I'm seething....

minnymoney

insurance is for maintenance for the building between two landlords and one owner of this property. Nothing to do with me or my status.

clutton_2

minny - I have been a LL for 11 years and dealt with several different insurers... Buy To Let Insurance is very different to Residential home insurance.

A LL has to be covered in case a tenant damages the property; a LL has to be covered for public liability in case a tenant is injured on the premises; and in case a tenant leaves the property unattended; damages the property etc etc .

Insurance companies assess the risk of property damage by different tenant groups and they have decided that it will be a higher risk for benefit tenants.. and so most companies increase the premium for benefit tenants

o whenever a LL insures a property he has to tell the Insurance company the status of the tenant... if the tenant is a benefit tenant.. most insurers increase the premium....

tbs624

minnymoney wrote: »

insurance is for maintenance for the building between two landlords and one owner of this property. Nothing to do with me or my status.

Originally it was advertised as £550, but when I met her she put it up to £600 to cover her insurance she told me.

Hmmm...trading standards officers like to know about those who advertise something at one price and then charge another.

It sounds likely to me that the LL probably hasn't even got tenant/LL specific insurance, as she seems not have been able to even sort out a tenancy agreement or understand her other LL obligations

minnymoney

All sorted....Shelter have informed me that I should carry on paying my rent as is, the possibility of a judge kicking me out is unlikely as i have taken steps to ensure my LL is receiving her rent regularly. Shelter are going to write to her about the deposit protection...I had no idea that the offense carries a clause that failure to so would mean she would have to pay me 3 months rent in compensation...that would give her a coronary.
If she chooses to go the sec 21 route so be it...but..she will only have to find new tenants etc...big learning curve for her being a novice LL.
so thank you everyone....

tbs624

Thanks for posting an update mm.

Please note that there is no guarantee of a 3x deposit amount (not rent) penalty payment being ordered - during your tenancy your LL can just register the deposit prior to any court hearing and effectively get away with that late registration. The law does not unfortunately seem to work in the manner that was originally intended.

It's good that Shelter are helping you sort out the LL vis a vis the deposit registration - as I said in post 21 above, you may otherwise have difficulty recovering it from her if she is in financial difficulties

neverdespairgirl

clutton wrote: »

its not nonsense... benefit tenants often, but not always, attract an insurance premium.... that is IF a Lender AND and insurer agree to the cover in the first place......

£600 a year extra?

clutton_2

""£600 a year extra? " - probably not !

However, the excess on claims for benefit tenants can be £1000 per incident... so each damage in each room would attract £1000 excess per room... so hardly worth claiming for......

it really IS more expensive to service a benefit tenancy......

I think Shelters advice is a bit of a double edged sword.... if OP find herself getting near the 8 week in arrears amount (and since she is alway going to be a month in arrears anyway from day one) - the OP needs to keep a tight control on her spreadsheet....

One section 8 application for possession which i won last year was granted by the judge (even tho the rent was just under 8 weeks in arrears) - but he saw that the tenant had consistently paid late every single month - something 2-3 months late.... not like OP we hope ...

Shelter is an advisory body.. like many others.. they cannot speak for how a judge will respond to an application... they can give their "judgment" as to what a judge may saw.. thats all....

tbs624

clutton wrote: »

Shelter is an advisory body.. like many others.. they cannot speak for how a judge will respond to an application... they can give their "judgment" as to what a judge may saw.. thats all....

..but let's balance that with the fact that Shelter is recognised as one of the leading housing experts in the country: their advice is viewed by most people as sound.:)

Jowo_2

minnymoney wrote: »

All sorted....Shelter have informed me that I should carry on paying my rent as is, the possibility of a judge kicking me out is unlikely as i have taken steps to ensure my LL is receiving her rent regularly....

I'm very surprised that Shelter, who make clear that tenants and landlords have certain responsibilities, have supported your opinion that the landlady must simply lump when she gets her rent, and have told you to ignore the contract and pay the rent to your own timetable.

If the landlord does try to take to court to regain possession of the property during the fixed term, citing a ground relating to late payments or modest arrears, the chances are that the judge probably would not grant possession. There are certain grounds, including late payments, where a judge has total discretion.

However, timed with the ending of the fixed term, the landlord who you have alienated through repeatedly ignoring the payment schedule in your contract, can simply issue you with an S21. This is colloquially known as a 'no fault' notice. The landlord doesn't need to provide a reason or prove any breach of contract. If the S21 is correctly served and issued, the judge has no discretion and must award the landlord possession of the property.

At the moment, because the amateur landlady has not protected the deposit, any S21 that is issued isn't worth the paper its written on and is invalid.

But if she wises up, protects the deposit and gets tired of you telling she'll get her rent when it suits you, and that the contractual terms can be freely ignored, then you will be looking for new accommodation. And when your prospective next landlord contacts her for a reference, she'll be able to say that you repeatedly breached your contract by not paying the full sum of the rent when it was due.

missdee85

I am in a pretty similar situation having recently got a job my LHA has a run on of 4 weeks due to the length of time i have been claiming benefits for which i have to say is a massive help.

She is a complete novice also i would suggest you start getting the LHA paid directly to yourself as in my experience my landlady is unable to break these numbers down and work out how much she is getting and how often - to the extent that she now thinks that i owe her £850 (which is very funny seeing as my rent is £500 a month and i amn't in arrears woohoo!!!).

Seriously though get it paid to you even set up a new basic account just to get this paid into and pay out to her and you take control of the LHA i think it may be easier for her to understand if you go back to the calender month payments if you can possibly manage that?

I would write her a letter send it recorded and state that you want to communicate via either email or letter so you can keep on track of what is happening and when and think it would be a more appropriate relationship to have, although i would see it as a good thing that she does want to talk to resolve issues too many of them dont want to and dont care about the T/LL relationship just try and take some steps to limit it to when it is a suitable time possibly state you have a child and would find it easier to talk during school hours so you can be totally focused on the issues she wants to speak about.

Good luck xx