11^th Mar 2019

Newly introduced legislation will be stopping landlords from discriminating against benefit claimants and will be forced to house them.

It has just been announced that the Ministry for Housing will be investigating landlords and agents who refuse to take on tenants that receive housing benefit and Universal Credit.

Apparently 10% agents and landlords are blocking people who receive any form of benefits.
In November 2018, the National Housing Federation and Shelter studied 86,000 agents' adverts and found at least 8,710 adverts had included disclaimers such as 'no DSS' or 'no housing benefit'.

MPs have backed the government's stance as they say that just under 50% of landlords will not consider letting out a property to anyone on housing benefit.

Housing Minister Helen Wheeler announced on Friday 1st March that the government is planning to investigate "no DSS" or "no housing benefit" adverts as part of its project to stop agents and landlords from letting to people on benefits.

She sent out a stark warning to the private rented sector that if those agents and landlords did not change their attitude to claimants, then there would be no other recourse than to "explore all options to remove this practice".

The Housing Minister also announced that the government will be giving local authorities £19.5 million to help benefit claimants gain access to a PRS 'home', Wheeler said: "I will be meeting key stakeholders to tackle 'no DSS' advertisements. If the sector is unwilling to take action, the Government will then explore all options to remove this practice."

Justin Tomlinson, Department for Work and Pensions Minister, said: "Everyone should have the same opportunity when looking for a home, regardless of whether they are in receipt of benefits.

"With Universal Credit, payments can be paid directly to the landlord, and we continue to listen to feedback and work with landlords to improve the system."

Polly Neate, chief executive of Shelter, said: "It's good the Government has recognised the burning injustice of 'No DSS' and the wall of prejudice that stops hundreds of thousands of renters from even getting a foot in the door.

"We hear from families - who've always paid their rent - at their wits' end after being repeatedly shut out just because they need some housing benefit.

"I hope this announcement will send a powerful message to those letting agents, lenders and landlords who still think discriminatory bans are acceptable - that these outdated practices must end.

"We look forward to working with the Government to make sure that from now on people are treated fairly on a case-by-case basis."


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