[Hedgehog]

Thanks Bluey for your advice.

I got the info about being given short notice of repossession from Shelter website as it says:

"A reasonable landlord should always warn her/his tenant if repossession is a possibility, but in many cases, tenants will not be aware of any problem until the court sends a notice to the property, informing them that the lender has been given a possession order and the bailiffs will be coming to repossess the property.

This notice (form N54) should be addressed to the defendant in the possession proceedings (ie the landlord) and 'any other occupiers.' It tells you when bailiffs will be coming. It may only give a few days notice of an eviction, so get advice immediately if you receive one."

http://england.shelter.org.uk/advice/advice-8911.cfm#wipLive-34753-4

Then when phoning around trying to get advice from various places a guy said that this had actually happened to him as a tenant he and his mates got 1 days notice and they went to a solicitor who told 'em nothing they could do so they had to just get on with it.

However, luckily in my case I have 2 landlords and 1 has warned me that the other is heading for bankruptcy so I have notice but not of exactly when things will kick off (I did some detective work and just found out that the bankruptcy petition hearing is in a couple of weeks). So ideally I need to get something sorted before it does. Hopefully the non bankrupt landlord will keep me in the loop or I might be able to get the insolvency service to do so.

Still whether I have a few days notice or 2 months I am still stuffed if I can't find nowhere else to go cos of being 'DSS'. Except that I would have a bit more time to try to un-DSS myself, I've been trying to do that for a while already, but maybe something will turn up or work out.

I didn't think that I would have much chance with the council as from what I've read (can't find the website now) when it talks about health and priority need it seems to be talking about more serious health problems than what I have - but who knows. Even so I'd rather not dump myself on the council if I can help it, it would still mean B&B for goodness knows how long and that in itself would affect my health for reasons I won't get into and the biz would most likely still have to go in that case plus I have a cat so she'd have to be rehomed too which is the very last thing I ever want to happen above all else. Hopefully I can find another way without resorting to this route, if indeed I have any chance with it anyway.

I'll email shelter and see what they have to say thanks, for some reason I didn't notice I could email or phone them before.

[Bluey]

Thanks for the update and good luck on the outcome for you.

I assumed (incorrectly) that the occupier would be kept in the loop from the very start of the eviction process rather than after judgement. Perhaps the initial paperwork is served on the landlord rather than the tenant. Sounds like there's some kind of accelerated possession process that's in place.

By 2 landlords, do you mean that you have 2 on the tenancy agreement (which I've never heard of) or they are joint owners of the property, for example?

[Hedgehog]

[KP6]

Hedgehog double spooky , I have also decided to go self-employed. Not so easy to start up a business on benefit well done, I'm following suit (except with the bankcrupt landlords)

You see bluey, it's not that people on benefit are lazy or unresourceful etc..Yes there are some out there as shown on shows like Jeremy Kyle and the like..that give the rest of us who want to work and in some case desperate for work, but are forced by employers and society into benefits.

If benefits didn't exist and landlords stoped taking DSS , people like myself and hedgehog wouldn't stand a snowballs chance in hell of getting a job even though we have proven that we are capable and willing to work otherwise what would be the point of getting a degree, it is employers and the like that prevent us from getting a job like every other person.

So because of a few the rest of us suffer

[Bluey]

This thread isn't a criticism of DSS claimants but is broadly analysing the system around it that makes it very unattractive for landlords to take them on as tenants and the changes to it (Local Housing Allowance) that may make it even more difficult for DSS tenants to find suitable accommodation.

I've noticed ever increasing posts by DSS claimants on this forum who are encountering problems finding new accommodation.

There's a separate thread you might like to contribute to about the impact of EU migration on UK unemployment which indicates that they contribute to the benefit trap. The polling on that threads seems to indicate that Gummies think the locals are workshy job-dodgers.

http://forums.gumtree.com/about47957.html

[Dirty Mom]

Such shocking self-promotion of your thread there!

(my threads never run to 18 pages. *Crys*)

[Hedgehog]

[Bluey]

[Bluey]

You might find this publications interesting - they report the results of the pathfinder areas where the Local Housing Allowance is being trialled.

It includes evidence of the reluctance of landlords to accept claimants in the future or to renew the tenancies of those that are receiving LHA.

http://www.dwp.gov.uk/housingbenefit/lha/evaluation/

[Hedgehog]

[Hedgehog]

[Bluey]

There is an article published here on the Local Housing Allowance which indicates that the pressure on social housing will increase should the availability of private housing for DSS tenants be impacted by the new scheme.

It also indicates that the pilot studies show that 16%, or one in 6 tenants, have trouble managing their rent.

"the National Federation of Residential Landlords (NFRL) says evidence from the government's own trials of the LHA in 18 pilot areas across the country suggests that many landlords will refuse to take the risk of rent not being paid...

According to the government's Survey of English Housing, there are 453,000 'benefit tenants' in the private rented sector. If that number fell, it would put more pressure on local authorities and other providers of social housing, which are already short of capacity..

