Letting agents are discriminating against tenants on housing benefit, an undercover investigation has found. Shelter and the National Housing Federation found one in 10 agents in England refused to let to those on the benefit. The undercover investigation found the policy was enforced even if tenants could afford the rent. Stephen Tyler told the BBC that housing benefit discrimination had forced him to sleep in his car. The wheelchair user told the BBC's Victoria Derbyshire programme: "We have been trying to find accommodation since we were evicted from our last property when we asked for adaptations to be made for wheelchair access.

"I phone anything up to 20 landlords, estate agents, a day and none of them will accept DSS (tenants on Department of Social Security housing benefits)." The Birmingham resident said he had approached his council as well as housing associations, but "no one wants to help at all". A spokesman for Mr Tyler's local council, Birmingham City, said it had offered him "suitable alternative accommodation". It added: "While this is far from an ideal situation, and is no doubt distressing for Mr Tyler and his family, unfortunately we are faced with a national housing crisis that is affecting an unprecedented number of families across the region." Ugly undercurrent

Polly Neate, chief executive of Shelter, said: "This ugly undercurrent of discrimination is wreaking havoc on hundreds of thousands of people's lives. 'No DSS' is an outdated and outrageous example of blatant prejudice." The investigation into 149 regional letting agent branches found five of England's leading letting agents were discriminating against tenants on housing benefit, with Haart was the worst offender..

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