Guest trebor69trebor Posted October 31, 2008 Report Share Posted October 31, 2008 I came on this site for advice and not a slanging match. I am gratefull for any advice. I think you misunderstand what I stated. Yes I have had 1 rent increase in 12 years but that was 3 years ago and not 12. My rent was based upon what I was told was the going rate from a letting agency 12 years ago and agreed with the dss. My increase was what the dss offered at the time. If I have been underpaid for years ,What is the problem with trying to catch up. As I have said, i dont want to charge a rent where my tennant has to pay the difference from HB and my rent. I have a scenario for you. A long term HB tennant leaves 1 of your properties. A new one comes in on the LHA system giving you an increase in rent. You of course will say No thanks , I dont want to be greedy. Sorry , coudnt resist. Yes I am inexperienced even after 12 years but the advice given by the Rodent is helpful. Morgan. J4L will you ever learn you run a buisness letting property for us greedy landlords so you are in fact the bottom feeder in this buisness no property of your own dont know wot your talking about and slaging off you meal tickets stupid man im going to tell craig dobbs and gareth jones wot your up to get them to spread the word to all landlords of barry that your a joke Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
morgan Posted October 31, 2008 Author Report Share Posted October 31, 2008 Hi, I rang my local council today and said my tennant had been given a local Housing allowance £ figure to match the req bedrooms req for their family. They said that it was up to me to increase my rent and they said they could not say what i could charge. I have read elsewhere on this site that they do not like landlords asking for the LHA amount. So what is the point in a LHA figure being calculated and dose anyone get the full amount. Should I ask for say a £100 less?. Please some advice from you experienced landlords. With the risk of being told not to be greedy, £100 pound is better in my pocket than theirs in these difficult times. ( I only have the one let property and am on a low wage in my own job.) Thanks Morgan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Preston Posted October 31, 2008 Report Share Posted October 31, 2008 Hi The theory with LHAs is that they are the maximum the local authority will allow, rather than the "recommended" level. Landlords are supposed to set their rents according to local market conditions, so some should be lower and some, inevitably, will be higher. Part of the purpose of the LHA is to discourage benefit claimants from choosing to live in the more expensive homes - those above the LHA - rather than, necessarily, to control actual rent levels. The fear from policy makers is that if landlords automatically set their rents at the LHA level, the average will gradually creep upwards. In reality though, this is what lots of landlords do - or at least those in the market to house benefit claimants. So, for what its worth, my advice would be to set a rent at or very slightly below the LHA, provided you can justify that figure on the basis of local market conditions. If anyone asks, it is the market that has determined your decision and nothing else - and indeed that would be the truth. Its a strange game that is played in this kind of market, but in fairness to all concerned, its probably the best way overall. The alternative would be to return to the old rent regulation regime of the 70s and early 80s which in my view would not be in the interests of most small time landlords. Hope that all makes sense. Good luck Preston Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
morgan Posted October 31, 2008 Author Report Share Posted October 31, 2008 Thanks Preston, Forgot to say, the council said that i should give my tennant a new tennancy agreement. Is there a one to download on this site as i'm not sure how good mine is . it used to be pages long and then i was given a shortened version. I hope to post my letter to the council on Monday So any more help is welcome. Thanks Morgan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Preston Posted October 31, 2008 Report Share Posted October 31, 2008 Hi Yes, there is one on this site. Its not one I'm familiar with though, so I cant comment on its strengths or weaknesses. The one I use is available through the RLA website. It costs £5, but in my experience its one of the simplest to use and the most up to date. It comes with instructions on how to fill it in and you can use it as many times as you like. You can also get various other documents at the same time - guarantor letters, application forms, etc - all for the same fee, so I'd recommend downloading all these and saving them for future use. The only major omission in the RLA tenancy agreement I've come across so far is the obligation to comply with lease conditions if you are renting out a flat (e.g. not to install satellite dishes). So if you are renting out a flat I would recommend accompanying it with a letter to this effect, attaching a copy of the lease and getting the tenants to sign a copy at the same time that they sign the main tenancy agreement. Anyway, I am sure there are lots of good agreements on the net, so I dont want to sound too hooked on this one, it just happens to be the one I favour. Just as an aside, dont forget the deposit regs if your previous tenancy predated the new regs. Good luck Preston Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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