Advise on finding Landlord who accepts dss

Leesmom

Any advise truly appreciated.

poppysarah

I'd say ask the council if they have a list.

julie03

we found ours in loot. we spoke to the landlord and he arranged an interview with us and we explained our circumstances in person. still here 4 years on . it takes a lot of calls and alot of rejections but there are some landlords who will take dss
good luck

mchale

Try gumtree.com

Morglin

Leesmom wrote: »

Could someone please advise the best places to look for someone who will accept dss and what is required in terms of references etc.

Our circumstances are, Hubby made redundant Jan09 after 23 years service.
Myself redundant april09.
We can offer a deposit and upto 6 ths rent in advance as well as a guarantor if required.
We are decent and reliable and trustworthy people and owned our own home for the past 15 years.
How can i portray this to a prospective Landlord?
We may be filing for bankrupcy some time in the future.

Any advise truly appreciated.

Hubby on I are on disability benefits and pensions etc., and all the agents we contacted, when we made enquiries about a foray into the private rental market, told us that landlords would be happy to rent to us - we had deposits and references, and the fact that we are technically DWP made no odds (it seems) - we are still getting pestered with agents, despite telling them we no longer require their services.:rolleyes:

We didn't proceed because of the quality/cleanliness/decor standard of what was available to rent for exhorbitant ( I think at £1300pcm) prices, but if you explain the circumstances, I'm sure it won't be a problem, especially as landlords who went into the BTL market are desperate to let in many areas - we had offers of a reduction in rent and all sorts of things.

The only thing I think might be a problem is if you are struggling financially (you mentioned possible bankruptcy), as if any defaults show up on credit checks, it might put a few landlords off.

I would contact the agents of any property you are interestd in, regardless of what their ads say about DSS, explain your circumstances, and you might be surprised how keen they still are to rent you a place - not one agent turned us down.

Lin

Leesmom

Thankyou all for your helpful responses i will try the council and Gumtree too.
Morglin thats truly heartwarming to hear how well regarded and well treated you and your hubby were, i dreaded the thought of approaching estate agents as i know how awful some people regard the unemployed and honestly i feel ashamed that we are now unemployed i don't really want to tell anyone at all, it makes me feel quite ill even writing here, but we are getting desperate and have no one else to turn to, thankfully everyone has been so friendly and helpful and not judgemental, it almost makes me want to cry.... thankyou all.

Edited to add Morglin what is a default please? We are in arrears for the first time this month with the mortgage only, will be get a default for this? Will be taken to court for this?
I am trying to get ourselves sorted out into rented accomadation before we get into to many difficulties so that hopefully our perfect credit rating will remain intact, now i'm worried its already too late.

silvercar

Are you getting all the benefits you can, including help with mortgage interest? There are some new government schemes designed to help those suffering as a result of the downturn. This includes paying your mortgage interest.

You should also speak to your lender, they may be able to help. Missing a payment will effect your credit rating. Some lenders allow you til the end of a month to recitfy a missing payment, others don't.

Has your property sold? If not, why are you looking for a rental now? Do you have equity in the property? Have you considered equity release.

I don't understand how you have 6 months rent to pay upfront, yet can't afford this months mortgage repayment?

Try the debt-free wannabe board for advise on prioritising debts.

Have you friends or family who could help?

theartfullodger

Try CaB or your local Shelter centre
http://england.shelter.org.uk/get_advice/advice_services_directory
-
they may have lists of letting agents who may accept tenants on HB/LHA.

Hope it works out


Lodger

Fire_Fox

Leesmom wrote: »

Edited to add Morglin what is a default please? We are in arrears for the first time this month with the mortgage only, will be get a default for this? Will be taken to court for this?
I am trying to get ourselves sorted out into rented accomadation before we get into to many difficulties so that hopefully our perfect credit rating will remain intact, now i'm worried its already too late.

Are you saying you are paying your other debts/ outgoings at the expense of the mortgage? Debt charities CCCS and Payplan as well as National Debtline and the Citizen's Advice Bureau will all advise you that priority debts are rent/ mortgage, council tax and food. What happened to the money from your redundancy packages?

If you do not have enough income to make the minimum payments on credit cards and loans or direct debits then you should write to your creditors and offer token payments of £1 per month and consider going onto a Debt Management Plan. Please post on the Debt-free Wannabe board for lots of advice and support on the way forward. You will need to complete and post one of these:
http://www.makesenseofcards.com/soacalc.html