Advice for my sister renting with HB

m0bov

Hi, yes they have a list but I've been told she needs a guarantor which is where the problem lies.

Comms69

m0bov wrote: »

Hi, yes they have a list but I've been told she needs a guarantor which is where the problem lies.

Has she got a CCJ, IVA etc?

daphnemoon

Some comments show, in my opinion anyway, the lack of knowledge and understanding so previlent amongst society today. So many "documentaries" about people on benefits portray them/us as being the lowest of the low. This contributes to the viewpoint that survivng, (out of necessity), on benefits, means people should know their place and not wish to live in a nice house and location just because they need a top-up of HB. I've worked hard for many years, paying my taxes and earning a good salary at a multi-national company which actually and ironically led to my disability.

Unfortunately I too had the same issue, due to disability I dont have an income other than disability benefits! Most of my rent is paid by HB, there are so many LL's who just refuse to take HB tenants on at all. We searched for weeks to find LA's who would even allow us to view available properties and those that we did get to view were horrid places, empty for a very good reason! As soon as the words "housing benefit" are uttered 90% of LA/LL decline a viewing immediately point blank and hang up or if you are lucky promise to double check with the LL as its disability based benefits but never keep their promise to call back!

In the end I found somewhere but the LL wanted a guarantor but my family are all retired and most friends on low paying part time jobs so none could help. I have years of rental history including 3 years whilst working and 4 years on HB with no missing/late payments and cleared the credit check with ease! My previous LA gave a reference to my current LA describing us as "excellent tenants".

My solution was to offer to pay 3 months rent up front to the LL, wasnt sure they would go for it but fortunately they did and I've lived here for 15 months with no problems. Its a nice cozy house, in a good area with fantastic neighbours so it all worked out great!

All the best in your search I hope you find a LL/LA who dont have terrors just at the thought of taking anyone on benefits on as tenants.

FBaby

Places that will accept HB without the need of guarantor exist, but that are likely not to be the nice home and the nice area everyone wish to move into.

In the end, the LL will pick the best tenant on paper (or not) they can find to ensure their investment. If they can rent to someone who earns £45K, then why would they turn them down to instead rent to someone relying on HB and most likely tax credits and/or worse, maintenance from the ex to pay rent?

In all honesty, I would rent my property to your sister, too risky but I can be choosy because the property attracts professionals with good income. However, my friend has a flat, which is not as nice, but still a good property in an ok area, and her current tenant is a single mum working 16 hours, so relying on some HB top up.

Cakeguts

You are not going to get offered the kind of house where the rent is £100s more per month than the Local Housing Allowance simply because the landlord doesn't want the hassle of someone who might not pay the top up when they can get someone who earns enough to pay the rent easily.

What a lot of people tend to forget is that selling space to live in just like any other business that sells something. A supermarket doesn't have to sell you expensive cakes when you only have enough money for a cheaper one. They can get people who can afford the expensive cakes. Private landlords are not social landlords.

Private landlords have business models just like any other business. Some landlords have properties that can only be afforded out of high incomes others have properties that can be paid for by lower incomes. Some have a business model where they only let to people whose rent is paid for by benefits.

Gwendo40

So she has a ''decent car on finance'' yet she needs (and is probably entitled to) Housing Benefit... what a funny old system we have.

Cakeguts

Gwendo40 wrote: »

So she has a ''decent car on finance'' yet she needs (and is probably entitled to) Housing Benefit... what a funny old system we have.

Or yet another person who puts having a nice car on finance before having somewhere decent to live?

PersianCatLady

LLs, LAs and EAs want to know that anyone renting a property will be able to afford the rent.

There are no hard and fast rules on who will and who won't be accepted because it is up to the LL at the end of the day.

Nothing your sister has said in your post sounds unlike what I have known LLs to say to me and other people that I know.

Basically if your sister wants to rent a property then she is at the mercy of the LL.