Wow. I have just been refused a house due to affordability checks, is the message I received this morning through open rent.
How did it get that conclusion.
If it’s only because of the LHA rate then everyone who is on some form of benefits would be rejected.
My family have lived in our current property for over 14 years our rent has always had a shortfall of £200, Due to LHA which we have always covered.every property we go for we make sure we can afford it.
To top it all off I received a message from the landlord through open rent stating.
Hi Sean,
Thank you for your response. I’m sorry to hear about your ongoing issues however we are looking for working tenants only I’m afraid.
We wish you all the luck with your search!
So how can you tell me what I can afford without knowing my finances.
It makes applying on open rent totally pointless. For anyone on benefits unless the property states DSS accepted.
Openrent did not decline you. The Landlord did. The Landlord selected the decline reason, and this would have generated the ‘lack of affordability’ message.
Openrent are an advertising portal only. The Landlord makes the decisions.
Ok.yes I fully understand that it is an auto response.
do the landlords get to select a reason. If not then the wording needs to be changed, as no one asked for my finances.
Because my understanding would be i cannot afford anywhere unless I apply for DSS only. So it’s a loop hole around indirect discrimination.
At least the landlord was honest with me and said we want working Only tenants.
Hello David79.
Yes the questions was as follows.
-Your annual household income
-Wether you can provide a landlord reference
-Wether you have any CCJ’s outstanding in your name
-Who would be living at the property
-Do you receive housing benefits
I answered all .
Then was asked reason for wanting to move.
That’s it.
Perhaps the LL felt that your annual income would not have been sufficient to cover the rent and household bills. Most LLs look for 3 times the rent amount as income.
As has already been expressed , unfortunately LLs are selling and leaving the sector due to current tax policy and forthcoming Renters Rights Bill ,making it harder for many people to find a property. Keep looking and hopefully you will be successful.
Don’t think it was due to that reason for rejection.
Rent £850.00 month. £10200 per annum £30600 for the 3 year
Household total income ( without LHA.) £45000 per annum.
LHA rate for that area is £138.08 a week. £7180.16 per annum.
It’s the perception that people on benefits are scum.
When circumstances are out of you control not by choice, you are penalised. My wife works hard as carer for all three of us never gets a break never gets Recognition and is paid £80.00 a week for her hard work.
Yes the 2.5x the rent income criteria is blatantly ‘indirectly discriminatory’ to benefit tenants because what it is actually doing is telling tenants how much of their income they SHOULD spend on rent. It is telling people they have to spend 30% of their income on rent only but in housing crisis where mortgages and rent are so high many many are having to spend 50% or more on their housing costs to remain in their communities perhaps where their children go to school etc.
These criteria are solely there to prejudice its also assume anyone on benefits WONT PAY which is just absolutely shocking. I have brought it up with my MP as I think it is having a major impact on the PRS.
Ive been renting for 10 years and it was never a thing, these referencing companies like Goodlord and insurance firms brought it in and have just decided its standard! it isn’t and never was.
That isn’t their choice to decide! We are all adults it’s quite frankly predjudice and draconian.
I might be an introvert who likes spending time at home and therefore will spend more on my rent than other things - thats up to me not for any landlord to decide how I spend my money.
Where? That has never been the case for me in 10 years of renting, I have also never been asked to have a guarantor and I have not worked in 20 years (not on benefits). it appears as soon as someone is on benefits they get rejected its really nasty and OR need to take the NO DSS OFF as it is unlawful.
Any landlord that has NO DSS on their advertisement for their property is acting unlawfully and OPEN RENT are allowing this.
Well , I can’t speak for other Landlords but I always decide who I rent to , how could I not decide who I rent to …it’s my property ,please ask yourself who else would decide ? , it’s not a first come first served basis , its not prejudice it’s called choice , and the forthcoming RRB will probably lead to Landlords being even more choosy who they wish to rent to .
No it’s not up to the landlord
The guide is for people who are renting aka the tenant
There’s a section on affordability page 3 bottom left hand corner for the tenant
‘Think about how much you can afford to pay. 35% of your take home pay is the most that many people can afford but this depends upon what your outgoings are ( for example whether you have children)’
These are not randomly calculated numbers. Financial advisers and banks do the same thing when you buy your home .
Mortgages should not be more than 35% because you have to live , pay your bills, buy food, face uneconomic uncertainty, utility bills doubling overnight because of Putin starting warfare in Ukraine, clothes etc etc)
I changed jobs after I bought my home my salary was reduced by 40% my mortgage payments were 66% of my salary for three years. It was really hard until i started earning my normal salary again .
Some tenants apply for a rental that is a 100% of their salary . How will they pay for food etc. They literally have no idea what they are doing .
That’s why how much do you earn is the first question I ask!
If you have issue you need to start with the civil service and financial institutions and economic advisers not landlords . Good luck with changing a system that works .
I have never rejected benefits but I now always take a guarantor benefits or not
I took guarantors because it was tenants without that defaulted on rent . That’s nothing to do with benefits that’s employed or otherwise
Benefits get the same questions workers do
I have uc tenants on my books but they have a guarantor
You’re right there. I’m not passing any affordability checks because of how much I need to earn. To be honest i preferred the no benefit listing as I would avoid applying for them, now I have wasted so much time applying for properties filling in forms then viewing to be turned down when in fact they never wanted anyone on benefits. Then then the clever government decided oh if we pay tenants the rent you don’t have to tell landlords your on benefits lol.
IT was decided to pay tenants the housing benefit “To help them manage their own finances”. I remember that statement from the government at the time. Worked well has it not? NOT… Landlords will always want to know the where the rental money is coming from