Unable to rent a house on benefits?

I am a single parent, unable to work at the moment as I take care of my little girl. I am therefore on benefits. I would like to rent a house with my parents but the estate agents all say that as we are on benefits, no landlords would want us as there tenants. I am confused. Surely there chance of getting paid is more guranteed as the Housing Benefit office will definitely pay the rent. We are decent people just unable to work at the moment. Does anyone have any advice for me

go to the housing office, they will have a list of DSS welcome houses offered to rent on the market.

I would think that if you move in with your parents you will loose your benefits. Try to find housing that fits with your situation and continue raising your child. Good luck!

Council housing, housing association? People on benefits do often get their benefits stopped and if this happens they have no way of paying rent as they are less likely to have savings. Maybe this is one of the reasons you can't rent privately. Also the amount of housing benefit you would get is unlikely to cover the full rent if renting privately.

Try getting on a council housing list or housing association. You will find it impossible to rent privately on benefits.

I do not agree with the estate agent. Of course landlords would want you. That way they are guaranteed rent money as the government are paying it. I would go to your local Citizens Advice, they will be able to tell exactly what you are entitled to, and how you can go about renting a home.

Contact your local welfare office or Fair Housing Office. What you are looking for is called 'Section 8 Housing'. Larger cities have a waiting list of people that are looking also.


The link below is for Phoenix, Arizona. Go to Yahoo search and put in the name of your city and section 8 housing.

Some landlords dont want to rent to people on benefits because the Councils (who pay Housing Benefit) are not always reliable (in that they usually take ages to come to an entitlement decision) & they know that without Housing Benefit most people on benefits cant afford to pay the rent.

I'd contact a Housing Association or look at renting a Council Property if I were you - they dont require deposits & are very understanding about Housing Benefit.

Ignore anyone who tells you that you'll lose benefits for living with your parents & claiming benefit for your daughter - its totally wrong.

try for a council house or look in your local paper some in that will say accepts dss

The reason you won't be able to rent privately through estate agents is because all their applicants have to go through credit checks. I'm a single parent too and only work 16 hours a week, but because my mum was in full-time employment they accepted her as my guaranteur. You may be able to find something with private landlords who don't go through letting agents as they use their own discression.

It is possible to privately rent a house if you are on benefits!

But, a lot of landlords won't accept people on them, as someone has already pointed out - Councils can be notorious for taking time in processing payments, which landlords don't like.

I would be careful about moving in with your parents though, as this may effect what benefits you are entitled to - so check this out before you make any decisions.

I'd suggest contacting your local Citizens Advice Bureau
http://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/index/g...

who will be able to do a benefit check for you, based on what is likely to happen.

It might also be a good idea to ring your local council, housing department and ask them - but still check with CAB, as it's not always easy to get to know what your rights are.

My local council have recently started an "Approved Landlords" scheme, which is for private landlords - this means that you, as the person renting, know that the property will be up to a certain standard, and is available to anyone on benefits.

Council waiting lists are very long and unless you fall into one of the priority categories, it could be a very long wait.

Housing Associations also have waiting lists, but they tend not to be as long. Rents for these properties are usually slightly higher than council ones, but normally benefits will cover the cost.

Depending on the cost of renting privately, and property available through social housing, will determine if the benefits department will pay the full cost of the rent. In some cases they will pay, but on the whole, you normally have to make up the shortfall yourself.

It's not impossible to rent privately, but PLEASE seek advice before making any decision that could effect your benefits.

Hope this helps.

Can your parents not look after your little girl while you go out and work - even just part time..?

A lot of the properties you see for rent in the estate agents are owned by the ' buy to let ' brigade who won't accept HB because they have a mortgage on the property and without your rent, they cannot pay their mortgage.
I would put an advert in the local papers stating your circumstances. Not all private landlords won't accept HB.
If I knew what area you lived and who your local council is it would help. Some offer a deposit scheme for you to be able to rent privately. They will also tell the maximum rent they will pay.
Property is very over priced, people are homeless and greedy twats are keeping homes empty in the hope of getting rich.Sick.