Do you have to tell a landlord/letting agent you will be paying rent with HB?

weavedribbon

amiehall wrote: »

Not in the fixed term as long as the rent was paid. Might find yourself immediately removed afterwards though... If it were me, I'd probably try and keep it quiet and hope they didn't realise. Sometimes the council do approach the LL though don't they?

At my old flat I just kept quiet and it was never an issue, don't think they even knew to be honest but my landlord was rather incompetent and didn't care about the place anyway. As long as they were paid each month I don't think they cared.

When I moved flats I was asked to produce wage slips and bank statements, which I duly did. At the time I was working part time and receiving partial housing benefit, just shown as income from the council on my bank statements. It was never questioned and so I didn't directly mention it so I'm assuming it's not a problem as I've lived here 6 months though!

However because the council took so long to sort out my benefits when i moved i was due over 6 weeks of HB and in that instance they pay it directly to your landlord. So yea, that was a bit awkward but my landlord was ok about it actually. It is something to bear in mind though, if a landlord has made it explicit they won't accept people on HB then it's quite a risk.

Chrysalis

caringa wrote: »

As a landlord, we need to declare on our building insurance whether our property is let to someone on Housing Benefit. I dont know why they ask this but we have to declare it anyway. I suppose if we didnt and something happened to the property, then we would not be covered.

maybe you should ask as thats discrimination.

the best advice is in an earlier post, just say temporarily unemployed. and make sure is no delay paying the rent, if they get funny offer first 2-3 months upfront.

weavedribbon

on account of this thread i reread my contract and it does state i must inform the landlord if i become in receipt of housing benefit. it also says anyone on housing benefit has to have a guarantor for their rent (which i don't but have never been asked for and my landlord knows i get some HB). i find it all sickeningly discriminatory to be honest given that i've never missed a rent payment in my life.

Forumnewbie

Your contract i.e. Tenancy Agreement, is only as strong as the Statute, not stronger, which means that if it does not say in the statute that a tenant must inform the landlord if they go on to Housing Benefit or their circumstances change, then whatever it says in the contract about that does not stand up in a court of law. Your contract could say you must stand on your head every day, but it would not stand up in a court of law (I know I will get some hilarious replies to this...) so you can ignore it.

preciousillusions

Thanks all, these replies have been useful. Still not certain as to what I am going to do as been told a few times when going for properties that they won't accept HB claimants, but as I said this has been after I specifically asked. So maybe it's best just to play dumb and then be honest if it comes up but otherwise not mention it? Do you always have to provide bank statements when going into a rent agreement? As obviously I won't actually be able to make the claim until I have an address to base it on. Saying that I do have regular ESA and DLA payments into my account so that shows I do have some income.

pinkladyvenus

I didn't have to provide bank statements. Had to provide one from current landlord and they said they were doing a credit check.

Forumnewbie

There are some landlords that only want corporate tenants i.e. bankers etc. and they want to see work references, bank statements and other stuff too. Others are not letting high-end properties and are less demanding. I think in your case it is wise not to mention you are on HB/DLA or ESA until asked. If it arises, you can mention disability which is a reason for not working - the rest is private and you can tell them so. Also mention that the most important thing is your landlord reference and hopefully you can get your current landlord to write one that states you have always paid the rent on time. If this is your very first tenancy, get your parents/other family to write a letter of surety. Also I would check out your potential future landlord - that he/she will give you a good reference if you pay the rent on time each month. Also they will require a deposit so make sure you have the readies and this will protect them too.