A spokeswoman for the Department for Work and Pensions said that trials of the LHA over the past two-and-half years had showed that 84 per cent of tenants were managing their rent payments successfully."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2008/mar/16/renting.property

[Bluey]

Here is a thread on a landlord site with landlords talking about whether or not they accept DSS tenants and why.

http://www.landlordzone.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=10769

For "I would look at the tenants as people rather than private/benefit tenants as there are good and bad on both sides. I have turned down an accountant before earning £50/60K PA and went for the single mum on housing benefit. ....there is no difference between benefit tenants and private tenants. The source of someones rent, does not seem to make a difference. It is the person behind it that makes a difference"

Against "they do represent a much greater risk than employed people, and in that sense, speaking in actuarial terms, on a cost/benefit basis, they are a bad risk... leaving aside those DSS tenants who are reliant on benefits merely by dint of their unfortunate circumstances (eg: the disabled etc), those on DSS are, more often than not, in that situation due to their fecklessness or unemployability. In other words, probably not the sort of people one would choose as contracting partners for a long term business relationship where one's major asset is at risk."

[LeilaAnvar]

This is getting STUPID, i am a student with a young daughter.
i have been looking for private housing for 5 weeks now and NOBODY TAKES HOUSING BENEFIT.

i pay my rent on time EVERY MONTH money is tight BUT i would NEVER put myself or my daughter in to a position of losing my house due to dipping in to rent money!!!!
this is ridiculous, i am not a junkie or sitting down on benefits for the sake of it im at college trying to better myself and get a career.

LANDLORDS SHOULD NOT TAR US ALL WITH THE SAME BRUSH!!!

They are discriminating against us because they think we are all low life scum and we are not ....... they should think about this next time they say no ...IT MAKES ME SICK!

[mickyhamps]

I agree leila
I'm a 20yo lad i work 8:30-5:00 mon-fri for £135 as its classed as a traineeship. i'm getting a payrise next year so i'll be on around £20,000 P/A but until then i have to claim HB if i want my own place. I AM NOT AN UNEMPLOYED SMAKHEAD. i have a fantastic carreer in I.T just around the corner i have worked my arse off to get to where i am now turned down places at 3 different uni's cos i want to do this. but no matter howmuch i try and explain this to landlords the turn there nose up at me. i am living with my girlfriend and her father at the moment so i really need my own place but do the snotty shits give a toss? do they balls.
i have more education and manners under my little finger than those people have in there whole tight fisted money grabbing nazi loving bodies.

if you are a landlord reading this then i prey to all the powers in the universe that you are someday in this situation.
why would i be any less likely to pay you on HB? the money is still there.
i could be a millionare and not pay my fucking rent would it make a difference? if the money is there its up to the person to pay no matter where it came from.
fools

[Bluey]

If a landlord allows the Housing Benefit payment to be paid directly to the tenant, there is a higher likelihood that the tenant will fail to pass it on. The pilot areas for the Local Housing Allowance which trialled mandatory payment to the tenement indicated a high amount of arrears (meaning the tenant squandered it upon receipt).

If a landlord accepts Housing Benefit payments directly from the council and it transpires that it was a fraudulent application, the landlord must refund it.

So landlords face risks whether they are paid directly or indirectly.

If a landlord evicts a claimant, chances are that they will request social housing and the chances are the claimant will get told to stay put until the landlord gains a court order (this is to cut down on the amount of homeless applicants that a local council is obliged to deal with). A private tenant being evicted who is in employment stands no chance of any assistance so don't tend to be as problematic to get rid of when they prove to be unreliable.

HB claimants include a large proportion of single mothers, recently released prisoners, plus within long-term incapacity claimants the latter tend to include alcoholics, drug addicts and the mentally ill. All these groups to different degrees and by different landlords are most likely to be considered as the least attractive tenants. It's a shame to tar all claimants with the same brush but it's clear that they are PERCEIVED to be high risk and it's hard to overcome that perception.

It may be the case that landlords politics are less likely to lend themselves to being sympathetic to the socially disadvantaged but in the main, it's the system which is ahborred - HB is paid 4 weekly whereas rent tends to be monthly, it is paid in arrears whereas rent is paid in advance, the initial payment can take months to come through, HB claimants are harder to evict.

There are definately landlords who won't consider claimants because of their personal politics - they guard their investments closely, it's purely a business for them - and they do regard claimants (the unemployed rather than the disabled) as workshy and despise the way the state has produced welfare dependency. However, on landlord forums these seem rare - mainly their truck is with the administration of the payments or bitter actual experiences with HB claimants who have trashed their properties.

[mickyhamps]

all you seem to be saying is that people on HB are work shy. I WORK! 45 hours or more a week for nearly no money. therefore i need to claim to help with rent.
if i were on more money there would be the same chance of me not paying. it depends on the person. NOT where the money comes from. if i were that kind of person i could be on plenty of money but still not pay because i'm a bastard. anybody that rents will get there wages and set aside some for rent, there is just the same chance of them "dipping into" the rent as anyone else on earth.

[Midlander]

[Midlander]

[charmedkylie]

i think its extremely unfair to assume everyone on dss wont pay rent. I dont think everyone understands why some people are on it. It isnt simply because they dont want to work. I am currently on dss as i have a baby and had to leave my job because it was made hell for me. i have been working since i was 16, when i finished school and went to college. After leaving my job, i had no source of income so had to go on income support and housing allowance. It was either that or stay at my mums in a box sized bedroom with my baby and my mums 3 dogs. I have been paying ALL my rent which is £850 pcm, and am extrememly cautious when it comes to money. So i think people need to stop judging others just because they dont have as much money as other people and had to go on dss!

[Penant The Tenant]

If you're a Landlord taking DSS i would highly recommend you get paid by the tenant rather than direct from the council. I will confirm it has nothing to do with the possibility of the tenant getting into arrears.

[mickyhamps]

[Bluey]

[Penant The Tenant]

[charmedkylie]