Long wait for replys

why does it take so long for anyone to get back to me about if they take housing benefit tenants, ive applied for loads and only 3 have personally replied if you want decent tenants at least have decency to respond plsssss

3 Likes

Assume its a no of you donā€™t hear back. I always a reply regardless out of manners. Many properties will have dozens and dozens of applicants so some landlords wonā€™t bother replying to all. This is rude I think though. Does work both ways, Iā€™ve contacted many a tenant and hear nothing all the time.

7 Likes

yes im getting that now lol its just frustrating plus so much discriminating against people on housing benefits regardless of the kind of person they are or reasons theyā€™re on benefits ect , my latest reply just says cant rent to you good luck
i can see this is going to be long process finding a suitable 1 bed longterm rental for someone like me through no fault of their own has to now rely on disability benefits after nursing but onwards n upwards

1 Like

I think disability benefits can be viewed more favourably over just regular benefits. I have just taken on a disabled tenant, they were very very organised in everything they provided. They are also able to cover the rent for a few months if need to while the benefit payments get sorted out as this can be a long time. If you can offer this you may increase your chances.

7 Likes

Itā€™s the way the new benefits system works because the government (DWP) have started to give rent directly to many tenants and allowing them to decide wether they pay rent! I have written to my local MP who has forwarded my letter to Michael Gove and Theresa Coffee because it is ruining the private sector! There needs to be a law that ring fences the amount of benefit thatā€™s paid solely for housing cost (rent) because at the moment claimants are enriching themselves on tax payers money and landlords are left with huge costs to get them out so Iā€™m on here to encourage housing benefits claimants to also contact their MP requesting the same as me! Too many regulations on LLā€s and nothing on tenets and itā€™s outrageous :rage:!!!

BTW I am not a LL I am a tenant who has a disability and I need to move for my health and itā€™s basically impossible! A landlord has an asset worth tens of thousands of pounds why would you risk renting to anyone who could potentially cost you thousands?!! At the moment itā€™s too much of a risk until something changes!!

8 Likes

i totally agree with you, i just dont understand why the government thinks its a good idea to give rent money to benefits claimants for some its just extra money and as i gather it would take a few months of not paying it too LL before they pay it direct which to me is idiotic .i also have to move as i live in a shared house was lovely the first year but LL has now filled it with druggies and the past few years have been a nightmare which has progressivly got worse .my health has deteriorated but as you said its almost impossible to find somewhere, as weve already been stereotyped ā€¦anyway i wish u luck and hope you find something soon :>)

2 Likes

I strongly recommend contacting your MP asking them to contact Michael Gove and Theresa Coffee because the more people that highlight this problem the better! Unfortunately one voice is drowned out by so many people trying to put more regulations and legislation on LLā€™s which is becoming incredibly over balanced and whatā€™s going to happen when the government totally destroys the private sector? With no hope of building the amount of homes needed the homeless population is going to be at record levels and the sad part is that itā€™s going to be record levels of children being genuinely on the streets itā€™s a disgrace!
I wish you luck in your search too thank you.

9 Likes

Itā€™s not discrimination itā€™s risk management, the tenant has no risk, you have it all.

I never use to take tenants with any form of benefits, now a lot of people have benefits of different types. All bar one of my tenants now fall into this catergory.

History has been kind except for one and thatā€™s the one you get really hurt with, not the tenant you, thatā€™s discriminatory - to you and you take all the risk.

So whether you read the historic blogs on this subject which have been discussed to death, ignore well seasoned advice or just go on your gut feelings will be all part of your risk management. This is why when a repeated question comes up which has been answered many times but the ā€˜questionerā€™ does read historic bloggs, that they get few replies.

4 Likes

Hear, hear, well said Julie. Itā€™s refreshing to hear from a tenant who appreciates the true predicament of Landlords, and the common sense approach necessary to make the market more accessible to benefit tenants.
Good luck with your house hunting.

6 Likes

Iā€™m having the damdest time I and fighting breast cancer Iā€™ve more surgeryā€™s to go and my landlord sent me a section 21 I did nothing wrong.
Now every landlord looks at me poorly when I say I have to have dss. They look at my like Iā€™m stupid and canā€™t pay. Well I say this Iā€™ve been renting for 25 years and never have I missed a payment. I preferred for the dss to pay me as there is a flaw with landlords and the 5 weeks in advance rent and the dss paying in areas. I didnā€™t get it back
I have had this happen in my last property.

3 Likes

I am very sorry about your personal circumstances, it would be gutting to be given notice at such a hard time. All I can really say is highlight your history to the landlord on the first correspondence. Stick to the relevant points and offer easy to decipher evidence.

Has LL given a reason for the notice?

Am I right in saying that the landlord did not reimburse you? A landlord will usually want payment direct from benefits dept which is possible depending on the tenants disability or circumstances, (each LHA will have different rules)

No LL didnā€™t and donā€™t have too which is making things worse. All they say is Iā€™ve not done anything wrong. Personally I think they wanna kick me out and charge a much higher rent!
And to answer your other question no I didnā€™t get it back. Itā€™s why I told dss they can pay me directly. Iā€™m brilliant at paying my rent so they had no problems.

