let to local authority ?

[oscar]

Hi

My local council authority run a scheme where you let your property to them and they then let it to whoever needs it from their housing list . You have to sign up for 3 or 5 years , but can get your property back by giving 6 months notice .

All the info sounds very good , eg they carry out regular thorough inspections , they remove anyone not looking after the property , they do minor repairs free on your behalf (to a limit) , and you get above average rental from them .

On the downside , you have no imput on who the property is rented to , ie professional person , DSS , or immigrants .

Has anyone used any kind of similar scheme , and do they have any feedback for me - good or bad .

My flat is currently let through an agency (which I have been very disillusioned with) , and the contract ends next month . I am not renewing it with them and was thinking of using this council scheme .

Any advice would be appreciated . Thank you

[Melboy]

Oscar..... a lot of Landlords on this Forum would appear to have had their fair share of problems with letting through Councils but I guess it is all down to how good your Council operate the letting scheme.

One of the problems that crops up regularly is the non payment of rent due to the person no longer entitled to DSS handouts and then the Council say 'nothing to do with us' which leaves the Landlord out of pocket and faced with evicting a troublesome Tenant (possibly).

If you can obtain a water tight contract then go with it..... but read the small print carefully!

[Trenners]

Hi Oscar,

I agree with Melboy - be very careful when dealing with Council and Housing Benefit tenants.

You will see, from my previous postings on this forum, that I am very sympathetic to the plight of Housing Benefit tenants and already let some of my buy-to-let properties to them.

However, I would not be comfortable with the Council choosing which tenants lived in MY property.

I would want some control. I would want to meet the tenant. I would want to have the option to say "No". I would want to be convinced that the tenant would look after and respect my property.

On the positive - Housing Benefit tenants tend to rent property for long periods of time (meaning that the landlord has less void periods) and often have to pay "upper quartile" rents because less landlords are willing to deal with them.

In summary, by all means let property to the Council tenants .... but make sure you keep control on who has access to your property.

Good luck,

Mark

[xilla]

melboy /trenners

you are without doubt two of the better posters on this forum and give very good advice. But i think you have not understood this question.

i am, like the poster, interested in letting to my local authority

what my council have told me is they take the property on a lease 3/5 years, they pay full market rent not the tenent , they even pay if the property is empty and i as the landlord have nothing to do but keep all insurances and certificates up to date,

after 3/5 years they hand back the property, they say as they got it

As the landlord though you can get the property back early with six months notice to the council

So dss or houseing benifit desnt matter cos the the council take a lease and pay the rent

Do you think this is a good idea

thanks in advance

[Trenners]

Hi Oscar / Xilla,

The fact that the Council is taking the property on a lease only overcomes the fear that many landlords have re: the rent not being paid by Housing Benefit tenants.

It certainly does not overcome the problems associated with putting, potentially, undesirable tenants into YOUR property. ie: Troublemakers, those who make unreasonable noise and upset your neighbours, those who will totally trash your property, other social misfits etc etc etc etc etc

I appreciate that the council are offering to return the property "as they got it" - but what does that really mean? What will be determined as "fair wear and tear" and what will be determined as damage caused by the tenants that will need to be rectified by the Council. What does the small print say? Have you the resources to take the Council to court if you are not happy with the way the property was returned ?

I re-iterate my advice. By all means let to Housing Benefit claimants (I already do) but YOU choose who will rent your property NOT the council because, at the end of the day, it is your property, your investment and your neighbours.

Who do you think the neighbours will call when "all hell is breaking loose" at your property ?

Mark

[oscar]

Hi

Thank you all for your advice . As Xilla stated , the council guarantee your rent whether the property is occupied or not , so that side of it would not be an issue .

I do have some reservations about about what kind of tenant would be renting out my flat , but the council say I have no imput in that , and that it would be let to whoever was top of their waiting list .

The property would be completely unfurnished , with only carpets and net curtains to remain , so the risk of damage is as minimal as it could possibly be .

With regard to 'problem tenants' , ie loud music , upsetting neighbours etc , the council say that they deal with any problems of that kind , evicting the tenant if need be .

While it all sounds good on paper , I am aware that sometimes things dont turn out how you are led to believe . Thats why I wanted to know if anyone else had used this kind of scheme , and whether they live up to their promises .

Thank you all for your feedback , and if anyone has done it , please let me know how it turned out . If I do decide to go ahead I will let you know what happens .

Thanx , Debbie

[derekmilligan]

Hi

I am new to this site, I currently have 20properties on the go at this moment in time. 14 of which are let to my local authority and have been for little over 3years now. My properties are in Scotland, and i find it is all down to the council that you deal with. Yes you do get problem tenants and yes the council do deal with them. Every 4weeks the council send me a rent cheque for all the properties. I have only seen inside one property since the aggreement started and i thought it was an insurance claim, tenant set the flat on fire (nice tenant). After a short discussion with Local Council we decided it was mostly smoke damage. So council issued workmen in and brought property back to the condition it was in when i let the property to them. I will always recommend letting to council where possible. I have recently taken a property off them to sell on as i made very good capital growth. It came back with new carpets and freshly painted, the same way they got it.

The other side of the coin is that the council will always treat you fair if you treat them fair. To this date all the tenants in the properties have all been emergency homeless, some only in it for a couple of nights at a time. The council still pick up the phone and ask me for property if they are short in emergency situations. Sometimes i can help sometimes they have to keep calling other landlords.

The thing to remember is, if the council abuse or let your property be abused by a tenant then no other landlords will deal with them and as much as they dont want to think they do need our properties.

Hope this helps

Derek

[Melboy]

Derek....... I think Scottish Councils are far superior to most, if not all, English Councils and I bet a Penny to a Pound you have tighter laws in place which protect Landlords.