NO DSS Letting Agents and Landlords

David2710

Choccygirl123 said:

I consider DSS, but the reality is people on benefits don't meet the affordability check. As much as I'd love to fill the gap in the council housing void, i have to be practical and ensure any tenant can afford to pay the rent each and every month. With hindsight the right to buy was a complete disaster.

The problem is most Letting agents and LL's will only consider DDS tenants with a guarantor. That's just ridiculous. I notice a recent trend to avoid NO DSS and anti-discrimination laws and that's to say: "minimum household income for this property is £27,000" (3 x monthly salary of £1000pcm). That's basically discrimination because the property quoted in London attracts max LHA at £1,280pcm. In other words someone like myself eligible for maximum LHA could easily afford the rent but are excluded because the LL is either a bigot or is prejudice. Probably both given some of the comments on this thread. 

squizz11

we also can afford the rent fairly easily as we are fairly frugal and don't drink, smoke or eat out alot,  my bank statements can prove that.   most UC credit tenants should manage fine especially if they have good rental history and manage their money correctly.    All tenants should be considered and references and history looked into 

justworriedabit

squizz11 said:

we also can afford the rent fairly easily as we are fairly frugal and don't drink, smoke or eat out alot,  my bank statements can prove that.   most UC credit tenants should manage fine especially if they have good rental history and manage their money correctly.    All tenants should be considered and references and history looked into 

Sure, all are "considered" and risk assessed. 
Why dod you think many LL's especially those with nice, newly decorated/etc property won't rent out to those on benefits or self employed.? Don't forget, not all LL's are rich as some are trying to create a pension, others circumstances like working overseas away from home etc are renting out their house etc - so who does the LL claim from when rent is not paid and you can't legally kick out the T for many, many months, the place is trashed, LL is paying the mortgage, possibly two and then legal fees, court and balif fees then repair fees, etc - who does the LL go after when it goes belly up as it does at times? 

You say you are a good T and I have no doubt, so why worry about LL's that dont want you and go for those that do?

squizz11

justworriedabit said:

squizz11 said:

we also can afford the rent fairly easily as we are fairly frugal and don't drink, smoke or eat out alot,  my bank statements can prove that.   most UC credit tenants should manage fine especially if they have good rental history and manage their money correctly.    All tenants should be considered and references and history looked into 

Sure, all are "considered" and risk assessed. 
Why dod you think many LL's especially those with nice, newly decorated/etc property won't rent out to those on benefits or self employed.? Don't forget, not all LL's are rich as some are trying to create a pension, others circumstances like working overseas away from home etc are renting out their house etc - so who does the LL claim from when rent is not paid and you can't legally kick out the T for many, many months, the place is trashed, LL is paying the mortgage, possibly two and then legal fees, court and balif fees then repair fees, etc - who does the LL go after when it goes belly up as it does at times? 

You say you are a good T and I have no doubt, so why worry about LL's that dont want you and go for those that do?

its harder than a needle in a haystack,   you only need to mention UC that's it,  they don't look past it.   you make it sound so easy,   it really isn't,  especially when you need a largish house,  I rarely get to viewing stage.
I am reassessing how I approach LA now and now have an expenditure form and a upfront references and cover letter, so hopefully this will improve my chances

David2710

squizz11 said:

we also can afford the rent fairly easily as we are fairly frugal and don't drink, smoke or eat out alot,  my bank statements can prove that.   most UC credit tenants should manage fine especially if they have good rental history and manage their money correctly.    All tenants should be considered and references and history looked into 

Once again I find myself in complete agreement with you. After five years in my current address my LL has told me he needs to sell. That's five years of paying rent on time every time. Also the property is in much better condition than when I moved in. So LL references won't be a problem. I also have a much higher than average credit rating. Tick. I don't smoke or have pets, Tick, I can also pay 6 months rent in advance if the option were available. So on paper I'm the perfect tenant but because I'm claiming ESA (Employment and Support Allowance) and LHA my application is not worth the paper it's written on. The people most to blame for this and the current housing crisis are the previous Cameron administration who even today appear to have a vendetta against the sick, the disabled or those who are simply down on their luck. IDS and George Osborne in particular seemed to get much pleasure out it. I totally agree that all tenants should be judged on a case by case basis. Saying DSS considered is good start but is totally counterproductive if there's a caveat stating "with a guarantor". That's just taking the Mickey. 

Murphybear

Wow, interesting comments.
I would like to tell you of my experiences in this business which are slightly different from a lot of yours.