Unfortunately rightly or wrongly the odds of an unemployed tenant not paying rent are too high not to mention the way they treat the property (not all but a great proportion) the devil really does make work for idle hands. So Iā€™d suggest giving as much control to the LL as you can and let him be paid directly, yes I understand that some LLā€™s may have treated you badly in the past but just like you donā€™t want to be judged on past DSS tenants you canā€™t then judge all LLā€™s in the same way. Besides the rent is paid for by DWP and although itā€™s never ok for any LL to take money they are not owed itā€™s still not your money they are taking and if you let DSS know the date you move in or out then the LL will not be able to get more than they are owed.
I have been through breast cancer, also registered disabled and on benefits plus I am also wanting to move so I know exactly what you are going through.
Good luck with your search.

5 Likes

Iā€™m just fed up of seeing how the scales are becoming increasingly tipped in a way that is outrageously unfair to LL and ridiculous legislation that the government wonā€™t practice themselves in welfare housing :rage:. So all this legislation costs money but they wonā€™t put any legislation in place to criminalise benefit recipients who enrich themselves on money that is paid by taxpayers!! It needs to be ring fenced! It clearly states on all Universal Credit claimants accounts for example what money is given for HOUSING COSTS/RENT so there is no excuse and before anyone jumps on me saying ā€œif a parent has to choose to buy food or rent then food winsā€ NO ALL claimants get an amount separate from housing and if the money is being used for other things then reduce that spending! Whatā€™s the point in food if you have nowhere to cook it, store it or eat it? RENT and FOOD first everything else needs to accept you are paying what you can!
Am I talking a foreign language? No! I donā€™t think so itā€™s like you said Chris itā€™s just logic and common sense.

7 Likes

Itā€™s impossible to speak for someone else, all anyone can do is speculate.
Maybe the landlords have all received so much interest that they are only replying to people who they intend to allow a viewing.
This is very frustration Iā€™m sure. I remember when I was unemployed and applying for between ten and sixteen jobs a week, for only one or two to bother replying.
All you can do is keep trying, hoping for the best, and most importantly, show yourself in the best way show you be offered a viewing.
Good Luck.

1 Like

I rarely get a reply on here. Iā€™m in desperate need. Iā€™m in a small 2 bed with 3 kids that have additional needs. I have the money no problem, my slate is absolutely clean 12 years renting on time, yet I rely on benefits disability benefits I have severe anxiety & situational mutism a severe form of social anxiety, my mum, grandad & son had/has the same thing. My other son is autistic.
Yet no one will consider me at all ugh very frustrating.
Clean rent history, no debt ever, no CCJs, my anxiety wonā€™t allow me to get in trouble, excellent credit, landlord references, pension age parent with own home, guaranteed long term disability benefit someone could lose their job tomorrow in this climate & not be able to pay or are not willing to pay rent even working. Itā€™s not everyone on benefits that canā€™t pay.
I can pay 6 to 12 months in advance, I save & donā€™t spend willy billy, never been on holiday.
Donā€™t drink, smoke or anything.
Absolutely clean.
Keep houses clean & tidy.
Yet we are all lumped into the same category.

1 Like

@Rebecca-86 You sound like my ideal tenant to be fair! Guaranteed income (unless the Government change the goalposts again!), no risk of unemployment, family, likely to stay a while. All ticks in the right boxes for me!

Hope you find something soon.

3 Likes

Its a shame but the trouble you have @Rebecca-86 is that a tenant will come along and say the exact same things as you and be a crushingly bad stressful experience.

I finally have a court order to get my property back. 3 years of living hell, tens and tens of thousands of pounds. no rent paid (on benefits) and I had to pay her more tens of thousands to leave as ongoing solicitor/barrister costs could have eclipsed this. I will update my thread below in a few weeks but its still very raw and numbing. I feel sick with it a lot of the time and my debts are huge, debts that didnā€™t exist before I took on a benefit tenant that was legal aided to the hilt.

Try fighting that juggernaut. My property is is a terrible state now, she has ripped the kitchen out, I had fraudulent invoices being demanded to be paid (it was her and her father) and then some.

If you look at the thread ā€œfirst hand experience with DSS tenantā€ that tenant was ā€˜perfectā€™ and sold herself you will get a glimpse of why LL are so wary of benefit tenants.

First Hand Experience of Benefit Tenant

So the only way LL can add more protection to themselves is to raise the bar.
Maybe you can write to Shelter and the Govt to get them to make worthwhile changes rather than getting rid of S21 for example which leaves LL with even less security.

1 Like

Sorry about your circumstances. Us good landlords are lumped with the bad, as a result all landlords suffer with increased barriers and increased protection for tenants, this ultimately makes us less likely to let to those on benefits. Write to shelter and your MP and tell them banning of section 21 is ridiculous, never mind the current circumstances in how hard it is to evict.

2 Likes

Because it is illegal to say ā€œnoā€ on that question, but it is not illegal to not reply at all.

4 Likes