Richlist

I've heard a few landlords, including yourself Grampa, previously say that they have let to benefits tenants successfully.

I think it's more of a problem for new or inexperienced  landlords. We have all heard of and read of people entering the business thinking they can handle everything themselves without any problems.......we know that's not always the case.

In spite of me using my Agents as a tenant find service, I was always very, very picky when selecting tenants. I wouldn't hesitate to find some excuse to reject anyone who wasn't suitable 'in my opinion'. My Agents knew what I was like and filtered many before they viewed the property. However, I'm sure that other landlords on their books who were less discerning were sent applicants who weren't the best. As my Agents provided RGI they did of course have a vested interest in only providing those that 'ticked all the boxes'. 

Quite right.

My lettings Agents (who I nearly always used to find me tenants) didn't deal with anyone on housing benefits. So, if I had someone apply through my own private advertising who was on housing benefits I would always direct them to my lettings Agents. As the Agents would dismiss them I knew I'd never see them again.

Why didn't my Agents deal with anyone on housing benefits/ how did they get away with it ????? My Agents business model was designed to offer all their landlords with rent guarantee insurance, designed by them, for them and underwritten by them. They weren't going to accept tenants on h/benefits onto their insurance cover.

Yes I agree, some of the restrictions on my list are not allowed on a purely discrimination basis. But I am creative enough to have never had a problem finding a totally legitimate reason to refuse them a tenancy.........that's not discrimination, that's the applicant not meeting my criteria. 

As you probably appreciate, it's entirely acceptable for landlords to require applicants to meet RGI requirements &/or to provide good references or a home owning guarantor or to meet the age restrictions etc, etc. There are also restrictions set by freeholders, managing agents, mortgage lenders and insurance providers.

I have never understood the attraction of trying to let a property to an applicant who doesn't conform to normal tenant standards, in this case, a foster carer. The whole country has a very large number of people looking for a tenancy at the same time as the whole country has an enormous shortage of suitable property. The result is that under normal circumstances there are lots of applicants, many of whom will easily meet a landlords criteria. Unless there is some financial incentive e.g. higher rents, why would anyone consider letting to anyone with increased risks in favour of all the other suitable applicants.

 The days of advertising a property and letting it go the first person who shows an interest have long gone. I had a long list of people who I wouldn't let to. I've posted that list on here before:

Property not let to ......smokers, pet owners, non English speakers, anyone with children, in receipt of housing or disability benefits, Company lettings, anything that results on overcrowding, people running a business from the property, long lead times for moving in, disabled or infirm, non working tenants, under 25, anyone with poor refs or who don't qualify for RGI, lettings for less than 6 months, self employed with less than 3 years of audited accounts, shift or night workers, anyone in dirty trades, same sex couples, no 12 months in advance applicants etc.....and in spite of that long list I rarely had a problem finding suitable tenants.

It would be worth checking to see if it affects insurance premiums, breaches mortgage conditions or affects any permissions to let from the freeholders.

20 minutes ago, Grampa said:

We have had similar issue. So we said we would consider their request if they provided a clear break down of the cost and KW usage it would have cost them with the gas boiler working and the timescales it was used and a comparative breakdown of extra cost and KW usage in electric when using the electric heaters and the timescales of when it was used for the purpose of establishing the correct extra cost if any.

Strange but that was the last we heard of it. 

 

 

If they were using Octopus Energy & had a smart meter they could easily have produced quite detailed information on gas & electric usage from the Octopus web site. But its not a landlords or Agents job to provide advice on energy suppliers to tenants.

Yes good point Melboy. If I was making a good profit selling electric heaters to landlords I might have a more sympathetic view of the compensation culture practiced by some tenants. Providing temporary heaters to tenants (usually when there is a boiler breakdown) is absolutely the right thing to do.

Yes I agree. It's always considerate & good manners to listen attentively to one's tenant when they have any kind of request.  Landlords are free to choose wether to meet that request in full or part, as they see fit. But listening to a request does not commit a landlord to deliver and most tenants would get short shrift from me. I don't understand why a tenant would feel a need for compensation.

The PRS in Wales has been broken for some time and the current Labour administration seem intent on further adverse legislation. In their view, I believe they think that they are making it better for tenants whilst in reality their actions are likely to significantly further reduce the number of properties available to rent.

With the fast approaching General Election in 2024.......please keep in mind these actions of a typical Labour administration and consider how, if Labour win, similar actions may affect those in England. You have been warned.

The only good thing to come out of this Welsh Labour Administration is how they are turning people towards voting Tory.

* Cover the tops in something unexpected......axle grease, Prussian marking blue, indelible ink etc. Hopefully that would limit the lifting out of the panels to once & never again.

* Alternatively fix an electric fence wire just under the lip that they would grab to lift out the panel. 

* Fit sensors on the panels attached to a sprinkler system to soak the culprits.

* Fit sensors to activate a police siren and blue flashing lights.

Who knows, this whole project could turn out to be enormous fun for you.

So how do you manage to carry out a remote EPC without visiting the property ?

It's not possible to pay both........😁😁

The Lloyds business called Citra Living have a good web site that's worth a look. They seem to have a good selection of property from small apartments to 4 bed houses......Kent, Derbyshire, Peterborough etc. They also seem to offer shared ownership.

Yes there is, or at least there was......you would have to check wether it's still possible as I'm a bit out of touch these days......but if you think it's for you read on.