I worked in the lettings business for years and took and passed the ARLA advanced legal knowledge exams.  My experience was all in rural Devon and talking to many agents in other parts of the country things can vary a great deal.  For example one who worked in a city with above average unemployment said “if we didn’t take housing benefit tenants we would have a lot of empty properties”.

In my years I dealt with a few thousand tenants and many landlords.  The number of trashed properties was zero.  The number who didn’t pay the rent was maybe a handful.  Probably the best tenants we had were 2 sharers who had been on disability benefits/housing benefits for years.  The LL charged them a low rent and they looked after the property very well, even upgraded the kitchen and bathroom.  We did have one tenant who stopped paying the rent because she was using her HB to pay her mother’s debts.  She was a bit miffed (that’s me being polite as she was actually a bit of a gobby cow) when we asked the council to pay the HB to us.  She left soon after.

We took tenants on HB with a guarantor quite a lot.  Most of them realised that if they stopped paying the rent or “abused” the property they would end up homeless as the council would never consider them for council housing.  They were so grateful at finding somewhere to live that they were keen to keep it.

my personal view is that the government should go back to paying HB directly to the LL/LA as this would cause fewer problems.  I also think the councils should not be allowed to stop the payments with no notice on slight evidence of any issues.  

One interesting experience we had.  One day someone walked into our office and said he’d just bought 6 new build flats and asked us to fund tenants.  HB accepted and he set the rents accordingly.  I contacted the council and said I had 6 2 bedroomed flats available and they said they had no suitable people on their lists.  Gobsmacked?  Yes I was.  I let all 6 within a week.  LLs friend was so impressed he went and bought some flats as well and we let them to HB tenants as well.

As I said, things do seem different in different parts of the country.  

justworriedabit

squizz11 said:

justworriedabit said:

squizz11 said:

we also can afford the rent fairly easily as we are fairly frugal and don't drink, smoke or eat out alot,  my bank statements can prove that.   most UC credit tenants should manage fine especially if they have good rental history and manage their money correctly.    All tenants should be considered and references and history looked into 

Sure, all are "considered" and risk assessed. 
Why dod you think many LL's especially those with nice, newly decorated/etc property won't rent out to those on benefits or self employed.? Don't forget, not all LL's are rich as some are trying to create a pension, others circumstances like working overseas away from home etc are renting out their house etc - so who does the LL claim from when rent is not paid and you can't legally kick out the T for many, many months, the place is trashed, LL is paying the mortgage, possibly two and then legal fees, court and balif fees then repair fees, etc - who does the LL go after when it goes belly up as it does at times? 

You say you are a good T and I have no doubt, so why worry about LL's that dont want you and go for those that do?

its harder than a needle in a haystack,   you only need to mention UC that's it,  they don't look past it.   you make it sound so easy,   it really isn't,  especially when you need a largish house,  I rarely get to viewing stage.
I am reassessing how I approach LA now and now have an expenditure form and a upfront references and cover letter, so hopefully this will improve my chances

LL's are not charities but you know that.
I mean this, I honestly hope you get the type of property you want and very happy there.

squizz11

justworriedabit said:

squizz11 said:

justworriedabit said:

squizz11 said:

we also can afford the rent fairly easily as we are fairly frugal and don't drink, smoke or eat out alot,  my bank statements can prove that.   most UC credit tenants should manage fine especially if they have good rental history and manage their money correctly.    All tenants should be considered and references and history looked into 

Sure, all are "considered" and risk assessed. 
Why dod you think many LL's especially those with nice, newly decorated/etc property won't rent out to those on benefits or self employed.? Don't forget, not all LL's are rich as some are trying to create a pension, others circumstances like working overseas away from home etc are renting out their house etc - so who does the LL claim from when rent is not paid and you can't legally kick out the T for many, many months, the place is trashed, LL is paying the mortgage, possibly two and then legal fees, court and balif fees then repair fees, etc - who does the LL go after when it goes belly up as it does at times? 

You say you are a good T and I have no doubt, so why worry about LL's that dont want you and go for those that do?

its harder than a needle in a haystack,   you only need to mention UC that's it,  they don't look past it.   you make it sound so easy,   it really isn't,  especially when you need a largish house,  I rarely get to viewing stage.
I am reassessing how I approach LA now and now have an expenditure form and a upfront references and cover letter, so hopefully this will improve my chances

LL's are not charities but you know that.
I mean this, I honestly hope you get the type of property you want and very happy there.

