Who will take me on?

ankspon

I am looking for a 1 bed flat or bedsit to rent due to marriage break up,I receive an occupational,ESA and DLA so do i come under the heading of DSS.I will not be asking for rent to be paid by government as my pension should cover it so what category am i.
I have e-mailed various replies to ads for lettings but as soon as i put i am retired due to ill health i get no more replies.

bigbigmamamoo

sorry I can't answer your question

have you looked at housing association?

could you rent a room as a lodger, just for the time being?

any local disabled groups that might be able to help you find the right place?

ankspon

I have looked at HA but waiting lists are long,i have also considered lodging but again they say no DSS and as i'm not working they may think i won't pay,which i would.

Jowo_2

Why are you emailing letting agents? Phone is quicker, get hold of them before other tenants do - phone them and tell them you are retired and have a personal pension and don't claim LHA. If you are only telling them that you retired on ill health, there could well be an assumption that you need your rent paid via LHA. Speaking to them direct is best.

You can only get social housing if you apply for it. Those with disabilities tend to be a higher priority (get awarded extra points). Yes, there's strong demand and limited supply but if you Don't apply, you don't get.

mostlycheerful

Is there particularly a reason for mentioning the ill health? Or even the retirement? If asked for occupation then although perhaps a full description would be bus driver (retired due to ill health) or engineer (retired due to ill health) etc do you particularly have to give a full description. Everyone puts their best foot forward at interviews, there’s nothing wrong with that. You don’t put yourself down or expose weaknesses at an interview, do you.

Yes, I realise that that perhaps could be thought to be a bit of a fudge to leave out the retired and ill health bits but so what, if that’s causing a problem and you’re a valid tenant/lodger who can pay his way then perhaps you should take the line that actually the retired/ill health bit is private and is none of their business and is not relevant to your desire to rent a small place. You’ve got the funds to pay and you’re an ok person so that’s all a landlord or agent needs to know. And if they want to know occupation, ok, occupation is whatever it is and just cos you’re not actually at work any more doesn’t particularly have to be mentioned.

So also perhaps don’t mention benefits or pension – all they need to know is that you’ve got funds and the money will be coming out of your bank account. The particular details of your income are private and are not particularly of any relevance. And the fact that the rent is coming from your pension is not particularly of any relevance either. It’s money, that’s all that’s important. So tell the landlord/agent that you can pay the usual one month’s deposit, assuming that a deposit is required, which of course it normally is, and then the rent by standing order or cash or net transfer etc, whichever method is preferred and again, really, that’s all the landlord/agent needs to know.

And so perhaps also be a bit perky and cheerful in phone calls and meetings even if you’re feeling ill and again, I think that’s a perfectly valid thing to do. Yes, maybe you’re being too honest and open for your own good - and then people are using it against you! That’s not right, is it. That’s unfair, isn’t it. Yes, I’m not happy with the idea that in effect you’re kind of being discriminated against in this manner for these reasons, just because you’re telling them the full story straight away which is actually not particularly necessarily relevant or required. It’s only renting a bedsit or a room, it’s not something huge you’re doing, it’s just renting a room.

Yes, I’m sorry to hear about this, that’s rather unfair. So I wish you well and I hope you can get past this situation. And I hope the above suggestion is hopefully of some use. Good luck. And let us know how you get on.

Morglin

DH and I both recieve DLA, OP's, IB and RP between us.

When we were thinking about renting privately, I took details of income, which made it clear we would not be eligible for LHA, and could pay our own rent - and we had no trouible at all with it. All of those which contacted the landlords in question were given the ok for us to rent from them, subject to credit checks, of course.

We did also offer to supply excellent references, from our bank and current landlord (Housing Association) and would have sailed through a credit check, so maybe that helped.

One letting agent told us that disabled/retired was ok because it "wasn't really DSS" (?).

Many letting agents never reply to Emails - we just looked on their sites and phoned to make an appointment to view various properties.

In the end, we decided to keep a social housing tenancy and just waited until we could transfer back to where we are, but, in your case, it's worth pursuing - just view first and then tell them your circumstances/income - landlords were practically biting our hands off to get a tenant in their property and we were, in 3 cases, offered a reduction in stated rent required!

As you are disabled, I would also register with your local council for housing - disability often takes priority, and you may be eligible for housing. Obviously, they will require confirmation from your GP as to your health.
Lin