It does require a complete change of lifestyle. There are a few countries around the world who DON'T apply CGT on worldwide assets and to take advantage you would have to emigrate permanently to those countries. Some of those countries are not necessarily the best locations in the world but hey ho if you are about to save a few hundred thousand  pounds.......it's really a case of how much effort are you prepared to expend to avoid the tax !

As someone who has unwillingly paid ENORMOUS amounts of CGT for the past few years of property disposals I sympathise with your plight.

Good luck.....let others know the details if you decide to go for it. 😁😁

Yes, as a result of adverse legislation and the mounting costs eating away at profits they are gradually killing any GROWTH in the private rented sector. Those that already own BTL's and have done for some time can probably still get a healthy return.....their main problem is CGT on exit. Those that want to enter the market are faced with an additional 3% SDLT, fewer expense offsets & increased mortgage costs etc.

All this is happening whilst the Gov are building fewer council properties, whilst we have a cost of living crisis, a higher demand for affordable housing, lots of homelessness and immigration continuing at a rapid pace with no solution on the table.

The private rented sector has filled the enormous gap created by the Thatcher Government when they decided to sell off council housing stock to sitting tenants at a discount starting in the late 1970's. The private sector really took off in the early 1990's growing very quickly until now when more landlords are starting to call it a day. But, in killing off the PRS with nothing to replace it where are those people who cannot afford to buy going to live ? It's a mystery to me except..........

There are some very large organisations starting to build up enormous portfolios of rented property, Lloyds Banking Group are one that springs to mind, they have set up Citra Living to handle their PRS properties.  Perhaps they & others will eventually take up some of the slack we are beginning to see in the market.

The first question you need to ask yourself is why do YOU want to invest your money in a rental property ? Let's look at a few financial facts :-

* Borrowing costs are higher than they have been for many years and mortgage rates are likely to remain high for a few more years at least.

* Property price rises have slowed significantly due to affordability......driven by higher interest rates, cost of living crisis etc

* Adverse legislation making life more difficult & less profitable for landlords.

* Political uncertainty......Labour may win the next election and are not friendly to landlords ie things may get considerably worse. 

* When you can get a 6% risk free return on cash deposits why would you risk all to get 8% from a rental ?

* Etc,etc.

I'm struggling to identify ANY positives that would be attractive to a buyer.......do you know of any ?

I find it ironic that one of the main reasons that we have a property shortage & higher rents in this country is because the Conservatives sold off the council housing stock. This gap in the market has been filled over the past 30 years by the private rental sector and the Conservatives now want to make it as difficult as possible for landlords.

History will not be kind to politicians on this matter.

A few years ago one of my tenants complained that she had mice or rats in the property. I trotted off to my local store and bought a couple of traps designed to catch the blighters. I called round to the property to fit them. The tenant came to the door and as she was explaining to me that she hadn't seen them for the last week and as far as she was concerned they had departed the property, I glanced over her shoulder where a fat rat was sitting on her carpet starring back at me. I don't know how I kept a straight face. Sometimes landlording can bring its own fun and enjoyment when you least expect it !

To complex for me and possibly also for your accountant.

Specialist professional advice is probably needed.

If you want to keep it entirely business like (as opposed to mates rates because she is family) then she should get the same as a private company / Agent would doing the same. I'm not aware of Agents who guarantee rent payments. Presumably we would be looking at the percentage split AFTER TAX......and she would be doing virtually everything so probably full time. It would be quite difficult to make the switched as some of the property would be work in progress etc. You know what your annual net profit is likely to be and if it were me I think I'd rather pay her a set salary for running the business, at least for a full year until she is familiar with things.

1. Loose hinges are a tenants responsibility. You are not expected to visit to tighten screws for them.

2. Well, what is normal ? A kitchen should probably last more than 7 years. Personally I wouldn't be fitting a new kitchen until the tenants have gone.

3. You can't possibly control vermin  if they leave food and don't clean up.

4. Yes they should have told you about the oven temperature markings......what can you possibly do now other than replace the oven.

Personally I'd leave the oven for now and replace the tenants. Try to be more selective when choosing tenants.

In the past with longer term tenants I have refunded part of their deposit in exchange for a monthly rent increase.

Obviously you would only consider this with the right tenant but adding a financial sweetener can soften the blow.

We will improve every industry in the country........biggest laugh I've had all week. He forgot to say that it didn't include the private rental sector, it didn't include landlords.

I can't wait until they knock on my front door canvassing for votes.

I actually don't know anybody who is going to vote Labour, none of my family, friends, neighbours in fact even friends of friends aren't going to vote for them. Where are they going to get votes from ? Not my part of Essex, that's for sure !

I don't need to worry, panic or take avoiding action anymore. I'm no longer a landlord, all my rental properties are sold, CGT & other taxes all paid, the monies are in my accounts earning a decent return and I'm feeling rich.

I'm kinda feeling I might have got out at just the right time given what looks like the Labour Party plans to inject the death sentence into BTL.

However, there is the flip side......fewer rental properties must result in much higher rents, shorter voids, better returns. The future of BTL looks very uncertain to me.

All I see Labour doing in the media is moaning, complaining & criticising. Any policies or ideas they have are totally left field just like this one. AVOID at all cost.

The future is blue.

Can I suggest we stop people using this forum to air political views ?😇😇