also help. And, if you can, research whichever landlord you eventually get involved with; this can be done via your council's housing department. I know, because I approached them with my first (non regulated) landlord and they informed me 'oh, we know all about him here'.

Oh, missed this next wonderful piece out! I once rented a room of a lady in a very well off part of the country, who was letting rooms out to tennants (working BTW and earning a lot) but didn't want the council to know she was. Why? Because then she'd lose her single person's entitlement. Fraud, obviously. And it was very uncomfortable living there knowing that; which I didn't know until later moving in. The fact she had a nice little earner of close to a £1000 a month on top of her obvious other jobs she had going earning a few pennies shall we say meant she was obviously rolling in cash without struggling. Suffice to say, gobsmacked wasn't the word. Apart from which her tennants would have got it in the neck had the council found out no doubt. I find people are often very inventive with the truth when in a tight spot to get away with it. But it's amazing what you learn as you progress through life and what people you end up meeting randomly.

bobothebear

My brother rents his old house out to a a woman and child on DSS and initially he thought she was really good but as time went on the stigmatism everyone perceives is starting to come through.
So far she now smokes in the house as it stinks of air-freshner and smoke.(smoking is not permitted in her tenancy)
She decided to just chuck his washing machine and freezer away and get her own ones in there without permission.
She's ruined part of the carpet in the lounge spilling something on it that will not now budge.
The list seems to be growing and growing now.

However one positive is that the LHA seem to keep paying the ground rent for the house which in fact they should not be paying!!