leasing flat to council

half-man_half-dalek

I bought an ex local authority flat around 7 years ago. They now have a scheme whereby they can lease my flat from me in order to house people in need of social housing. I think the period is from one to three years.

Has anyone ever done this and are there any pitfalls.

I do not have any preconceived ideas about council tenants, indeed I was once one myself.

Any thoughts would be most welcome.

BitterAndTwisted

One of the regular posters on here had a pal who rented to the Council. Apparently at the end of the term the property was trashed, the Council declined to compensate the owner for the damage and it cost them SEVEN GRAND to put it right.

Balance that risk against a guaranteed rent over five years and how does it look against renting to a tenant in the normal way?

What you need to bear in mind is that a lot of Local Authorities use these kinds of rentals for those whom they are compelled to provide housing to but are disinclined to offer them a LA property for life. Some of those people could be the ones who are inclined to lead chaotic lives

jamie11

half-man_half-dalek wrote: »

I bought an ex local authority flat around 7 years ago. They now have a scheme whereby they can lease my flat from me in order to house people in need of social housing. I think the period is from one to three years.

Has anyone ever done this and are there any pitfalls.

I do not have any preconceived ideas about council tenants, indeed I was once one myself.

Any thoughts would be most welcome.

No. Don't do it. You will almost certainly regret it. Always stay in control of who actually occupies your property. Councils are not known for caring for landlords property.

Benji

jamie11 wrote: »

No. Don't do it. You will almost certainly regret it. Always stay in control of who actually occupies your property. Councils are not known for caring for landlords property.

I agree, I have heard far too many disaster tales about schemes like this.

SAMMYE_2

You can choose the tenants they send people round to you.

The deposit is only one months rent and held in a deposit scheme... Most Councils are massively unhelpful and once you have the tenant any problems are your problem.

I would advise on trying to rent privately first as long as you get people with very good references then you should be ok. Only if you have problems renting privately should you think about going through the Council. They make it seem like it is easy guaranteed money but in reality if the tenant wants to keep the money they get in housing benefit they wont lift a finger until 2 months of no payment and then they will pay direct but even then they could leave you down two months rent when they leave.

That said I have really great council tenants through the direct let scheme but I think I am very very lucky and even with them I have had problems with them but mostly with the Council messing up and had to wait a couple of months at a time for the rent.

half-man_half-dalek

Thank you for your comments. I will not make a decision until I have weighed up the pros and cons.

I have been offered a job in another part of the country which is why I was interested in the council leasing scheme. Guaranteed rent, paid by the council into my bank accout allegedly, seemed an attractive option.

jamie11

half-man_half-dalek wrote: »

. Guaranteed rent, paid by the council into my bank accout allegedly, seemed an attractive option.

That would mean that the tenant they want to put in there cannot be trusted enough to pay their own rent to you, getting a guaranteed rent will be small consolation if you end up with a trashed property.