Benefits claimants face landlord discrimination despite ruling

[Thomas]

This isnt a dig at dynamis , but you will see many labour supporters worked up in a frenzy about this situation , while completely ignoring the labour parties part in the problems we are seeing today , especially in england.

Same old same old , blame the tories for something labour either caused or helped along the way  , and try and make political capital out of it.

Labour are happy to carp from the sidelines , but when they get in power they do the opposite to what they moaned about  ,and when parties like the snp come along and bring in progressive policies to deal with housing problems , labour either oppose or abstain. ( or blame this mythical other party......the blairites)

[Thomas]

However, I suspect that the biggest problems faced by landlords with DSS tenants are the problems with local authorities.

For example, comments on the Landlord Today report here make the following points:

    They change the allowances to tenants with no warning,
    They backdate enormous (and often fictitious) overpayments which the tenant has no hope of paying.
    They start and stop payments as they wish with no regard for the landlord's contract with the tenants
    They insist on paying in 4 week cycles instead of per calendar month like everyone else
    The council teams are incredibly rude and aggressive to agents and Landlords alike
    They actively encourage defaulting tenants

The first commenter ends by saying

    After 10 years of accepting DSS tenants we stopped in Jan 2015 after too many bad experiences- not with tenants but with councils

The real problem

The real problem is that instead of social housing stock being increased, which is what is desperately needed, it is actually being reduced.

Government seems to be hell bent on doing all it can to increase the 'right to buy' sell-off and make it difficult for Housing Associations and other social landlords to build any more.

Thus completely ignoring the needs of DSS and other low-income families who have nowhere else to go.  For example, they can hardly stump up the 1/2 million or so needed for an 'affordable' property in London.

https://www.landlordlawblog.co.uk/2016/02/29/why-do-landlords-refuse-to-let-to-housing-benefit-dss-tenants/

[Thomas]

Thousands of landlords are trying to avoid renting their properties to benefit claimants, despite a judge ruling a blanket ban was unlawful.

About 75% of listings on the website OpenRent said the landlords would not accept people on benefits.

It comes after the ruling a single mother-of-two had experienced indirect discrimination when a letting agent refused to rent to her.

OpenRent said it advised landlords to assess tenants "on their own merits".

At the court hearing in July, the judge ruled "No DSS" rental bans were against equality laws.

The mother had ended up homeless with her two children, when her case was taken on by housing charity Shelter.

DSS is the initialism for the Department of Social Security, which was replaced in 2001 by the Department for Work and Pensions. It has become a shorthand on property websites for people claiming benefits.

The BBC analysed more than 9,000 listings on OpenRent.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-53821317

Of course loads of Tories (and Lab etc) are landlords themselves and probably quietly have the same illegal rules

Many landlords in england arent multi millionaires..........but merely ordinary people looking to invest hard earned savings , or in many cases taking a major gamble on englands over heated property market to invest for their future .

Your problem in england isnt private landlords not wanting the hassle of dealing with those on benefits. Thats understandable.

Its your government  , and the blame lays fair and square at both labour and tory , for abandoning the council house system that would have once upon a time met the needs of these people in favour of an ever growing private letting system and ever increasing housing benefit budget .

You can bring in all the court laws in england you like , how do you prove a private landlord is discriminating against a dss tenant? There  are loads of ways around this.

Instead of blaming private landlords , which is what you post is insinuating to my mind , you should be looking at your government and their woefull housng policy since the days of thatcher.

By the way  , labour dont get off the hook on this matter. They are up to their armpits and complicit with the conservatives. If i remember correct , thatcher and majoirt built far more council houses once upon a time than blair and brown ever did , and when the scot government abolished right to buy , labour were among the most vocal cheerleaders in opposition.

Reasons Landlords Don't Accept DSS Tenants

https://www.propertyinvestmentproject.co.uk/blog/reasons-why-landlords-shouldnt-accept-dss-tenants/

Major complaints seem to be landlords no longer receiving rent direct and letting agents finding it costly and time consuming to reclaim rent form local councils.

No wonder they dont want the hassle.

Looks to me a system that is close to imploding.

[papasmurf]

Of course loads of Tories (and Lab etc) are landlords themselves and probably quietly have the same illegal rules

I am in no doubt about that.  The no DSS annoys me because it shows ignorance by landlords.   When Universal Credit is rolled out completely (if ever,) there will be over 7 million claimants.  Those landlords won't have many people left to rent to if they keep their current attitude.

[Borg Refinery]

Thousands of landlords are trying to avoid renting their properties to benefit claimants, despite a judge ruling a blanket ban was unlawful.

About 75% of listings on the website OpenRent said the landlords would not accept people on benefits.

It comes after the ruling a single mother-of-two had experienced indirect discrimination when a letting agent refused to rent to her.

OpenRent said it advised landlords to assess tenants "on their own merits".

At the court hearing in July, the judge ruled "No DSS" rental bans were against equality laws.

The mother had ended up homeless with her two children, when her case was taken on by housing charity Shelter.

DSS is the initialism for the Department of Social Security, which was replaced in 2001 by the Department for Work and Pensions. It has become a shorthand on property websites for people claiming benefits.

The BBC analysed more than 9,000 listings on OpenRent.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-53821317

Of course loads of Tories (and Lab etc) are landlords themselves and probably quietly have the same illegal rules