I am a single mum with two children (16 and 1 years old) I live in greater london and would have to be earning over £600 a week to live without claiming benefits, the house I am renting is undergoing a reposession and I have been to my local council for help, they have informed me that as there is limited social housing I would have to look for private accomodation but they would help me with a deposit. I have some savings so providing a deposit and two months rent in advance has never been a problem, where I do find problems is actually finding anyone who will accept me to rent a property due to me claiming benefits, every letting agent i've been to has turned me down, either because the landlord has had problems in the past with “people on benefits wrecking the house” or the housing benefit takes ages to be sorted and it causes arears (something which I've never had a problem with) or the buy to let mortgage has stipulated that under no circumstances can the property be let to persons on benefits. when you are stigmatised like this it makes you feel like scum, I don't choose to be in the situation I am in, I am a responsible tenant and have never been in arears with rent but these agents won't even check my references, the only agents that did let me Let a property from them are useless and my LL was in arears with his mortgage when I moved in.

 I've tried Gumtree and you just get scammers, you very rarely get privately advertised properties with three bedrooms usually just studio's. the homeless advisor at my local council has said to me that I'm not trying hard enough to find a property, that i'm been too choosy or just not looking. I know there are families out there who disrespect rented accomodation but should we all be tarred with the same brush