I'm not asking for charity,  I'm asking for landlords to look at all tenants equally in the first place,   paying rent on time for 14 years,  having worked for the same company for 30 years and having excellent references has to count for something.

David2710

Murphybear said:

Wow, interesting comments.
I would like to tell you of my experiences in this business which are slightly different from a lot of yours.

I worked in the lettings business for years and took and passed the ARLA advanced legal knowledge exams.  My experience was all in rural Devon and talking to many agents in other parts of the country things can vary a great deal.  For example one who worked in a city with above average unemployment said “if we didn’t take housing benefit tenants we would have a lot of empty properties”.

In my years I dealt with a few thousand tenants and many landlords.  The number of trashed properties was zero.  The number who didn’t pay the rent was maybe a handful.  Probably the best tenants we had were 2 sharers who had been on disability benefits/housing benefits for years.  The LL charged them a low rent and they looked after the property very well, even upgraded the kitchen and bathroom.  We did have one tenant who stopped paying the rent because she was using her HB to pay her mother’s debts.  She was a bit miffed (that’s me being polite as she was actually a bit of a gobby cow) when we asked the council to pay the HB to us.  She left soon after.

We took tenants on HB with a guarantor quite a lot.  Most of them realised that if they stopped paying the rent or “abused” the property they would end up homeless as the council would never consider them for council housing.  They were so grateful at finding somewhere to live that they were keen to keep it.

my personal view is that the government should go back to paying HB directly to the LL/LA as this would cause fewer problems.  I also think the councils should not be allowed to stop the payments with no notice on slight evidence of any issues.  

One interesting experience we had.  One day someone walked into our office and said he’d just bought 6 new build flats and asked us to fund tenants.  HB accepted and he set the rents accordingly.  I contacted the council and said I had 6 2 bedroomed flats available and they said they had no suitable people on their lists.  Gobsmacked?  Yes I was.  I let all 6 within a week.  LLs friend was so impressed he went and bought some flats as well and we let them to HB tenants as well.

As I said, things do seem different in different parts of the country.  

Two points Murphybear, As already mentioned, the DWP have changed the rules so that rent can be paid direct to the landlord if requested. Because a large percentage of  LL's won't accept DSS applicants (without a guarantor) the tenant often has to use alternative methods, or find themselves on the streets. One method is NOT not to inform the LL or agent about LHA or benefits, it really isn't that difficult to provide the necessary references and papers as long as the credit rating is satisfactory. One very good reason why paying direct to the LL is not compulsory.

Second point, yes there are LL's willing to accept DSS tenants without a guarantor but the properties are usually substandard, tiny, often damp, shared bath/kitchen and grossly overpriced, and usually maximum LHA rate. To be blunt, the properties that are available are usually owned and run by the slumlord community, ripping off the taxpayer and exploiting vulnerable individuals. The whole situation is totally unacceptable and that's why I mention in the OP I have contacted my MP to reform or to change the law.    

David2710

justworriedabit said:

squizz11 said:

justworriedabit said:

squizz11 said:

we also can afford the rent fairly easily as we are fairly frugal and don't drink, smoke or eat out alot,  my bank statements can prove that.   most UC credit tenants should manage fine especially if they have good rental history and manage their money correctly.    All tenants should be considered and references and history looked into 

Sure, all are "considered" and risk assessed. 
Why dod you think many LL's especially those with nice, newly decorated/etc property won't rent out to those on benefits or self employed.? Don't forget, not all LL's are rich as some are trying to create a pension, others circumstances like working overseas away from home etc are renting out their house etc - so who does the LL claim from when rent is not paid and you can't legally kick out the T for many, many months, the place is trashed, LL is paying the mortgage, possibly two and then legal fees, court and balif fees then repair fees, etc - who does the LL go after when it goes belly up as it does at times? 

You say you are a good T and I have no doubt, so why worry about LL's that dont want you and go for those that do?

its harder than a needle in a haystack,   you only need to mention UC that's it,  they don't look past it.   you make it sound so easy,   it really isn't,  especially when you need a largish house,  I rarely get to viewing stage.
I am reassessing how I approach LA now and now have an expenditure form and a upfront references and cover letter, so hopefully this will improve my chances

LL's are not charities but you know that.
I mean this, I honestly hope you get the type of property you want and very happy there.

Why don't I believe you? Funny how you quote Btl millionaire Fergus Wilson in regards to the charity bit. I bet you're having a right old laugh.