Landlords who say 'no DSS' breaking equality laws

silvercar

Given that the DSS no longer exists and I have never seen an advert that says 'no DWP', it is obviously a code for non workers.

I suppose 'no HB' is the nearest equivalent, but then is it ruling out anyone who has their rent topped up with a small amount of LHA, or is it ruling out all those who claim the full amount of HB for the area?

Saying 'no benefits' would be ridiculous as that should rule out anyone who claims child benefit.

Mela322

takman wrote: »

I've always assumed that "No DSS" was aimed more at people who didn't work at all and not people who worked and claimed some benefits.

But why exactly did you tell them you would be claiming benefits?. If they asked how you were paying the rent then you could say that you would be using your wages from employment. It wouldn't be lying as you could use any benefits received for all your other bills and expenditure.

We have to be upfront because they were asking for bank statements and it was listed on our statements. My husband works full time and always has but it's been low. If we didn't say anything till after we viewed and they didn't accept hb then we have wasted the EA's time and ours and a possible let down for us if we really liked the house. We applied to get what help we could. Even with the wages and benefits, it was very tight and we never had any spare for extras. Our HB amount was a very small amount and covered about 1/4 of our rent. Our main goal in applying was to get help with our council tax.

We ended up going through our bills and seeing where we could save and try and boost our income. So we were able to stop housing benefit before we applied for the house we are now in. We are actually still entitled to hb and council tax reduction but have chosen not to apply again as our goal is to get off benefits altogether.


Another member here said if she could afford a flat in an expensive area then why should she be claiming. She is a single mother and probably gets a good portion of her rent paid, the rest will come from her employment. HB isn't what is used to be, it has been greatly reduced. The other thing to consider is just because the flat is in a more expensive area doesn't necessarily mean it's a more expensive flat. If it's small or a bit dated, that can bring the price down. The point is, she could afford it with the HB but most likely couldn't without it. This mom is out there working and as her child gets older, she will add more hours and more wages. Her HB's might get reduced again but nobody knows when that will happen and you can easily find yourself in the same situation if you do work full time and lose your job.

FBaby, I get what you are saying but even with your thinking, claimants would still be discriminated against. You added that if an expected pay rise is in the works, then they might consider you if they haven't been able to secure a working tenant not on benefits. If everything is in the green then it shouldn't be an issue at all. I do agree that if the property is popular, it will go quickly and those on hb or not would expect that.

If a potential tenant is working and has a solid history of working, excellent credit, long term rent history with 100% on time payments, and top of the line references, then HB's should not matter at all.

That's why I say it should be looked at case by case. The landlord could be losing out too.

FBaby

Mela I experienced myself as a landlord the risks assuming that 'being in the green' was good enough. I used a reputable letting agent who assured me that they had strident criteria to assess affordability and suggested a family who met these criteria.

What the agency failed to disclose is that they took into consideration tax credits and child maintenance into it. If I'd known at the time it would have been an instant no considering that two of the kids were 17 and 19. Indeed the first one moved out and a year later the second dropped out of college. This resulted in a significant cut in their CB and tax credits. They then claimed HB but couldn't make the difference up resulting in them not being able to afford rent. Thankfully they moved but I lost 2 months rent. It could have been worse.

I now don't accept tax credits as income. I can do that because the property gets interest from professionals with good salaries. Of course if that's not the case any longer I might have to reconsider but would pick families with younger children above those with kids with teens.

sevenhills

FBaby wrote: »

What the agency failed to disclose is that they took into consideration tax credits and child maintenance into it. If I'd known at the time it would have been an instant no considering that two of the kids were 17 and 19. Indeed the first one moved out and a year later the second dropped out of college. This resulted in a significant cut in their CB and tax credits. They then claimed HB but couldn't make the difference up resulting in them not being able to afford rent. Thankfully they moved but I lost 2 months rent. It could have been worse.

I now don't accept tax credits as income.

Around 5 million people claim tax credits, it costs the government over £25 billion, others will no doubt aim to supply those people with housing.

