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How would do I become a lanlord? All advice appreciated

I will be finishing converting my house from a 3 to a 6 bedroomed, 2 bathroomed house hopefully by the end of June. I was wondering how I would go about renting my house out to mulitiple tenants for a higher income. From a brief reading around I know I would have to register as a landlord with my local council and have safety checks and a HIP done. Has anyone any advice on becoming this type of landlord, and whether or not to allow housing benefit.
Also can anybody point me in the right direction of any good websites which would give me a good basic understanding of my responsibilites and general advice. All help really appreciated, thankyou.

Comments

  • mchale
    mchale Posts: 1,886 Forumite
    edited 10 November 2009 at 1:38PM
    google: "HMO regulations" & "landlord forums" 1st, as its not just a case of doing it up and renting it out
    ANURADHA KOIRALA ??? go on throw it in google.
  • Jowo_2
    Jowo_2 Posts: 8,308 Forumite
    Are you planning to live in the property and take in lodgers or live out?

    Landlordzone is the fount of all good landlord advice. See their HB/LHA forum for the many risks of letting to benefit claimants, this forum and their forum receive many posts from novice landlords that have come unstuck.

    My friend let her property to the local council so they could house their LHA claimants and consequently alienated the freeholder and neighbours with a stream of anti-social behaviour which included having the windows smashed, the interior trashed, pests, dumped bulk rubbish, allegations of the post in thd communal hallway being stolen and so forth.

    Join a national landlords association. Get permission from your mortgage company and insurance company.

    Multiple tenants on separate agreements means multiple admin and management, an impossibility to attribute damage in common areas to any tenant and more opportunities for voids because of the higher churn (which is even higher when the tenants don't know each other and choose to share so relationship breakdown between them is higher), therefore not necessarily the higher income you imagine. That's why most landlords aim for joint tenancies where it is also simpler to ensure they take over the council tax, utilities and other bills. Stories abound where landlords include heating in the rent only to find tenants put the timer on 24/7 and simply open the window when they are hot.

    You only have to register with the local council in Scotland, you don't need a HIP but an EPC. Read up on your council website in case your property is a HMO that requires a licence (few do, its only mandatory for 5+ tenants over 3+ habitable storeys but some councils have bought in additional licencing).
  • 5lilpigs
    5lilpigs Posts: 102 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10 Posts Combo Breaker
    Brilliant advice, thankyou! I will look into the websites recommended and have a good read through ALL the pitfalls. Plus I will look into the HMO licence as we are on 3 floors and would be renting to 5+ with the 6 rooms. We will not be living here as we are hoping to be able to afford to rent somewhere ourselves closer to the childrens (soon to be 8) grandparents.
  • Fire_Fox
    Fire_Fox Posts: 26,026 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    Fire regs are going to be your biggest headache, you should have looked into this before starting the build.
    Declutterbug-in-progress.⭐️⭐️⭐️ ⭐️⭐️
  • 5lilpigs
    5lilpigs Posts: 102 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10 Posts Combo Breaker
    Fire regs. Who, where would I need to contact for the requirements? My local council?
    Thankyou
  • Fire_Fox
    Fire_Fox Posts: 26,026 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    5lilpigs wrote: »
    Fire regs. Who, where would I need to contact for the requirements? My local council?
    Thankyou

    Fire access is part of the HMO regulations: Google them as suggested.
    Declutterbug-in-progress.⭐️⭐️⭐️ ⭐️⭐️
  • 5lilpigs
    5lilpigs Posts: 102 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10 Posts Combo Breaker
    Fire_Fox wrote: »
    Fire access is part of the HMO regulations: Google them as suggested.
    Will do! I think I'm going to have to have a GOOD read and read again through the HMO regulations over the next few months.
  • mlz1413
    mlz1413 Posts: 2,937 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    I also have a question on how workable your idea is, 2 bathrooms between 6 bedrooms is not a lot, are the loos seperate to the bath/shower?

    Is the kitchen set up to take 6 different lots of food, ie fridge and freezer space, cupboard space.

    I'm guessing you have used the communal rooms as bedroom so there is no lounge or dining areas. Will each bedroom have a tv point for a main aerial, will you offer internet access? If you want benefit claimants this may not apply.
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