First time landlord

[pacman69]

Hi,

I am looking to let the property we are in out for the first time and could do with some help.

The property is in very good condition and should achieve a let of £750 pm I have had smoke alarms fitted and a C02 detector, the boiler has a landlords gas safety cert.

I was looking to let it through an estate agent who would charge 3 weeks rent as his fee, however I have been approached by my sisters freind who has split with her husband and is looking to let somewhere, however it will be paid for by the LA.

She has viewed and is interested and has dropped round a pre tenanacy determination for me to sign, so its getting pretty serious now.

Some questions

Will a standard AST be fine with a LA tenant?

Where can I get an AST is there a pack with guarantors etc?

Where do I stand with evicting if need be is it the same with private tenants.

I know its many questions but a point in the right directions will do

Thanks

[callumsgran]

I am in the process of setting up my own letting agency and have been advised to steer clear of HB claimants until i have more experience so my advice would be the same to you.
Alternatively i think you will probably find all you need at your local stationery shop

[Joa]

Learning by doing is fine but you pose an awful lot of question about absolute basics. Plus you ask them on a open, public forum where answers may be correct but may also be misleading. You are soon going to have enormous influence on another person's life. I suggest you start cramming.
Excellent source of info:Rental Property Knowledge - LandlordZONE, their articles and forum.

Don't even get me started on "steering clear of HB claimants"
Like we are bloody pariahs

[pacman69]

Thanks Joa for the link, been wanting to do this for a while but only know has the oppourtunity arisen and looks like we are ready to move out and let this property.

[kregrs]

Originally Posted by cillitbanger

I am in the process of setting up my own letting agency and have been advised to steer clear of HB claimants until i have more experience so my advice would be the same to you.
Alternatively i think you will probably find all you need at your local stationery shop

If by HB you mean Housing Benefit, then I think that a little unfair.

As a HB claimant, and having recently had to find somewhere to move to, 90% of the properties we looked at refused us on the grounds of HB, those that would have accepted us were way above our budget. With our local council waiting list being over 5000 people, we were lucky to find somewhere that accepted us on benefit.

Surely by not accepting HB, it is discrimination? You can't refuse to let to someone on the basis of race or religion, so why is it acceptable to refuse on the basis of HB?

[demon_x_slash]

Couple of pages and comments you might find interesting. I've looked this up before.

Newsmedianews | No DSS thank you ...
Tenant Discrimination - House Price Crash forum

"As a landlord I couldn't rent to students or unemployed people even if I wanted to - my building insurance conditions don't allow it."

"A lot mortgage companies specifically state that properties cannot be let to HB (DSS) tenants...HB is also difficult for a lot of landlords with only one or two properties and who really rely on the rent coming in. HB can take months to start coming through. Who will pay the rent in the meantime? The landlord must keep paying the mortgage regardless."

"Another option you can try is getting in touch with the Local Authority. Most have a department that liaises with private Landlords who are willing to rent to people on benefits, especially if they are disabled in any way, and these departments usually run a "bond" scheme where they guarantee the LL against any damages (instead of the tenant having to find the deposit as well as rent in advance)."

"half of my properties are let to single mums and they are cracking tenants - they all look after my houses brilliantly and i get the HB directly and their top up directly.

the new welfare reform before parliament as we speak is trying to get all HB paid directly to tenants, but, none of mine want that "in case we spend it " - so we plan to write a letter to the local authority saying that they consider themselves vulnerable so that the HB continues to be paid to me. the government have to include such a facility as there are many thousands of inadequate folk who just cannot cope with life (not my mums i have to say !)

Getting the paperwork done initially with the tenant and completing the PTD, and HB application form and getting all the backup documents together is a bit time consuming, but, after that the rent rolls in every 4 weeks regular as clockwork."

[Joa]

OK, fair do , landlords have a lot to lose by renting to HB claimants. So my disgust is directed at this scum of a government minister responsible for underfunding local authorities who then do not have enough money to employ enough people to run HB department efficiently and timely so the landlords and claimants can rely on the system ......phew, it's so much easier to get angry at the landlords..lol

[demon_x_slash]

Naw, I find blaming the Government works for me every time