Help please renting

seven-day-weekend

regularsaver1 wrote:

isn't it illegal to not be on the electoral roll? - so i was told?

I thought it was too.

Can't_Get_Straight

This sounds like the situation my neighbours are in. They are together and have been for years, he works and she does not, but there are children involved, so as far as that is concerned by law, SHE has to claim any extra tax credits which includes and small portion of Housing Benefit (DSS) as the partner is on low wages. Now they have moved a few times, and each time, when the electoral register comes around (each October) by the time they register their names (or receive the official register claim) from the Council, they register then have moved again, so often the register is somewhat out of date, so it may not be as sinister as you think.

They are probably registered as being together but as the woman has the children SHE has to claim extra benenfits, not the man of the household.

Actually taking DSS is not such a bad thing. You are guaranteed it from the Council, you are guaranteed it on time and if you were to take a working couple on instead, they could lose their jobs and claim DSS anyway, or spend their wages on beer instead of paying the rent, so sometimes DSS tenants are not so bad to take on as the rent is guaranteed. You don't need to tanish everyone with the same brush just because they are DSS tenants.

sarahlouise210

Child tax credit is claimed jointly and received by the mother usually but this is not the same as housing benefit.

Xbigman

Can't_Get_Straight wrote:

Actually taking DSS is not such a bad thing. You are guaranteed it from the Council, you are guaranteed it on time

Not true. It can easily take three months to sort out housing benefit, and they may get turned down or not get 100% rent, especially if the council decides they need less bedrooms or the house is in some other way an improvement. The minute there is a change in circumstances payments are often stopped, it happens all over again.
If it turns out a claim was fraudulent the landlord is liable to repay money they have recieved direct from the council. If the council does not pay the landlord directly there is no liability.

That said, DSS tenants can be good news, especially long term. If you can get a couple in who are married or who have been together long term with kids *AND* you can check all their details and confirm they qualify for benefits, you can get years or even decades of trouble free rental income. In this case the only downside is that the council will not always be prepared to pay any rent increases you try to put on each year.

In the case of the OP, you need a lot more information about this couple. If they are moving every 6 months and not appearing on electoral rolls you need to know why.
Regards



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