Some years ago the DSS paid the Landlord directly, not sure if this has changed, but one major implication was that if the tenant is deemed by DSS to have to repay overpayments that include the rent, then YOU have to repay what has been paid to you direct by the DSS..

This may have changed now, as it was in 1998 when this happened to me.

I have separate landlords insurance, that £99 policy is to cover if the tenant stops paying the rent....

Not quite sure what u mean!?

I can't recall the full circumstances, but we let our old place in the UK out to someone on the SS, with the rent being paid direct to us from the DSS, but after about 6 months the DSS asked us to repay all the rent they had paid us, because the tenant was not in fact eligible for the money they had paid out.

I said that surely they should claim it back from the their client, our tenant, but they said no. They money had come direct to us, therefore we had to repay it !

And of course there was zero chance of getting the tenant to cough up to pay us back.

That is just one of the many horror stories about DSS tenants, but this from my personal experience.

DSS rent is paid directly to the tenant who is then supposed to pay the landlord.

I assume it has changed then. A good thing in some ways, for the few who stuffed it up, but maybe not for the good ones.

It does seem to have changed, I just found this from 2008

Yes we saw a lot of that while we lived in the U.K. I worked for a builder that "looked after" numerous leased properties. One of our more shady tasks was evicting rent defaulters & changing locks. In certain circumstances the DSS would investigate people & find they were either co-habitting or were working for cash while claiming SS. In those cases it was easier to claim the rent back from the landlord than from the tenant

I remember going to a woman's house who was holding a 'mums and babies' coffee morning thing, very 'posh', thought she was the dogs bollox, one of the kids spilt orange juice on a cream carpet. We rushed around to clean it, she just looked at it and said 'don't worry, it's only a rental'!! They weren't paying the rent either, his company were paying it but it was a large, beautifully decorated, obviously very expensive house.

Didn't have anything to do with her again, her attitude bugged us all so much.

Jen, I can tell you exactly how it works if you are going to let it out to someone on DSS, however, this term does not exist anymore, it is now Department of Work and Pensions (DWP),
1. The tenant has to fill in forms for housing benefit giving details of rent, etc.
2. An Assessor from DWP will come out and inspect the property.
3. There is only a certain amount the DWP will give the tenant based on their circumstances. ie, you could want to let it out for 600 per month, but the DWP may only offer to pay 460 per month.
4. The tenant agrees and moves into the property getting 460 a month from housing benefit leaving them to make up the short fall of rent.
5. The tenant find out that the landlord rents out his other 3 properties for 550 per month (but they are working!!!)
This is a true example

6. We realise that the landlord has exploited our daughter because she is a single mum on benefits. She then has to find the 140 per month from somewhere.

Basically Jen, you can charge what you want for your house and the more you do charge the more likely it will be that it is someone on benefits, as a percentage of the rent will be paid by DWP but the rest from the tenant even if they are unemployed.

Mark

Could you tell me which insurance company that's with, as that sounds pretty good to me. Thanks

John