Swindon landlords refusing to rent to people on benefits

Despite a court ruling earlier in the year that made it unlawful to blanket ban people on benefits, landlords in Swindon on Spare Room still appear to be shunning tenants on housing benefit.

Out of six entire properties to rent in Swindon found on Spare Room, none are marked as  ‘housing benefit considered’.

Spare Room currently displays a ‘new tenant preferences’ list, which gacve the landlord the option on whether benefits claimants are considered for tenancy or not.

Read more: The number of families hit by the benefit cap in Swindon surged during the coronavirus crisis

Some landlords are prevented from renting to tenants claiming benefits due to the nature of their buy-to-let mortgages.

As a result, Spare Room has now changed its filter - on the eve of this story being published.

Instead of 'housing benefits considered', the site now displays an option to 'hide ads that can't accept housing benefit (due to mortgage/insurance restrictions)' which it argues is necessary for these landlords.

A spokesperson for Spare Room said: “Some Buy to Let mortgages do still prohibit landlords from renting to people who receive housing benefit, so we’re changing the advertising process so that a specific mortgage clause is the only reason we’ll allow for saying they won’t rent to tenants on benefits.”

People on housing benefit are often referred to by the acronym DSS, which stands for Department for Social Security, the forerunner of the Department for Work and Pensions which oversees Universal Credit.

In July, a judge at York County Court ruled that blanket ‘No DSS’ rental bans by letting agents are unlawful and discriminatory under the Equality Act.

Because this judgement was from a low-level court it is not a binding rule for other cases. However, charities and campaigners are hoping it will stick.

Polly Neate, chief executive of Shelter, said: “July’s historic hearing sends a clear message to landlords and letting agents to drive out these old discriminatory practices for good – or risk legal action.”

Chief executive of Shelter, Polly Neate (Image: Shelter)

If you wanted to rent an entire property in Swindon and looking for homes that advertise accepting tenants on benefits, you’d be out of luck with zero out of six properties on the site available under that filter.

However, there’s a different picture when it comes out to house shares. Out of 390 properties on the site in Swindon, 24 are advertised as available to those receiving housing benefit.

The cheapest price of a one-bedroom flat in Swindon on Zoopla is £460 while the most expensive comes in at an eye-watering £950.

The cheapest two bed-property in Swindon is currently priced at £575 per month, just over the cheapest one-bedroom property. The most expensive two-bedroom rental is £1,275 per month.

Renting has become increasingly difficult during the pandemic.

With renting becoming increasingly difficult as we navigate the coronavirus pandemic, research by Shelter shows that almost 230,000 private renters in England have fallen into arrears since the pandemic started.

Meanwhile, the number of people claiming benefits in Swindon has more than doubled since the start of the coronavirus pandemic. Office for National Statistics data shows 8,585 people were claiming out-of-work benefits in Swindon as of May 14, compared with 3,500 in early March.

In May, the government extended the ban on evicting tenants however this is scheduled to end in just over three weeks.

Shelter has revealed that despite the evictions ban, more than 170,000 private tenants have already been threatened with eviction by their landlord or letting agent.

Read more: Swindon Borough Council paid out £442,000 last year to help people struggling with housing costs because of welfare reforms

With the furlough scheme scheduled to end next month and the UK being officially in a recession, more people than ever will be relying on benefits to survive.

Billy Harding, research and policy officer at Centrepoint (a charity for young homeless people) said: “Since the start of the pandemic, we have seen a 50% increase in the number of young people contacting our helpline seeking housing support.

“The ‘No DSS’ court ruling is a step in the right direction- tenants have the power to challenge landlords and letting agents if they are acting unlawfully and contrary to the equality act.”

He added: "Platforms shouldn’t have [housing benefits] filters - people should be assessed on an individual basis and not just the way they receive their rent."

If you are having difficulty securing a rental property due to receiving benefits, you can contact Shelter England for advice and support on what to do next.

A template letter can also be found on Shelter’s website, alongside free and expert housing advice.