Why do landlords write they accept housing benefits but the moment you apply for the the ask how much you make a month or year??? If I was making that much why would I be on housing benefits??? Your rent will be paid in full plus the deposit. Why are you landlords so mean??? I have been struggling for 2 years now. If you don’t want to rent people on support then kindly don’t put DDS accepted.
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I agree. Putting DSS accepted and then rejecting them is mean. But then LL won’t be sued for discrimination.
Many will accept them if they can afford the rent. They need to know income!
Maybe you can find out how much your LHA actually pays and only apply for properties where the benefits actually covers the rent.
Why are some tenants just so lazy and entitled.
I am on benefits due to being disabled and I have been lucky to have found a landlord who would take a risk on me.
I use the word risk on purpose because you are saying these landlords are mean when the reality is they are giving someone a home which they own and it’s not like borrowing a cup of sugar this is the most expensive property they own so you have to accept that they quite rightly choose a tenant that they know has enough money coming in to cover the rent comfortably and also maybe get an attachment of earnings in a court should they ever have to get that far.
The biggest issue for landlords nowadays not even being willing to entertain benefit claimants is due to the government changing the way housing benefits is paid. Since UC came in DWP decided to start paying the rent direct to claimants and it would be be the claimants CHOICE if they decided to pay the rent or not and although somewhere in this legislation it state’s landlords can have it paid to them directly if more than 2 months in arrears is just lip service and is not a solid recourse for landlords to feel confident.
HOW CAN WE HELP CHANE THINGS? So every time I see posts like this where LL’ are made out to be mean or judgemental, not just on here but other social media platforms I have to come to their defence and advising what YOU as a home hunter can do.
PLEASE contact your local MP and lobby them to get the rules of how the housing allowance is paid and that no matter what the rent to must be paid to the landlord directly because there is no need for any tenants to receive it directly. So until this U turn is done then most claimants are going to struggle because quite rightly landlords can not afford to lose £1000’s of unpaid rent then £1000’s to get them evicted.
You can shout all day long that you’re not like that but the reality is that there are 1000’s and 1000,s of tenants choosing not pay rent and enriching themselves and no one cares so again get on to your MP because with the private sector already in crisis it’s going to be British citizens being housed on barge’s or even Rwanda. Too far fetched? Not really because this government has done nothing but destroy the housing sector with little regard for humanity.
I will also say that too many people are choosing benefits as a lifestyle and as a disabled person who can not work it really destroys me mentally that I am incapacitated and it really does impact me that my mind is capable of many things but my body won’t work for me so I have never understood why anyone who is able bodied can just sit and do nothing all day!! The only good thing about UC is that it is routing out those people who think they can just choose wether to work or not due to sanctions so hopefully sanctions will rise and claimants will fall.
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Are there sanctions for people on UC?
Yes. Most people now have to spend and prove they have been searching for work and they really do mean search. A single person I believe has to show they have search for I’ve 35 a week I believe and show they have applied to all the vacancies that match their skills. Even single mothers are told to start looking as soon as they are entitled to the free 30 hours week nursery place from the age of 2 and these sanctions are not minor and that’s the reason why more people are in employment because it really does not pay to stay on benefits due to constant appointments and fail to turn up your benefits are stopped or sanctioned by hundreds of £’s so the government has done well in that area, it’s just a shame they can’t stop paying them the housing element directly.
If they only force people on UC to look for a job compatible with their education/profession, then it’s not enough. There’re so many people with these micky-mouse degrees or the ones with the market oversaturated (arts, graphic design, photography). If there’re no vacancies in their profession, they should take any job available (cleaning, sorting mail with RM, etc.).
After retiring, my husband trained as an EPC assessor and does it part-time now. You won’t believe how many unemployed healthy young people sit on their backsides. The usual reason they give is “No jobs, mate” or similar. Really doesn’t look like sanctions are doing much.
Sorry for the rant.
Also the amount of those claiming UC for the basic amount of unemployment benefits are going down massively. The fact that the government are helping more people in to work with childcare fees and assisting with rent through UC shows that people are much better off working because of UC. At the moment those who have always claimed benefits will not have been rolled over yet on to UC so lots are still benefiting but once people understand fully how UC works they will see it’s a no brainier and get a job and those who still think they just have to tick a few boxes are getting the shocks of lives with over 60% of their benefits are stopped and are not lifted until they are satisfied and because they have to apply for jobs many will be offered a roll so if it’s turned down without good reason they can not claim for around 6months I believe.
Let’s hope. When I came to this country almost 20 years ago, I was overwhelmed by the sheer number of people who didn’t work for years (or never). I still can’t believe it has been going on for so long. And of course disabled people are tainted with the same brush and stress each time their PIP is renewed. Every time they have a fight on their hands.
Let’s hope.
Yes you are right about disabled people are tied to the same brunch but unfortunately there are too many people claiming disability for things that should not stop you from working. I thought as soon as home working became more acceptable I was excited and applied for a role as soon as one cam up but unfortunately it was my medication that was causing me issues and I have been trying out some different combinations but unfortunately had to stop as been diagnosed with a cancer tumour in my lung so I can’t seem to get a break lol
So sorry about that. Great that you have a four-legged friend who is supporting you.
I’ve had to give him to my daughter Tim as I can’t manage the walks with my issues so life’s giving me a good beating at the moment lol
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I was on housing benefit many moons ago (before I went to university, and before LHA was around so probably 15 years or so), and the housing benefit was paid direct to me even then. It was only ever paid direct to the landlord if a) it was a council owned property or b) if I was in arrears and the LL applied to the housing benefit dept to have the housing benefit paid directly to them.
The trouble is, as Julie mentioned, with UC being paid direct to the claimant, there’s no guarantee that the LL will be paid their rent by the tenant. That said, I do agree that you should not put that you accept DSS if you’re not willing to accept it.
That being said, we have a set of standard questions we ask every applicant before we reference them. This includes questions about their income/jobs, as not everyone on UC is out of work. They may be on a low income and get UC to top their income up, so still get an element of housing benefit, but without asking, the LL would never know.
It could also be that the LL has received an application from someone claiming housing benefit and an application from someone that’s been in long term employment with references, etc, and ultimately a LL will go with what they see as the lease amount of risk.
As a LL, I don’t have an issue with tenants on UC/housing benefit as long as you can prove your income, and prove that you’ve paid your rent and other bills every month without fail.
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Because UC hasnt kept up with inflation it is rare that anyone on UC has enough to cover the rent and living costs.
For any applicant i look at affordability based on one of the published reports. That does unfortunately tend to rule out UC applicants. I sometimes have excluded UC tenants in the openrent criteria on the basis it is not likely to be affordable but more recently have not as i do not want to discriminate but do want tenants who can pay the rent.
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Oh no don’t get me wrong if they have no qualifications at all then they will make them apply for those types of vacancies. There are no excuses unless they get a letter from a health professional telling the DWP why this job would be unsuitable for a pre-existing health issue. Other than that if they do not look for work in the time required they are sanctioned heavily and it takes a hell of a lot of work to get your payments to be reinstated and believe it or not many are starting to click on that it’s easier to work nowadays and be out of the whole system.
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