How to pay 6 months rent in advance

Ryver

Hi. I have physical and mental disabilities and i am needing to move house. My current house has 3 stories and is completely unmanageable for me. The problem i have is agencies i have spoken to want 6 months rent in advance due to being in receipt of disability benefits. I cannot pay this. I cannot get a loan and i have no friends or family who could help or be a guarantor for me. 
I feel i have no options and don't know where to turn. 

chiarieds

Hi @Ryver - & welcome to the community. Have you tried contacting Shelter who may be able to help? There's some info on their website which may be relevant: https://england.shelter.org.uk/housing_advice/private_renting/rent_deposit_bond_and_guarantee_schemes

Alex_Alumni

Hi there @Ryver and thanks for reaching out with your query. I know that Shelter has excellent guidance and information on 'How to find landlords who accept benefits'. 

I'm sorry to hear you've been asked to pay 6 month's rent as a deposit, that doesn't seem right to me. As Shelter says: 

Paying a deposit

Many landlords and agents ask for a tenancy deposit. It must be protected in a scheme. 

You can't be asked to pay more than the equivalent of 5 weeks' rent as a deposit.

Some councils have lists of private landlords who rent to tenants claiming benefits, so I'd encourage you to enquire with your council about that.

You could also get a discretionary housing payment from the council to help with a deposit, rent in advance or rent payments.

I hope this is helpful, but if we've missed anything, please let us know, and we'll do what we can to help

Ryver

Hi. Thank you for the warm welcome and information provided. Unfortunately, this isn't a security deposit they are asking for. The deposit is separate. They are wanting 6 months rent payments in advance. As far as i am aware, they can ask for as many months rent in advance as they like. 
I will however have a look at shelter and see if they have any information which could help. 
Thank you again for your responses  

JBS2022

Councils can sometimes provide a discretionary housing payment to help pay rent. You will usually need to pay it back. Contact  your local council.

life

I had a discretionary housing payment from the council. You don't need to pay back the DHP. 

poppy123456

JBS2022 said:

Councils can sometimes provide a discretionary housing payment to help pay rent. You will usually need to pay it back. Contact  your local council.

It’s very unlikely they will allow a DHP for 6 months rent in advance. 

Ryver

Thank you. Sorry for any tagging. 😊 Unfortunately, this is correct. DHP would help with the bond and first months rent. I am also unable to apply because i was granted DHP around 8 years ago when i moved to my current address. It all seems a little hopeless at the moment. It is definitely discrimination. When i have been in full time employment i have never had issues. As far as i am aware it is perfectly legal to ask for as many months rent in advance as an agency likes. 😞 Thank you for your responses! I very much appreciate all your time. 

OverlyAnxious

This is fairly standard unfortunately.  I had to pay 6 months in advance even back in 2015 due to being out of work at the time.  I only had it due to an inheritance.  I'm struggling to think of any way you could raise it without a bank loan or a personal loan from friends/relatives. 

JBS2022

poppy123456 said:

JBS2022 said:

Councils can sometimes provide a discretionary housing payment to help pay rent. You will usually need to pay it back. Contact  your local council.

It’s very unlikely they will allow a DHP for 6 months rent in advance. 

It wasnt a DHP I was mistaken, it was a Rent Guarantee Scheme run by the council, they also do a Rent Deposit Scheme up to a maximum of £1000 for rent and £500 for a deposit. It was how I got the cash for my flat, although I don't know how many councils do this. It's worth asking. I got 3 months rent upfront I think it depends on the amounts.

poppy123456

Ah yes the rent deposit scheme. This doesn’t cover any rent up front, which is what is being asked for here. 

It’s never easy to find landlords that accept DSS.
There’s a couple of letting agencies where I live that do but they ask for a guarantor.

JBS2022

I

poppy123456

tomm said:

Rent direct with a landlord SCREW THE LETTING CON ARTIST AGENTS

That isn't going to help here because even renting this way, a lot of LL's will still refuse a DSS tenant. Those that will, often ask for a guarantor and/or rent up front for X amount of months.