Did anyone read the Daily Express newspaper on Saturday, 24th July, 2010? The front page was dedicated to rogue DSS tenants and how much they cost taxpayers. I’ll get onto the details shortly, but first let me swing my embarrassingly tiny penis around and have a rant…
I’ve openly had several outbursts about how and why I’m reluctant to accept DSS tenants, and in return, I’ve received abuse, and some more abuse from the self-proclaimed “genuine” DSS tenants that are being hard done by because of ignorant landlords like myself for making judgmental statements.
The thing is, I actually do sympathise with the genuine DSS tenants that are struggling, HOWEVER, their lack of understanding and inability to appreciate the landlords’ perspective is bullshit and unbelievably boring.
I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve had DSS tenants hurl abuse at me, informing me I’m greedy (what the fuck?) and ignorant for tarring everyone with the same brush. But my argument is, and I’m going to throw this out there… the people hurling that abuse at me are probably receiving benefits because they’re uneducated delinquents, as opposed to educated single parents or those claiming for physical disabilities. I say that because in almost ALL my rants about DSS tenants I’ve made it clear that I only refuse DSS tenants because of how ridiculous the actual Local Housing Allowance (LHA) system currently is, and not because I believe each and every DSS tenant is a money swindling fucker. If the system protected landlords better, then I’d sincerely accept them. But as it stands, the council side with rent dodging DSS criminals. See the distinct difference? I’m not judging anyone, I’m just refusing to get tangled in a broken system.
ALL DSS tenants need to understand that landlords are running a business, so they have to act like they’re running a business by assessing the risk factor of every decision they make. Like it or not, DSS tenants are high risk. No one is tarring everyone with the same brush here, so spare me from that overplayed and tiresome argument, I’m just stating a fact. The risk with accepting DSS tenants IS far greater than most other types of tenants, so why should landlords take that risk when they can substantially reduce their risk by taking a fully employed tenant?
What’s confusing is that no one shouts at banks when they assess applicants for bank loans, but as soon as landlords try to protect their investment with a little risk assessment they automatically become morally crippled!!! If I got declined for credit due to my ill financial circumstances (for whatever reason), I’d understand because it’s not like I’m being told I can’t get credit because i’m overly qualified. Now that would be confusing!!
Here are some facts from the article to suck on
- Benefits scroungers are routinely stealing rent money worth hundreds of pounds given to them by the state to pay their landlords.
- Up to one in 10 of the 674,930 tenants claiming the allowance sponge benefits, interviews with almost 1,000 landlords by the National Landlords Association found.
- The scandal has caused rent arrears of an estimated £227.4million up to October 2009.
ONE IN 10 abuse the system!! The justification for landlords rejecting DSS tenants’ is there and I want every DSS to realise that before they sit there wondering what the landlord is basing their facts on and why the asshole landlord is being such a judgmental prick.
I’m not saying the situation is fair for DSS tenants, and I’m not saying every DSS tenant is the same (that’s far from the truth), but what I am saying is, don’t blame the landlords for making their justified choice; blame those abusing the system and the Government for making the system so floored.
Those that abuse the system aren’t necessarily chavs or complete wasters; they’re every day people like Bernadette (the stupid, inconsiderate donkey below) that most likely blends in with every other person. So while it’s so difficult to separate the genuine from the wasters, it’s perfectly valid to refuse DSS tenants.
They are being allowed to pocket the cash for eight weeks before the debt-ridden landlord is able to insist that the benefit is instead paid directly.
The article clearly highlights how and why it’s so easy to abuse the system. Shit needs to change for the situation to get better for both landlord and tenant.
Before I go, allow me to quickly go over my stance on the situation again, in easy bullet points, so no one gets confused:
- I don’t think all DSS tenants are the same. I’ve had pleasant experience with 2 of them (and bad experiences with 4 of them). They were decent and honest people that were dealt a bad hand in life.
- I’m not saying landlords should or shouldn’t accept DSS tenants, I’m just saying landlords have a legitimate reason for not accepting them, and DSS tenants should respect/accept that with understanding.
- While the government is largely to blame for the current state of affairs, I don’t blame them entirely. The criminals abusing the system (they ARE criminals as far as I’m concerned) need to be tossed aside and sliced with a sledge hammer.
For those people that deem my rant inappropriate, you can read the original news article online, OUTRAGE AS SCROUNGERS BLOW £220M IN BENEFITS! But I warn you, it’s no way near as good as my dribbling sanity.
Disclaimer: I'm just a landlord blogger; I'm 100% not qualified to give legal or financial advice. I'm a doofus. Any information I share is my unqualified opinion, and should never be construed as professional legal or financial advice. You should definitely get advice from a qualified professional for any legal or financial matters. For more information, please read my full disclaimer.
if you can refuse to accept dhss tennets because of there employment staus surley this is a form of discrimination . i thought every 1 in this country is suposed to treated as equals would you refuse me a tenancy if my skin was the wrong colour or i was disabled or gay .no because youd be thrown into court quicker than you could blink.a person on benifits has the same rights as every 1 else in this country and should be treated the same if they can pay there money is just as good as any one elses .
what and who gives any landlord or any person the right to discriminate aganist a person because of there status.