Hello,
I would like to find out why single mothers are unable to rent.
I am during divorce proceedings, have teenager, working, have benefit and child maintenance and are unable to rent even though Iam able to cover half of year up front and can afford it with all that added up.
Landlords please do not discriminate single mothers as we are looking for a long term, stable housing, have a benefit that guarantee rent, child maintenance that often we save up and are capable of paying rent and all bills.Most mothers that I know are generally quiet, looking after premise well.
Shame that we are forced to go to council even though I personally, do not want to.
From someone who is in benefits and NOT a landlord
Saying that you can cover half a yeats rent dosent necessarily make you a good prospect as a tenant-what will happen after those 6 minths are you going to be able to pay your rent
The fact that you are on benefits can SOMETIMES go against you as opposed to someone who isnt (i ddint understand why until some of the experienced ll on here explained) and ll please correct if im wrong the benefit isNOT ALWAYS paid direct to ll it depends on your local authority policy it may be paid to you then you pay ll or even if they do pay direct the payments can be delayed somewhat causing the ll to be out if pocket (and i belive you can cancel the payment at any time )
You inly have 1 income what if you were to be incapacitated for a while or heaven forbid loose the job (maybe through no fault of yours)would you still be able to pay rent (there would no doubt be a pause while benefits are adjusted)
Child maintainance could stop for whatever reason and that would lessen the income
I know it seems ludicrous that someone on benefits cant always rent trust me ive been there but when you hear from a ll perspective too it makes sense
You would possibly (and again the experienced ll would probably know better than me) be better getting help from LA re housing you and your child rather than private sector thats not yo say you WONT get anywhere but it may take a while as you are 1 of many more suitable applicants for every house you see
The government have, and continue to encourage private Landlords to leave the market, and sell their rental properties, by chipping away at the profitability, and this is likely to get worse at the next budget, and with the Renters Rights Bill.
Less rental properties = Higher Rent
Less rental properties = More competition
More Competition means that Landlords have more choice of applicants, and this means that they will choose who they think is the less risk.
In one example of why those on benefits are higher risk; Inflation has been high recently and rents have had to increase. As a Landlord with multiple properties, the tenants who have struggled most with those increases have been those on benefits. They don’t always have the capacity to ‘keep up with the increases’, so they present a greater risk of future issues for a Landlord.
I wish you well with your search. Social Housing needs to catch up, and/or the regulations need changing to attract private Landlords to the market, not discourage them. Speak to your MP.
I have five properties. Three of them are currently let to single mums and they are great tenants. So, there are LLs out there that do not discriminate.
When an applicant mentions to me that they are going through a relationship breakup, I always ask for more details because that means that their situation is unstable which is a potential risk. One question I always ask is whether there is any likelihood that the applicant will get back together with their partner. I do not want to let to a single mum and find I’ve let to her partner via the back door. This is one reason why some LLs might not want the increased risk of a single mother.