Can a London landlord enquire on a tenant's housing/DSS benefit status?

December 19, 2014 2:54 AM

Asking for a friend: Landlord says "no DSS". Is it legal to withhold that you receive DSS and apply for housing benefit without the landlord finding out?

My friend has finally found a safe and affordable place to live in London but the landlord has said "no DSS". My friend does receive DSS and would be eligible for considerable housing benefit if he signs a tenancy agreement.

Is it legal to withhold your DSS status?
If my friend goes ahead with the tenancy agreement and then applies for housing benefit, is there any way the landlord could find out?

Not that it matters, but friend is otherwise wholly trustworthy, a great tenant, has the deposit, etc.

I've read this somewhat related post and he will go to Citizen's Advice bureau and Shelter, but -- flat in London here -- time is of the essence.

Thanks if anyone has advice!

posted by OlivesAndTurkishCoffee to Law & Government (7 answers total)

Best answer: I am a layman, this is not legal advice etc etc.

'no DSS' is an old term (given the department of social security is now the department of work and pensions!) but very common. The landlord theoretically is breaking the law if they refuse disabled tenants on DLA, but I'm not aware of a test case.

It's legal, if obnoxious, to refuse tenancy to someone on housing benefit, ESA etc even if they could otherwise afford rent.

For housing benefit in particular, there is an option when claiming where you can ask they do not contact the landlord for certain checks, and the council usually sticks to that and the landlord won't be notified. Note that housing benefit doesn't kick in until you're already a tenant and can take quite a few weeks before you actually get the money, so they'd need to be able to afford to pay rent without it for potentially a couple of months.

They'd also probably need to be able to pass a credit check, and some landlords look at bank records to confirm affordability - evidence of prior benefit payments on there would probably scupper an agreement.

That all said; the landlord may well have a mortgage and/or insurance that specifies no benefit claimants - they're usually cheaper, as benefit claimants are, statistically, higher risk. If so, they will definitely put something about 'no benefit claimants' in the tenancy agreement, and to sign such an agreement while lying about receiving benefit would be contract fraud.

It's one thing to have a change of circumstances where you need to start claiming housing benefit, and do so without notifying the landlord (assuming they don't have a clause in the tenancy agreement), but knowingly outright breaching the agreement from the get-go would leave them very vulnerable to a breach of contract claim. Realistically, should the landlord find out it would just lead to prompt eviction - but should something happen to the property, such as a fire, and the landlord finds out he's not covered by building insurance, you can bet that would not be fun for anyone.

I personally would suggest that your friend carry on looking.
posted by ArkhanJG at 3:33 AM on December 19, 2014

Best answer: You should phone shelter on 0808 800 4444 and ask them, no need to go in, they'll be able to tell you everything you need (a friend of mine was in a similarish situation recently and shelter gave them loads of legal loopholes etc which let them keep their tenancy).
posted by Ned G at 3:54 AM on December 19, 2014 [1 favorite]

Best answer: In the past, I have done a lot of renting while on housing benefit, as have many of my friends (some of them still do so).

The phrase "no DSS" in itself is legally meaningless, especially as the DSS no longer exists.

Although claims should be processed within two weeks, housing benefit can take a long time to come through, especially in certain London boroughs. I once had to wait six months, which is extreme. It's a good idea to have at least two or three months of rent saved up for this reason.

When housing benefit is awarded, it won't cover the full cost of the rent. It is standard for the initial award to be significantly lower than the rent. You should always appeal the first decision, and you will inevitably be given a higher award, but this will take more time.

As ArkhanJG says, there is an option when applying for housing benefit to prevent the council contacting your landlord. This is usually fine but I wouldn't trust it 100%. (I once had a landlord who turned out to be working for the council, so he was actually able to check up on me through it computer system.)

The landlord asking for work references/bank statements could be the greatest barrier to renting this flat, but you haven't mentioned anything about this so I will assume that for whatever reason this is not an issue.

What ArkhanJG says about landlord mortgage/insurance issues is the main sense in which this situation is potentially problematic. I have to say that in my renting history (maybe a dozen different places), both as a claimant and in work, I have never seen a clause in a contract prohibiting benefit claims. However, this might be more common than I think.

It would be useful if your friend could view the contract beforehand to establish whether it contains this kind of clause. If not, then I personally would not hesitate to go ahead and rent this flat - but I am unafraid of administrative hassle.

However, if your friend wants to play this straight, then it doesn't necessarily mean that he has to give up on the flat. If he meets the landlord, it may be possible for him to explain to them that he has the money for rent in advance, will meet any shortfall in benefit award, and is a good, reliable tenant who won't fall behind with the rent or otherwise cause the landlord hassle. This may be enough for the landlord to rethink the "no DSS" bit, which may have been included in the ad mostly by default. I have personally seen several "no DSS" landlords successfully sweet-talked in this way.
posted by cincinnatus c at 4:57 AM on December 19, 2014 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: Thanks all, very helpful advice. Much appreciated!
posted by OlivesAndTurkishCoffee at 6:07 AM on December 19, 2014

landlord mortgage/insurance issues is the main sense in which this situation is potentially problematic. I have to say that in my renting history (maybe a dozen different places), both as a claimant and in work, I have never seen a clause in a contract prohibiting benefit claims. However, this might be more common than I think.

This but it's not about the tenant's insurance coverage, it's about the landlord's. Whenever I renew my landlord insurance I am asked if my tenants are on benefits or not. So it's not that your friend is exposed as a tenant in their insurance coverage but the landlord is exposed. Same with your landlord's mortgage provider.
posted by koahiatamadl at 7:13 AM on December 19, 2014

This but it's not about the tenant's insurance coverage, it's about the landlord's. Whenever I renew my landlord insurance I am asked if my tenants are on benefits or not.

Yes, but the question is from the perspective of a tenant, and in any case how do you know if your tenants are on benefits? I understand that 'no DSS' means that a landlord expects a new tenant not to be claiming benefits at the moment of signing the contract. However, beyond that, if it is not explicitly mentioned in the rental contract, it is none of their business. Beyond receiving their money once a month, a landlord has no right to know anything about their tenant's life. No one I know would ever think about their landlord's insurance and nor should they.
posted by cincinnatus c at 7:52 AM on December 19, 2014 [1 favorite]

I'd also recommend Shelter's website, esp. this page, How is housing benefit paid? It could be that the owner doesn't like the thought that the housing benefit will be paid to the claimant (i.e., your friend), and that it might therefore not reach them.They might reconsider if your friend's local council can arrange for the rent to be paid directly to the owner or to the estate agents who manage the company on the owner's behalf.
posted by davemack at 9:05 AM on December 20, 2014