Landlord Letters. Is there a FREE site?

56cheffy

I let out a property to 3 tenants, one is now one months in arrears because of being made redundant.

I have known him for a long time and has been a good tenant and I'm sure he will do the right thing, BUT I do need to cover myself legally.

How long should I let him get in to arrears before taking more serious action?

Is there a site with the appropriate letter to send?

I am not trying to regain the property.

Thanks

tbs624

Tessa Shepperson's Landlordlaw site, RLA or NLA. Join up - annual membership fee is tax deductible, discount on LL insurance premiums, and much useful advice.

Send your T a rent account statement and ask him to confirm when he will be able to bring his rent payments up to date. If you would be willing to accept instalments state this. Say that you're sorry to hear of his change in circumstances and offer to assist with any application for LHA. Ask him to contact you within 7 days. Keep a copy.

Gorgeous_George

tbs624 wrote: »

... annual membership fee is tax deductible...

... equivalent to 20% off the cost (40% for higher rate taxpayer).

At this stage I'd phone up and ask if there is a problem. Let him suggest a repayment schedule. At two months I would issue a Section 8 notice

GG

56cheffy

Am I correct in thinking a Section 8 is just for repossesion of the property?

As he has been made redundant, would he qualify for Housing Benefit?

If so, do they pay it direct to the tenant or to the landlord.

Thanks

tbs624

56cheffy wrote: »

Am I correct in thinking a Section 8 is just for repossesion of the property?

A S8 ( of the Housing Act 1988) Notice *is* an application for repossession of the property on one of the Grounds listed in Schedule 2 of the Act. The ones for rent arrears/regular late payment are Grounds 8 (mandatory), backed up with 10 and 11 (discretionary).

56cheffy wrote: »

As he has been made redundant, would he qualify for Housing Benefit?

It's now LHA, Local Housing Allowance, ( see my previous post ) and whether or not your T would qualify depends on his full financial circumstances. You can find out the LHA rate for your area here

56cheffy wrote: »

If so, do they pay it direct to the tenant or to the landlord...

It's paid to the T. It can be paid to the LL if the T is "vulnerable" and/or persistently fails to pay it across to the LL. It can speed things up for you if you ask the T to sign an agreement with the LHA officer that progress of any claim can be discussed with you as LL.

debrag

tbs624 wrote: »

It's now LHA, Local Housing Allowance, ( see my previous post ) and whether or not your T would qualify depends on his full financial circumstances. You can find out the LHA rate for your area here

well if he doesn't qualify then he should have the money to pay the rent, otherwise he'd qualify as it's on income not n why you left a job.

tbs624

debrag wrote: »

...it's on income not n why you left a job.

Yep, and that's why I said "whether or not your T would qualify depends on his full financial circumstances."

clutton_2

cheffy it is clear that you have done virtually no research into being a landlord from the naiviety of the questions you are asking - go to www.landlordzone.co.uk and read ALL their threads, then join national landlords association and get all the legal notices you require and phone their legal help line whoh will talk you thru the filling in of the forms.

70% of Amateur landlords who put in paperwork to the court get it thrown out - they lose £150 for getting it wrong - and have to starta ll over again


you CANNOT get free reliable advice from sites whose expertise is not authenticated

read - read and do more reading

you are running a business - asking here is just the first stage in a long and steep leaning curve - stop being a cheapskate by asking for free stuff, join a professinal body of landlords and become a professional (joining fees are tax deductible and you get cheaper insurance as a member plus loads of discounts elsewhere)

good luck

56cheffy

clutton

Many thanks .......I know you meant well by the full extent of the content of your reply, but your response came over as being somewhat patronising which I do not think you intended.

The 'cheapskate' jibe was not necessary as you don't know me

I am indeed fairly new to all this, but I have done lots of research in to my legal responsibilities.

BUT I do not know every thing and am learning as I go along as you quite rightly pointed out.

I have never had a problem with a tenant not being able to pay the rent before due to unforeseen circumstances, that is why I came to the forum asking for some advice.

I quite readily admit I do not know anything about a Section 8, that is why I asked.

I was unaware of the sites that others have directed me towards! That is the good thing about this forum.

Maybe I was a bit naive in expecting to get something for nothing, but these days you can usually get things for nothing on the net, however I will heed yours and others good advice and join one of the sites recommended.

Which is the best, or should I join a couple?

Thanks

tbs624

56cheffy wrote: »

... however I will heed yours and others good advice and join one of the sites recommended.

Which is the best, or should I join a couple?

Clutton does detention on Tuesdays and Thursdays She is right though that doing your research well in advance is the best route, rather than waiting until a problem occurs and then having to find out the hard way.

As to sources of advice/suppport, it's really a matter of personal choice - have a trawl of both the RLA and NLA's websites and get a feel for what they offer. The NLA is the larger of the two, in terms of membership numbers (many Local Authorities are assoc. members & promoting good relationships between private sector LLs and the local councils is seen as important), and there are local affiliated LL associations which you may find useful.

The Landlordlaw site I mentioned is well worth the annual fee: importantly, its run by a *specialist* LL&T solicitor and the site offers specific kits to take you step by step through dealing with issues like rent arrears.

Hope you manage to get things resolved with your T.

clutton_2

""Clutton does detention on Tuesdays and Thursdays "" LOL !!!

i might offer you a Wednesday morning tbs if that would suit ? !!!

Cheffy - i do a very good patronising post - as you have clearly spotted !

i dont pull no punches - being a LL is a tricky business - amateur/newbie landlords think they can do it on a shoe string, with "free" stuff and a bit of reading here and there. "Free" forms still need filling in - and if you aint done the research you wont have the expertise to fill them in properly and you could lose £150 in court fees - was "free" stuff useful then ?

the first time they know they are up the spout (through lack of research) is when they find themselves in the position you are now in.

They get in a panic - and hope that total strangers will talk them through exactly how to do things/fill in forms etc to get them out of the doo at the last minute.

of course we help folks - but we much prefer to help folks who are already helping themselves - and from your questions it is blatantly obvious you actually know quite close to diddly squat - you may think you know more - but you dont. Thats the problem with a "bit" of research .... its never enough. There is a VAST amount to know and read and learn about this business.

i have been doing this 10 years, and this week, i have discovered 2 new ways to get money out of peple that i had never come across before. There is always new stuff to learn about and file for future reference. I still call the national landlords association legal help line - i may be patronising, but i aint proud !


How many books have you got/read on LLing ?

Property/landlording is a huge business, the law is complex, and you need proper help -

Some of us we are experienced amateurs on here - we relate our own experiences, but please dont rely on us -

When you are new to a forum - you cannot know whose opinion is sound and whose is not.....

sooo - patronising or not - thats my take - if you come back with specific questions about forms/laws/procedures which show us you are trying to help yourself you will get a much better respons -


another great forum is www.landlordzone.co.uk - if someone has not mentioned it already

good luck