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Private renting on benefits
Due to ill health i am on Universal credit and now LCWRA. this is through no fault of my own, i want to work but simply cant.
I am currently homeless, the council are useless, even my local MP got involved but they say i have to wait 56 days after being homeless.
I was incredibly lucky to get a back payment of LCWRA at the same time and this came in very handy to put a roof over my head by staying at a hotel. Pretty much all the money gone now.
I am trying to privately rent a property as the council is next to useless but finding this impossible.Even though my LHA is £899 pcm AND i have been approved for a Discretionary Housing Payment which has been very kindly put on hold for me, Estate agents just don't want to know. i either have to have a guarantor or an income of £22-24k. I have been refused property as low as £690 pcm, well within budget.
Now, correct me if i am wrong, but I'm pretty sure they are not allowed to do this if the benefits are sufficient to cover the rent.
Any help would be appreciated please.
Comments
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It's a nightmare trying to get a private rental on benefits.
Most places are oversubscribed so there is no easy was to prove why they discounted you.Let's Be Careful Out There0 -
Their excuse is that i do not meet the affordability criteria. ie i dont earn £22k a year. of course i don't, i am on benefits. They know i am never going to get that much on benefits and use it as an excuse.
my understanding is, that if my local housing benefit is sufficient, and i have Discretionary Housing Payment to cover the deposit and rent up front that they are not allowed to refuse you.
I pointed this out today to one estate agent. what a surprise, "We have received an overwhelming amount of interest in this property and I am sorry to let you know that this property has now been let agreed and we are no longer available to view."
Yet another get-out-clause!
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My friend is going thought the same. The affordability check is totally unsuitable for benefit claimants most of all on UC.
They use gross, what will be factored in is Income tax, National Insurance, Council Tax etc deductions as they expect people to paying them, but if UC is the sole income, there will be no tax and likely no CT payments.By the time you take off other discounts like cheaper broadband, warm home discount etc roughly £16k is the same as £22k gross.
Let's Be Careful Out There0 -
MY point exactly. They are legally not allowed to say just because you are on benefits you cant rent, they use the affordability check as an excuse.
But if, in my case, my Local housing allowance and DHP more than covers it. And I dont believe that under the equality act 2010 they are allowed to refuse me.
I just need some clarification on this.
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That's not enough , there could be 20 people looking at the property, only one can be chosen, any of the other 19 might have been able to afford the property.
They are unlikely (even more so when the The Renters' Rights Act 2025 comes into effect) to state the reason is you are on benefits.Let's Be Careful Out There1 -
What is not considered unlawful discriminationConsideration of income
Landlords can take a tenant’s income into account when considering if the rent is affordable. They are not liable for a breach if a set income requirement is not met, regardless of whether the person has children or receives benefits.
………….
When deciding between multiple prospective tenants who have met the income requirements, landlords should not consider whether they receive benefits or have children in reaching their decision.
Landlords should set the same income requirement for all prospective tenants and treat all forms of income equally. It is up to the prospective tenant to demonstrate they meet this requirement, but landlords should take all forms of income into account. Landlords should not unreasonably refuse to accept a means of evidencing income that a tenant provides, whether a bank statement, proof of benefit letter, pay slip or otherwise.
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It's not an "excuse." Far from it.
A good landlord does not want to jeopardise/exacerbate the applicants'/tenants' financial circumstances more than what they already are.
Importantly, any good landlord, and there are millions, does not want to be an irresponsible LL and rent out to someone who can't afford the rent and then get the LL and the tenant both into trouble.
We all know what happened to those who had mortgages thrown at them, inc BTL loans, and when interests went up a little and/or things changed; many lost everything.
It's good, sound financial sense to assess those you are risking your property on.
There are so many people against being fincial assessed, but I'm quite certain that many of them would behave differently if they were LL's and the BTL they toiled for via working 60 hours or more a week and not drinking/smoking or buying designer goods would soon agree that is is sensible to ensure that the person/s you are renting to CAN afford the place.
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Wishing you a nice rental soon, it will happen. Good luck!
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The issue for me is how the affordably test is administered.
A friend so refused as they wanted £21k gross, and they have £19.5k. The 19.5k is net, a net wage of £21k gross is just over £18.5k go figure.
Let's Be Careful Out There1 -
It is not always the LL that does the affordability decision.
Some LL's will accept a potential T so long as the T satisfies the criteria for the LL to take out Rent Guarantee Insurance.
It is the insurers that define the basis for the agreement.
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