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Agencies & People

Lettings boss says firm ‘has been unfairly targeted’ over No DSS T&Cs

James Gesner's agency website has had text removed after local paper pointed it could be considered discriminatory.

The Negotiator

estate agency

An Oxfordshire letting agent has promised to review its advertising policy after being accused of discriminating against DSS renters, but claims it has been ‘unfairly targeted’ by a local investigation.

James Gesner, which has offices in Didcot, Wallingford and London, was found to be carrying adverts that could be unlawful and discriminatory against benefits claimants.

These included a condition that renters needed to be working on a permanent contract of employment and earning a minimum 30 times the monthly rent, which in some case amounted to nearly £40,000. One anonymous renter said it was turning down tenants on benefits.

The agent has since removed all references to housing benefits from its listings and says advertisements are being reviewed to ensure they are up to date with current legislation. Last July, York County Court ruled that landlords and letting agents risk prosecution if they don’t allow housing benefit claimants to rent their properties.

estate agent gesnerDirector James Gesner (pictured) told the Oxford Mail that some of its landlords stipulate the criteria which is sometimes necessary to satisfy their lender. “The income threshold of 30 times the monthly rent is set by the majority of referencing companies used by all letting agents, and ensures that the applicant can afford the rent, along with other household bills without causing them any financial hardship.”

However, he also tells The Neg that he feels the agency has been unfairly targeted. Adds Gesner: “We are a responsible letting agent and have a duty of care to tenants and landlords.”

The news follows a pledge by Oxford Council to stamp out DSS discrimination against tenants on housing benefit and Universal Credit – the first council to take such a stand. In July, a cross-party motion called on the cabinet to explicitly ban discrimination against welfare recipients by changing the wording of its landlord accreditation scheme to rule out indirect discrimination such as ‘no DSS’ or related practices.

Picture credits: James Gesner Estate Agents.

August 11, 2021

3 comments

  1. I echo what Jeremy Clarke says. The Local Authorities need to get their act together and stop the witch-hunt against good, reputable Agents!

  2. I’m biggest benefit Landlord in Nottingham & I no longer take Benefit tenants. It’s not the tenants, it’s the Universal Credit UC system.
    Govt needs to be coming asking us why.
    I’m still being paid 4 months later for house I’ve sold cause UC acknowledges there is no way for Landlord to tell them if the tenant doesn’t.

  3. James is correct, 30 x income is what most referencing companies use as criteria. Our duty of care is to our landlords, if we failed in our duty and put tenants into a property who could not afford it I’m certain our landlords would have something to say about it. I now recommend that landlords take out rent & legal insurance whereby the criteria for affordability is set by the insurance provider.
    There is a shortage of property to rent, a huge demand so landlords have a choice as to who they want in THEIR properties. rather than keeping up the witch hunt, local authorities need to start building and providing housing for those who really need to be in social rather than private housing.

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