Comms69

The big problem is actually people who aren't claiming benefits if you live in a UC area. From some stories I've heard it's 6 weeks processing the claim.


So whilst you will get the money eventually, it's certainly an issue for LLs who aren't in a position to pay both mortgage and their own housing costs.

Cakeguts

£493.65 per month is the Local Housing Allowance for a 3 bed house in an area where we let houses. The minimum rent for a nice 3 bed house modern semi in a nice area is around £675 per month. They let very quickly. If you are running a letting business you are going to go for the tenant who is most likely going to find paying that rent easy because they have a high enough salary to easily cover it you are not going to go for someone who might struggle a bit simply because you don't have to.

Landlords are running a business that sells space to live in. No one who runs a business that sells anything wants to be in a position where they have a problem with collecting payment.

My experience of someone who lost their job and then claimed benefits is that they didn't continue to pay the rent that they had agreed to pay they only paid what the then housing benefit department paid them and it was quite a lot short. Starting off with someone who is relying on Local Housing Allowance could make mine and the managing agents jobs much harder especially since the LHA is getting on for £200 less per month than the rents. Plus it appears that there are still a fair number of people who are still in the mindset that paying the rent late or not paying the full amount doesn't matter. I don't want the hassle. The point is that I don't have to have that hassle if I don't want it.

missile

It is the sighted policy by the government to stop rental being paid directly to the LL which has caused this problem. LLs are reluctant to let to those on benefit as it is impossible for LL to recover back rental from those who do not pay, difficult and more expense to evict for non-payment.
I think LLs may soon copy the loan sharks and only let to those with a guarantor.

[Deleted User]

I haven't read the whole thread but as an interest I am in the throes of obtaining buildings insurance on our flats and each broker has asked me if the tenants are private payers or on benefits as DSS has a detrimental value on premiums.


Clearly the insurance industry hike DSS as an increased risk.

Mela322

Cakeguts wrote: »

£493.65 per month is the Local Housing Allowance for a 3 bed house in an area where we let houses. The minimum rent for a nice 3 bed house modern semi in a nice area is around £675 per month. They let very quickly. If you are running a letting business you are going to go for the tenant who is most likely going to find paying that rent easy because they have a high enough salary to easily cover it you are not going to go for someone who might struggle a bit simply because you don't have to.

Landlords are running a business that sells space to live in. No one who runs a business that sells anything wants to be in a position where they have a problem with collecting payment.

My experience of someone who lost their job and then claimed benefits is that they didn't continue to pay the rent that they had agreed to pay they only paid what the then housing benefit department paid them and it was quite a lot short. Starting off with someone who is relying on Local Housing Allowance could make mine and the managing agents jobs much harder especially since the LHA is getting on for £200 less per month than the rents. Plus it appears that there are still a fair number of people who are still in the mindset that paying the rent late or not paying the full amount doesn't matter. I don't want the hassle. The point is that I don't have to have that hassle if I don't want it.

The majority of people don't get that full allowance. I guess I'm old school and if we ever felt we were going to struggle the next month's rent, we would try and gather as much of it as we could, borrow the rest and hand in our notice to move. If we can't afford it then we aren't entitled to it. There was one time when my husband was made redundant, rent was calculated out of redundancy payments along with our bills and then he was back in work before we had any worries. It's a shame that so many tenants put landlords in the position of the eviction process.

FBaby, I know once burned, you certainly don't want to allow that to happen again.

It sucks for those that work hard and do the right thing.

FBaby

Around 5 million people claim tax credits, it costs the government over £25 billion, others will no doubt aim to supply those people with housing.

Others are free to do what they want depending on the property they own. If I can avoid renting to people relying on benefits, then that's what I'll do.

I guess I'm old school

Indeed, you are. Too many people are after the best deals they can get, not considering -or caring- whether they will still be able to afford it in months' time. I totally agree that it is completely unfair to people like you. I don't have an issue at all renting to people receiving tax credits but I have to limit my risk as in if the tenants don't pay, I find myself having to pay two mortgages.