Housing benefit

[whezzing]

hello everyone,
i'm on incapacity benefit and i'm living with my parents. I would like to move out, preferably to a different borough, and claim housing benefit. Most landlords write 'no dss,' I heard that i can have my housing benefit paid directly into my bank account. Do i have to tell the landlord i'm claiming housing benefit? Does the landlord need to be involved with the council's procedures?
Thanks

[den3371]

Hi Whezzing

The Landlord will need to be notified as he will have to declare you living at the property. On the Housing Benefit Form, your Landlord will need to sign it.

This is also the case for any Council Tax Benefit.

[Newsmedia]

I have an issue with the no-dss thing.
You might like to comment on the page whezzing

Its at Newsmedianews | No DSS thank you ...

Cheers!

[blacksheep1979]

Originally Posted by Newsmedia

I have an issue with the no-dss thing.
You might like to comment on the page whezzing

Its at Newsmedianews | No DSS thank you ...

Cheers!

I'm sorry, but its almost some form of credit check - its basically saying if you can't pay the rent yourself then I'm unwilling to take the financial risk of having you as a tennant and I think that is perfectly fair as a house is a big investment. Its totally different to saying no blacks asians etc, its saying no to people who may become a financial burden and unable to pay what they owe leaving the landlord out of pocket and maybe behind on payments with his mortgage.

As to not saying you are receiving benefits to the landlord depending on the contract, wether you specifically lie to him etc about the benefits then you could be in breech of contract - I don't think its the best route to take all in all. Be honest with the landlords and if you can get decent references then you will possibly find some willing to accomodate.

[Newsmedia]

Originally Posted by blacksheep1979

I'm sorry, but its almost some form of credit check - its basically saying if you can't pay the rent yourself then I'm unwilling to take the financial risk of having you as a tennant and I think that is perfectly fair as a house is a big investment. Its totally different to saying no blacks asians etc, its saying no to people who may become a financial burden and unable to pay what they owe leaving the landlord out of pocket and maybe behind on payments with his mortgage.

As to not saying you are receiving benefits to the landlord depending on the contract, wether you specifically lie to him etc about the benefits then you could be in breech of contract - I don't think its the best route to take all in all. Be honest with the landlords and if you can get decent references then you will possibly find some willing to accomodate.

========================= ===
The main fact here is that DSS payments are probably more guaranteed than others in many ways. However, DSS payments are geared to maximum rentable values as determined by local authorities and to those looking to make profits this is not enough to satisfy their desire. The fact remains in my opinion that "no dss" is blunt discrimination. Sadly I have lost the comments put on site by former readers but one is retained at the head of the article.

Honesty is the best policy but as per the old saying it does not always pay. I am not advocating dishonesty but I am advocating a fair system. And as my article says, if the 919,700 people is receipt of DSS support in 2006 had been refused accommodation on those grounds alone, those people would have been left homeless. And that includes many people on disability-related allowances.

Keith

[Nightmare4banks]

Newsmedia,in reply to your post and in my view:

To be perfectly blunt and honest with you:

1.If you did not tell any potential landlord about your benefits circumstances and lied about your status you could be classed as obtaining any potential tenancy by fraud.

2.The way around this could be to obtain a larger deposit and involve social services in this matter - please refer to a previous post that I have mentioned on this forum within this section with the useful links if you are registered as disabled.

3.I am not defending landlords in any way but it is not their faults for having such a housing benefits system that works totally against landlords.Do not forget that a property is a large investment and therefore you should look at the situation from all angles.However as other posters have said if you look around you should be able to find a landlord that would be understanding.
If there were none of them around there would be scores of homeless people around.

4.You should also try to obtain accommodation from the Local Authority/Housing Associations if you have not already done so.

Anyway,I hope you find this information useful.

If you have any more questions,just ask.

Keep us posted.

All the best!