Renting to dss...

[lubylou 10]

Why wont landlords rent out to people on dss, through no fault of there own? Im in a 2 bed house and have been for 12 yrs, during that time i have gone through a divorce and an illness which has resulted in me being unemployed for a while, now, i have 2 children who are at the age where they need there own bedrooms, so need a 3 bed house, and as they are settled in there schools i would prefer to stay around where we are now, which is Hunters Bar, but to get a 3 bed house around here where the landlord is willing to take someone unemployed is impossible, is it because they can get more for renting out each room individually, because they are so damn greedy? As i claim housing benefit at the mo, they would be guaranteed there rent every week without fail, so what is the problem?

[mummyjac 10]

Why wont landlords rent out to people on dss, through no fault of there own? Im in a 2 bed house and have been for 12 yrs, during that time i have gone through a divorce and an illness which has resulted in me being unemployed for a while, now, i have 2 children who are at the age where they need there own bedrooms, so need a 3 bed house, and as they are settled in there schools i would prefer to stay around where we are now, which is Hunters Bar, but to get a 3 bed house around here where the landlord is willing to take someone unemployed is impossible, is it because they can get more for renting out each room individually, because they are so damn greedy? As i claim housing benefit at the mo, they would be guaranteed there rent every week without fail, so what is the problem?

I agree with you lubylou. Due to ill health I had to leave my job and so claim incapacity and housing benefits. So many landlords wont even think about renting to "our types"

[neeeeeeeeeek 10]

The problem used to be the council took a good 6 months to sort it out, then would not pay the full amount, then they would screw it up and pretend to have never received the information and start demanding money back from the landlord, then if the claimant missed one signing on date they would cancel the housing benefit but not tell anyone and then not backdate it. Then to top it all off they will demand money back from the landlord that they claimed to have overpaid years after the tenant has moved out and there is nothing you can do about it. It's now managed by a private company who used to be as bad but I have not had any dealings with them recently. If I was a landlord I would not want to deal with them unless I knew the tenant personally.

[kateandlise 10]

To be fair to Housing benefit peeps, they ahve really impressed me. My sister needed to make a claim for her and her two kids, she took the claim form and her ID, rent agreement etc into Howden House in person on the Friday, got a letter on Tuesday saying she'd been processed and her forst payment the following Monday. You cant ask for a better service than that. Her landlord was more than happy and says he cant understand any problems with housing Benefits. They pay all but 5p (???!!!) of her rent for the year and pay her dircet to her bank every fortnight. I imagine it would take weeks but it went through without any problem so cant see why landlords should ahve a problem!

[funkychick 10]

To be fair to Housing benefit peeps, they ahve really impressed me. My sister needed to make a claim for her and her two kids, she took the claim form and her ID, rent agreement etc into Howden House in person on the Friday, got a letter on Tuesday saying she'd been processed and her forst payment the following Monday. You cant ask for a better service than that. Her landlord was more than happy and says he cant understand any problems with housing Benefits. They pay all but 5p (???!!!) of her rent for the year and pay her dircet to her bank every fortnight. I imagine it would take weeks but it went through without any problem so cant see why landlords should ahve a problem!

 

Thats great that your sister got her housing benefit sorted out so quickly.But Myself and quite a few other people I know have been waiting over a year too get the benefits sorted due too various cockups by the housing benefits team.Makes me mad.

[Ms Macbeth 74]

Why wont landlords rent out to people on dss, through no fault of there own? Im in a 2 bed house and have been for 12 yrs, during that time i have gone through a divorce and an illness which has resulted in me being unemployed for a while, now, i have 2 children who are at the age where they need there own bedrooms, so need a 3 bed house, and as they are settled in there schools i would prefer to stay around where we are now, which is Hunters Bar, but to get a 3 bed house around here where the landlord is willing to take someone unemployed is impossible, is it because they can get more for renting out each room individually, because they are so damn greedy? As i claim housing benefit at the mo, they would be guaranteed there rent every week without fail, so what is the problem?

 

Lubylou, one of the issues is affordability. If a landlord can rent out a house to 4 or 5 students, it will bring in more than housing benefits will be prepared to pay. As many landlords buy property as an investment they want the best return on their money. If you were paying your own rent in full, how much would you want to pay? To buy a private house in Hunters Bar is out of reach of most ordinary working people, as is renting one.

 

If you have 2 children of different genders, and you have registered with the council, you may get overcrowding priority for social housing which does attract full housing benefit.

[kateandlise 10]

Thats great that your sister got her housing benefit sorted out so quickly.But Myself and quite a few other people I know have been waiting over a year too get the benefits sorted due too various cockups by the housing benefits team.Makes me mad.

 

 

I thought it was strange she got it sorted so quickly, I can only assume she was a straightforward case (if there is such thing!?!) and that she has all the relevant documentation. I think it helped that she didnt send anything in by post, I've heard a lot of things "go missing" therby allwoing them to not pay benefit. I'm sure as with most things there are a few lucky ones who get sorted quick and then those who are lumbered with 300 problems!

[go4it 10]

Without trying to sound rude I think you should count yourself lucky that you have a 2 bed house in Hunters Bar.

[funkychick 10]

I thought it was strange she got it sorted so quickly, I can only assume she was a straightforward case (if there is such thing!?!) and that she has all the relevant documentation. I think it helped that she didnt send anything in by post, I've heard a lot of things "go missing" therby allwoing them to not pay benefit. I'm sure as with most things there are a few lucky ones who get sorted quick and then those who are lumbered with 300 problems!

 

They do use the excuse off things going missing or computers going down when you know you have sent in all the relevant documents in.Like you say thou I think it is like mosts things some get lucky and some have too struggle.

[lubylou 10]

Without trying to sound rude I think you should count yourself lucky that you have a 2 bed house in Hunters Bar.

 

I do think im lucky to have this house here and i really dont want to move, but for the kids sake they need there own rooms.

[tom3t0 10]

if they are sharing a room it must be big enough for two beds, turn it into 2 little rooms maybe? they should study and such in the kitchen/dining room

[lubylou 10]

if they are sharing a room it must be big enough for two beds, turn it into 2 little rooms maybe? they should study and such in the kitchen/dining room

 

I have actually put a partition up down the middle of the room so they do get there own privacy at least, but all kids do need there own room dont you think?