First Time Landlord

Jowo_2

mortgagenewbee wrote: »

The property is a very good size family home, next to a good school which is in demand. So am expecting a family to move in with kids aged between 11-18. So one would expect a family to keep the house in immaculate condition.

Nope, my mate's flat, lent to a council on a 3 year private sector lease, was trashed by a couple with a kid who had an abusive relationship - neighbours reported she was regularly locked out by her partner and the police often called. The neighours were terrified of the tenants.

Doors were punched through, windows were smashed, window and door furniture (stays, hooks, locks) were ripped off. The tenants did a lot of bad DIY - installed lots of bad shelves, satellite dish, decided to paint one room but got bored halfway through etc. The council and/or the tenant lost window, alarm, shed and door keys. Every kitchen cabinet was ruined by the tenant sticking shiny paper on it to 'decorate' it. The last tenants kept a pet so the property smelt of animal faeces. The oven was disgusting, the bathroom reeked of mould where the bathroom fan was broken and never reported.

It will cost thousands to right the damage and deterioration, most excluded from the terms of the lease that doesn't recognise damage to decor or floor coverings like a conventional AST would, plus the council decided most of the other damage was 'fair wear and tear', including a bath that seems to have been slashed with a sharp object, torn off fixtures and fittings, sink that had fag burns on it and so forth.

That's a family for you.

elise83_2

mortgagenewbee wrote: »

The property is a very good size family home, next to a good school which is in demand. So am expecting a family to move in with kids aged between 11-18. So one would expect a family to keep the house in immaculate condition.

If you're next to an in-demand school then I would say definitely rent privately as surely then you have a better chance of renting to a family who puts a high priority on their kids' education and therefore has incentive to ensure the place is kept nice and they aren't chucked out.

I might be overly-simplifying it somewhat but that's my view.

clutton_2

NEVER rent to the council.... they dont live on the same planet as the rest of us as far as landlord/tenant issues are concerned

missile

Why do you want to let your property?

What is the value?

Have you calculated return on investment - your costs?

So one would expect a family to keep the house in immaculate condition.

not in my experience

Jowo_2

clutton wrote: »

NEVER rent to the council.... they dont live on the same planet as the rest of us as far as landlord/tenant issues are concerned

Yes, there's 2 layers of indifference - the council don't care because its not their stock nor their actual tenants on an assured tenancy, just nuisances that they are required by law that they'd rather not give a permanent tenancy to. The tenants dont care because its not their permanent property and they resent being put into a private property rather than given a secure council tenancy in social housing.

The council managing my friends property were apathetic, disorganised and disinterested. Once they got the property signed over, there was very little in the way of inspections, repairs or communication. They even forgot when the lease was due to expire and when the gas safety certificates were due for renewal.

Dozens of reports of anti-social behaviour by the tenants were ignored as 'hearsay' - its up to the neighbours to actually see them dump a box of faeces in the garden, steal the mail, dump bulk furniture in communal hallways, smash windows and the like. Without being able to provide a police incident number, the council will do nothing. They mainly ignored all emails and telephone calls throughout the entire tenancy from the landlord and the neighbours, regarding them as a nuisance, rather than their tenants.

Fire_Fox

Jowo most of that is neighbourhood policing/ Environmental Health/ ASBO unit stuff not for the immediate or superior landlord to deal with.

Jowo_2

Fire_Fox wrote: »

Jowo most of that is neighbourhood policing/ Environmental Health/ ASBO unit stuff not for the immediate or superior landlord to deal with.

I agree to an extent. The neighbours should have made greater use of Environmental Health, ASBO and the police but got the impression from the council that the council had a single point of contact to deal with their temporary tenants so it was being dealt with by the department that housed them.

The lease had a specific clause which made the council responsible for sorting out poor conduct of the tenant.

The temporary housing unit also had a dedicated anti-social housing officer for the tenants they put into the private properties. They encouraged the neighbour/owner to make reports to them but then eventually it transpired after dozens of reports with no feedback on progress, that they'd never opened an anti-social case because of the lack of evidence that was presented (but had never provided any guidance on what was needed, nor did those reporting it realise that the council were just shrugging it off, they got the impression it was actively being dealt with and that they were building up a case with a view to evicting them).

Thirdly, the website that encourages private landlords to handover their properties to them explicitly says that they manage the tenants "we will be responsible for all tenant issues and deal with any problems."

But they did not - they barely returned any calls, barely fixed any repairs, rarely resolved any nuisance behaviour. The landlord, neighbour and freeholder were made to feel that they were victimising the tenants who were actually running amok in true chavtastic fashion.

BitterAndTwisted

Jowo you haven't mentioned the costs that your pal is facing to bring the property back to a reasonable standard ( I know because you've mentioned it before but I expect the OP doesn't) or how long the property was rented the the LA

mortgagenewbee

Thanks for your comments.

I have instructed an estate agent to find me a tenant with no DSS . :money:

Nosht

You could also try a local Housing Association, some of them have higher standards than councils.
Usually minimum period is 5 years.

N.