Housing what is dss

Supporting the campaign For those of us with mental health problems, finding a safe, suitable and stable place to call home can be so important. More Shelter activity you may be interested in:. Change the law. Did you know you helped ban letting agent fees for good? Become a HERO. Join our Housing Emergency Response Operation and help us build a better future. Take part in one of our events, or organise your own. We use cookies to store information on your computer They are small text files.

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Find out more. Make the most of our great tools below, they will help you find the perfect property that says yes to DSS. Sign up to receive email updates. She's got all her extended family nearby to help her at the moment. We don't know where she will end up. Helen said she wanted to speak out so other people in their situation knew they were not alone. What they don't remember is that for a lot of people on universal credit, it is a top up, these people are not work-shy. Sadly the likes of Benefits Street [Channel 4 documentary] puts a bad slant on people.

Single mother-of-three Laura Goodall-Barton dreams of moving from Wolverhampton to north Devon with her sons to be near her brother - but cannot find a landlord or agent who will agree to let a property to her. She said she was continuing the search for her boys, despite feeling discriminated because she receives universal credit.

I won't give up because of them. They are my drive to give them a better future. Whatever anyone throws at me I will keep going," she said. Polly Neate, chief executive of housing charity Shelter, said discrimination against people on benefits was unlawful and continuing despite the legal cases. Ms Neate said there was a need for fundamental reform of the private renting system. A spokeswoman for the National Residential Landlords Association said no-one should be excluded because they were receiving benefits, adding that the benefits system was in "urgent need of reform".

Landlords are also often put off by the benefits system. Previously, DSS tenants were an attractive prospect for a landlord as the rent came directly from the council, meaning guaranteed payments.

This process has now changed and, in a bid to encourage tenants to be more responsible with money, the payments now go to the tenant and it is their responsibility to transfer it to the landlord. Some councils do still allow direct payments to the landlord but not in many cases.