Would you consider renting this?

EastMidsGal

As an update to my previous thread, the landlady of the house that I loved came back to me and has offered me a two year contract and has dropped the rent considerably so it is just £50 over the current 30th percentile and I will pay the shortfall.

The council has agreed in principle to it, but can't commit definitely until next months LHA rates are published. As they are being capped to the lowest 30th percentile, if they stick to Marchs 30th percentile then everything will be ok. If they drop considerably below that then there will be a problem.

So as long as next months rates are roughly the same as this months bottom 30th percentile then the council are happy to go ahead if I am happy to pay the £50 shortfall which I am. The landlady has said she is happy for us to have it but is still marketing the property in the meantime just in case it falls through with me. I just have to hope no one comes along in the meantime who wants to rent it

So with this in mind and bearing in mind also we have 3 weeks before the S21 runs out and 5 weeks before my baby is due we went to view another property this afternoon as a backup

It's owned by Sister A but Sister B is dealing with all the paperwork. Sister B approached the council about having a council tenant and the council put us on to her as we have been approved on the rent deposit scheme. However Sister B is in India on an extended holiday for a month and won't return to the UK till the 25th march so in her absence Sister A has supposed to have been in charge of viewings etc

It took over two weeks of chasing Sister A who never answered her phone and emails sent to Sister B in India before Sister A was tracked down and a viewing could be arranged. So we went along to said viewing this afternoon and the place was filthy! grease and grime everywhere. I asked if it would be cleaned before tenants moved in and Sister A said they had cleaned it and looked surprised but said she would give it another wipe over if I wanted. I opened the fridge and my fingers came away greasy, you could see black burnt on stuff on the cooker and there were loads of crumbs in the cupboards and drawers, the bathroom was not much better. I doubt they had taken much care over their cleaning, I didn't expect the Ritz but it wasn't even presentable.

I asked if it would be a long term rent and Sister A and her husband didn't look sure, after some sideways glances at each other they said it the tenancy would be renewed on a yearly basis providing there were no problems. Fair enough, but why the hesitation?

It doesn't fill me with confidence because if they took so little care over making the house presentable to rent and were so impossible to get hold of, what care will they take once we move in? If we can't get hold of them to make a viewing then how will we get hold of them if any repairs need to be done

So the house we saw a couple of weeks ago is our first choice, it is lovely and managed by what seems to be a very good agency. We will find out if that is going to go ahead the week of the 21st March. Nothing can be done about the place we saw today until Sister B returns on the 25th March

Should I consider the place we viewed today as Plan B or should I write it off as a potential nightmare? Or is it still better than being put into temp accommodation by the council? Can I ask for it to be professionally cleaned before we move in or otherwise refuse to have it professionally cleaned myself before we move out and ask for a two year contract like we are being offered by the landlady of the house we like?

MegaMiniMouse

I missed your previous post, and I think I may be missing the point of this one!

The landlady of the house you love clearly badly wants to let the place to you, whereas the others aren't bothered

Ask landlady to absorb any losses which may emanate from the upcoming LHA changes etc

MMM

EastMidsGal

She is absorbing some losses, she is dropping the rent £250 a month already so it's just £50 above what the council think next months LHA rate is so I will absorb the shortfall and pay it out of my own money. But until the rates are actually published after the 21st March we can't proceed, so hopefully no one else comes along in the meantime wanting to rent the house.

If that should happen then we saw another property today as something to fall back on, however it was filthy and the landlords apear to be very unreliable

Moglet

Suggest moving this post into your other thread so people are aware of the history.

I wouldn't rent the dump.

Can you afford more than the £50...how much more?

EastMidsGal

Maybe the mods could merge it?

I can't afford more than £50. My ex left the country, haven't heard from him since November, so can't rely on maintenance and as the council are paying the first months rent upfront I have to pay them back, so can't afford more than £50

Hopefully we get the house, otherwise it's council temp accommodation. There's nothing else about

Wee_Willy_Harris

This should give you a rough idea of what to expect.

http://www.voa.gov.uk/lhadirect/lha-emergency-budget-news-2010.htm

EastMidsGal

That's what me and the council have been working off WWH, if next months cap is in line with the 30th percentile on that chart then everything is ok, but the council say the drop might be more drastic, no one knows anything until the actual LHA rates for next month are published. Once they are published we can go ahead and sign the tenancy contract

silvercar

Surely tenants aren't expected to have variable LHA every month? If you signed this month would you get this months LHA for a year and then it be re-assessed? That would give you LHA at the 50% level for a year.

EastMidsGal

No silvercar the LHA you are given is set at the rate it is the month you sign the contract and that is what you are given every month until the contract expires or is renewed. Unfortunately, even though I am in a position to move the house is already tenanted until mid April so the tenancy can't commence until then so it would depend on whatever Aprils rates are and they aren't published till at least the 21st March. So we can't proceed until then

MegaMiniMouse

EastMidsGal wrote: »

No silvercar the LHA you are given is set at the rate it is the month you sign the contract and that is what you are given every month until the contract expires or is renewed. Unfortunately, even though I am in a position to move the house is already tenanted until mid April so the tenancy can't commence until then so it would depend on whatever Aprils rates are and they aren't published till at least the 21st March. So we can't proceed until then

It would be possible to sign a contract now, with the commencement of the tenancy post-dated to mid-April - this would not be a 'fiddle' - it is entirely reasonable for both you and the landlady to agree terms, and sign a contract, in advance of the commencement of the tenancy so that both of you can begin to make any necessary arrangements (ie, you can start to plan your move, and the landlady can begin to organise any work which may be required etc etc)

MMM

EastMidsGal

Thanks MMM when I spoke to the council they said they can't agree to anything until the April rates are published as they will affect the monthly rent, so until the rates are published it would be impossible to draw up a contract as we wouldn't know what monthly rent to put down

As I am on LHA as unable to work right now I have to go by council policy and they say until the rates are published at the end of this month we can not proceed, but based on Marchs' 30th percentile they agree in principle, just need to wait and find out for definite what Aprils rates are going to be