Discrimination against people who are Disabled and in receipt of benefits

I think we have sent your question off on a tangent.
Perhaps looking for alternate forms of guarantor may be helpful.
I always have any potential tenant credit checked by Openrent,it is not expensive, to do, £30 I think and they will also quote for rent insurance as part of the service it’s usually around £100 per year.
If you let any potential landlord know you would be happy to pay this upfront that might sway their opinion of you as a tenant.
Also do you have a tenant passport?
It may help as well.

I’m really sorry for your situation. You mention you were hit by a drunk driver. You can sue for that, and rightly should. That would give you enough to either purchase a small place or to pay up front and show that you can afford the rent. There are issues to renting to disabled persons, and I write this with compassion as I have, as I type, 2 family members with disabilities. Truth is, there is more wear and tear on a property. Deposits are now capped and in truth don’t cover damage fully. Add to the mix a low income - a low rent won’t cover all a landlord’s costs. A high rent will out price those who live on benefits. So, what’s the solution? With council lists as long as years, the most cost effective way to enable tenants to have a safe place and to save is a hmo, or believe it or not, a cheap Airbnb. None of this is perfect, but the first thing to do is not have living costs which exceed income. I am fully aware that living costs for the disabled are triple those for those without needs - specialist equipment, therapies, transport, heating bills, adaptations, clothing etc it is enough to bring anyone to their knees, however money is king. Is this wrong? Yes, of course it is, but the squeeze on landlords is pushing out those who have one or two properties and more likely to work with a tenant in order to favour those with 5 or more properties. The old saying ‘the rich get richer, while the poor get poorer’ is true. There are jobs that even now are available such as supermarket worker, dog walker, ironing services, always be on the look out to make a few pounds. It adds up. Otherwise, find a house share and start at the bottom. Another option is to move out of area. Not great, but surely having a home is more important than living in a hostel to be close to friends and family? After all, if these are the people who can’t have you live with them, and can’t help you out, they are just people to have a cup of tea with. You can find that sort of friend easily. Hmm, I’m drifting, I just understand how tight it is for you. Maybe petition your local housing officer, your local MP, write to the editor of the local press, and also keep proof of the job rejections. Nobody wants to help someone who wallows in self pity, but they will help if someone doesn’t want something for nothing. Best wishes with it all. I wish there was a clear cut answer for all those in your situation.

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Hi Tamatha, I’m sorry to hear about your negative experiences finding a place to rent. Looking at your account, we can’t see any recent enquiries to landlords on OpenRent. We can see one enquiry in February, and one in March. Would you be able to clarify which property/landlord ignored or rejected you on the basis of your disability payments? We’ll certainly look into any issues you’ve faced and look to help if landlords are ignoring you, not responding or unreasonably rejecting your enquiries.

All tenants face a problem of limited supply, with lots of demand from other tenants, but we do have tools in place to help ensure tenants are responded to even for the most popular properties.

If you are already in touch with our support team at https://www.openrent.co.uk/faq#i-have-more-questions, feel free to continue your conversation there, as they will have your account details at hand to followup.

Sam