Renting help! (DSS)

BenF

Hi,

I'm trying to find somewhere within the Berkshire area that would accept DSS/HB.

My girlfriend and I are in a very difficult situation, where we have no choice but to move out (due to recent family & home issues). We both have jobs and my partner is a full-time degree student, however our income is relatively low and we don't earn enough to afford rent/mortgage at the moment.

Calculations show we can get help with rent, however finding somewhere that would accept us is proving incredibly difficult!

Any help? Please!

elusive82

If possible get yourself a guarantor, understand what you can realistically afford, and speak to the letting agents, if your interested in a property they will try and sell your situation to the landlord even if he/she initially prefers No DSS.

If you can prove you can afford, look after a landlords property & potentially a long term tenant then this is exactly what the landlord is looking for

Good luck

BenF

Thanks for the reply!

I spoke to a couple of estate agents who say they don't accept DSS at all. Is this usually the case? I explained our situation but they didn't seem interested at all.

Finding places to rent privately seems incredibly difficult, maybe it's due to the Berkshire area being incredibly overpriced! Everything seems to go through estate/letting agents.

stator

Yes Brekshire is rather and expensive area to live, being in the Thames Valley.

I'm afraid quite a lot of rental agencies do have a blanket ban on housing benefit. There may be some who accept it, so it's worth asking all the ones you can find.
Look in the local papers for private advertisements and also on gumtree. The types of landlords who let to housing benefit claimants often advertise privately. Be careful though, don't hand over any money until you have confirmed that they own the house you think you are renting (use land registry to check) and always insist on paper receipts for your deposits. Unfortunately there are lots of scumbags and scam artists at the bottom of the rental market.

BenF

I'll have to send out a few more emails to estate agents, saying about a guarantor. Is there anything else I could do? Any insurances or extra deposits etc. that might impress the landlord?

Kevie192

Yes, if you can pay 6 months up front then most landlords would definitely consider.

BenF

Stupid question, if we pay 6 months up front, how does that work in terms of HB?

Would the 6 months just be a deposit that we could get back? Or would it be 6 months rent that would then be reimbursed by the council to us?

Kevie192

I guess it's between you and the LL to decide... Maybe you could pay the first 6 months then just keep the HB when it comes in? Don't know enough to know if that's possible though!

BenF

That's exactly what I was wondering. I've just been researching and it appears that some landlords prefer the HB being paid directly to them. In that case I'm not sure how an extra deposit/few months rental up front would work.

I'll attempt to get hold of a few estate agents and see what they say!

xylophone

Has your girlfriend consulted a student adviser at her university?

Does your local council have a list of landlords accepting HB tenants?

BenF

I've asked West Berkshire Council and they don't have a list. They just recommended searching through Newbury Homesearch every week, which I have been doing.

Also, my girlfriend has consulted advisors, which is how we came to be the option of HB. They thought it would be the best way!