Private renting from boss

planning303

Hello all..

I am currently renting through a letting agency.

Since moving in 18 months ago we haven't spoke to the lettings agent and have dealt entirely with the landlord.

My boss has recently bought a new house and is looking for someone to rent his current place.

Its a nice house in the same area that i currently live, he is up for doing a deal on the rent so it all seems like a good deal.

I was wondering if there were any potential pit falls from renting privately from a individual that i should be looking out for before jumping with both feet...

Thanks all

poppysarah

Will it be legit tenancy?
permission to let, insurance, gas safety cert, EPC, proper tenancy etc?

I'd be wary of mixing boss and landlord though.

Jowo_2

Few potential issues

- as your boss is a novice or accidental landlord he may not be aware of the regulations, his obligations and your housing rights and make serious mistakes in the management of the tenancy because of this which you will both find very frustrating.

For example, he may not know that he must comply with health/safety requirements such as providing a gas safety certificate, protect the deposit in a tenancy deposit scheme (England/Wales) or respect your right to quiet enjoyment of the property so keep entering the property without giving notice or getting your consent, understand notice periods and try to get you out of the property when you are entitled to stay and so on.

- if you have tenant/landlord issues this can impact on your employment relationship

- if the landlord does not have permission to let out his property, this can have negative repercussions (see Miss Moneypenny's sticky at the top of the page).

planning303

Yes i am just starting to work my way through the 10 pages of the LL permission thread!

This is the sort of info i was hoping for so .. thanks all for a quick responce.

He has stated that he wants everything done correctly but like you say, he might simply not be aware of what is "correctly" in this situation..!

We both work for a big corperate so he couldn;t just get the !!! and fire me because of something thats happened out side of the office but i do appriciate that it could get awkward.

I think i shall email him with the bits mentioned above asking him to comfirm that all of this would be happening.

poppysarah

Do you like him? What would you feel like if your bathroom broke and he didn't fix it for 6 months?
Worst case senario needs bearing in mind. Could you work for him still knowing he was being out of order?

EDIT: He might turn out to be the best landlord on the planet.
But tell him he should take advice too about the responsibilities of becoming a landlord - for his own benefit.

theartfullodger

As long as it was all above board (Tax man told he was renting, he had lender's permission, rent paid by bank transfer-no funny "cash only" deals, Gas Safety cert, EPC, deposit protected, Landlord insurance (insurance is key: Ordinary insurance would not pay out if it burned down, you were injured & needed somewhere to live..).. and you both were prepared to take legal action against the other (you against him if he didn't protect deposit (you get the 3xdeposit fine!!) or if he doesn't do repairs), him against you if the rent ain't paid... then yes, maybe....

But as & when there are problems (at work or with the property) things could get very very tricky...

As said, he might be wonderful...

Cheers!

Lodger

adg1

As long as the two of you can separate business and a private agreement then go for it.

Make sure he is aware of his obligations regarding the deposit, gas safety, repairs, mortage approval to let, landlords and buildings insurance. I rent privately from a friend. Its a purely business transaction, they have a house that is too small for them and I need that size property. It works fine but our relationship is not reliant on me living in his house and him sorting out problems.

It could be great for both sides - you get a house under market value as he doesn't have to pay agency fees and he gets a tenant he knows and trusts (I assume?!).

planning303

adg1 wrote: »

It could be great for both sides - you get a house under market value as he doesn't have to pay agency fees and he gets a tenant he knows and trusts (I assume?!).

Yeah this is how i'm viewing the oppotunity. I get a bigger house for less cash then i'm paying right now.

I'm slightly cautious (thus why i posted on here) and i didn't know all the terminology for the bits that i need to ensure that he's sorting.

but now i'm armed with knowledge i'll go back to him and see what he says.

if he's shocked that i'm not wanting to pay in cash in a brown envelope and doesn't want me to put myself on the electrol role.... i'll bail!:rotfl:

planning303

poppysarah wrote: »

Do you like him? What would you feel like if your bathroom broke and he didn't fix it for 6 months?
Worst case senario needs bearing in mind. Could you work for him still knowing he was being out of order?

EDIT: He might turn out to be the best landlord on the planet.
But tell him he should take advice too about the responsibilities of becoming a landlord - for his own benefit.

we have worked together for years and he's only become my manager through getting promoted. We've always got along and he's a pretty responsible person. so i don't see him being like that.

But who knows really untill it actually happens! If my current LL wasn't up for fixing something i'd go and complain at the lettings agency. If my potential new LL wasn't being compliant what route would i have to take my action? Would the courts be my only option?

Snooze

Unless it's a particularly attractive deal on offer, I wouldn't. All it would take is for something major and expensive to break and him to make a bunch of excuses to avoid fixing it (cost related usually) and any friendship you had would quickly disappear along with your job.

Business > Friends > Jobs > Relationships never mix, no matter which way round you try them.

R