Just took our property back from the Council in Luton. We took 17% lower rent also for the void periods being covered and damage to property repaired guaranteed.
Council used to pay us directly but then moved to an agent that forced us to pay 10% of rent to them as agent fees. The agent stopped paying us and 4 months later went bust on hundreds of landlords owed money and ran (made the national news). I even warned the council we where not being paid and they continued to pay the agents.
We was reassigned a new agent with no compensation and stuck with them and they have been good for the most part.
However every year we ended up with costs average £800 - £1200 in repairs, decoration and stolen good such as beds, fridge freezer, washing machine, wardrobes etc. Plus the council standards are also very high e.g. Fire Station wired smoke alarms, and fir for purpose basic furnishing, white appliances etc.
The last council tenant that left did all the above plus vandalized the place kicking a hole in the front door, smashed down stairs double glassed windows, vents on the double glazing, some how managed to gunk up the new cooker and oven fitted a year ago, Damaged the wooded floor, cracked the bathroom sink leading to the bathroom floor all being lifted, and blew the downstairs electrics circuits some how. The council refused to do a visit to check how the tenant had left it and then refused to pay for any of the damages saying it was wear and tear and changing the contract not to cover void periods.
Nearly 4k later out of pocket (to repair it all) needless to say I had no choice but to place it Private market at higher rate.
Sad as I would like to keep doing my bit to help people in need but i just cant afford it anymore especially with all the recent regulations and Tax hikes on landlords.