Exclusive property listings for DSS tenants

Aim

The aim of this project is to provide a database of ONLY DSS properties for recipients of housing benefits and prospective DSS renters.

I have worked in social housing for more than two years. From my experience of working in housing, it is difficult for recipients of Housing Benefits to link with landlords who accept DSS renters. DSS renters have no adequate service where they can seamlessly search for landlords who accept DSS tenants. It is common knowledge that DSS renters are at a disadvantage as they find it extremely cumbersome to find a landlord that is willing to accept them as tenants.

According to gov.uk, over 4 million people are in receipt of Housing Benefits. 

In 2015 there were 4.8 million families in receipt of Housing Benefit. Most families –2.7 million – claiming Housing Benefit are workless and living in the social rented sector (this includes pensioner recipients). Some 1 million were workless and living in the private rented sector. The remaining 1.1 million were in working families, half in private rented and half in social rented housing

Presently, there are no adequate services that offer DSS ONLY properties to DSS tenants. The existing ones are either insubstantial or too localized. Having a database that contains only readily available DSS rental properties, nationwide, will help the prospective tenant navigate easily and seamlessly in securing a property.

The project aims to build a desired Ecommerce website. For a small fee (3 - 5 GBP), service users can sign up for a subscription renewable after 6 months. This subscription gives the service user access to all DSS listings/landlords nationwide. 

This project successfully funded on 20th May 2021