NEWPORT renters on housing benefits are being told that they are not welcome in the vast majority of properties listed on a popular housing website.

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

Out of 44 entire properties to rent in Newport found on Spare Room, none are marked as ‘housing benefit considered’.

Spare Room was displaying a ‘new tenant preferences’ list, which gave the landlord the option to consider whether benefits claimants are considered for tenancy or not.

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.”

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.

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.”

South Wales Argus:

Chief Executive of Shelter, Polly Neate (Image: Shelter).

If you wanted to rent an entire property in Newport 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 105 properties on the site in Newport, 13 are advertised as available to those receiving housing benefit.

The cheapest price of a one-bedroom flat in Newport on Zoopla is £450 while the most expensive comes in at £620.

The cheapest two bed-property in Newport is currently priced at £475 per month, just over the cheapest one-bedroom property. The most expensive two-bedroom rental is a staggering £2,492 per month.

South Wales Argus:

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.

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.

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.