Letting House Out Whilst Abroad?

jamie11

However, if you do decide to let it out while you are away, make sure you are aware of the provisions of a S20 which must be served to the potential tenant before the letting agreement is signed, and you would be advised to serve it several days before, not on the same day as the letting agreement is signed.

The tenant will be responsible for withholding 20pc of the rent to pay to HMRC if you do not have an agent, you must provide an address in England or Wales.

sharloid

Thanks for the advice all.
We were thinking a of leaving a couple of easily replaceable items of furniture e.g. bookcases and wardrobes. For the rest we've looked into storage units, but they seem hugely expensive considering the items we have aren't of much worth so a better idea seems to be bin/sell what we can and get family to store the rest for us.

So if you follow the correct legal procedure to get a tenant out, rather than what that lady did, it is actually possible to get them out? Hopefully she's making it sound more of a nightmare than is needed!

Werdnal

sharloid wrote: »

Thanks for the advice all.
We were thinking a of leaving a couple of easily replaceable items of furniture e.g. bookcases and wardrobes. For the rest we've looked into storage units, but they seem hugely expensive considering the items we have aren't of much worth so a better idea seems to be bin/sell what we can and get family to store the rest for us.

So if you follow the correct legal procedure to get a tenant out, rather than what that lady did, it is actually possible to get them out? Hopefully she's making it sound more of a nightmare than is needed!

You can always get the tenant out eventually, by following the correct procedures and going through the courts if necessary, but the problem can be getting them out in time for you to move back in. Eviction can be a long and drawn out procedure if the tenant decides to ignore all notices and sit tight. There is just no guarantee that your home will be available for you when you return. You might get wonderful co-operative tenants who leave on the dot on the day the notice expires, or you may not. You should have a contingency plan to stay with relatives, friends or possibly rent somewhere yourself when you return to the UK, just in case.

Benji

This link will give you an idea of the process to evict a tenant. Sometimes it can all go smoothly and only involve giving 'notice'. Sometimes you need to give notice, apply to the courts, involve bailiffs - much more time and expense!

http://tenancyanswers.ucoz.com/index/ast_tenants_not_in_breach_of_contract/0-37

franklee

sharloid wrote: »

We were thinking a of leaving a couple of easily replaceable items of furniture e.g. bookcases and wardrobes.

Oh dear. When I see a property advertised with odd sticks of cheap furniture it says accidental landlord. Really you need to consider your tenants. Don't be tempted to leave tat behind, if your're going unfurnished either pay to store or get rid as a tenant renting unfurnished will have their own furniture and won't want to pay rent to house your bookcases. Or you could let furnished to attract a tenant with no furniture if your type of property attracts such tenants. A half way house is likely to please neither.

franklee

Werdnal wrote: »

You can always get the tenant out eventually, by following the correct procedures and going through the courts if necessary, but the problem can be getting them out in time for you to move back in. Eviction can be a long and drawn out procedure if the tenant decides to ignore all notices and sit tight. There is just no guarantee that your home will be available for you when you return. You might get wonderful co-operative tenants who leave on the dot on the day the notice expires, or you may not. You should have a contingency plan to stay with relatives, friends or possibly rent somewhere yourself when you return to the UK, just in case.

The OP is more likely to get co-operative tenants if he/she is upfront about the length of let before the tenant signs up. Otherwise a tenant may well be miffed or unable to afford moving on after just six months to one year as moving is expensive and time consuming.

missile

On the positive side. I rented my property whilst I was overseas and appart from the usual hassle I had no real problems.

Gonzo33

I am overseas now, using a LA. No massive problems so far, only thing I will say is it is good knowing a few local contractors so that should anything go wrong you can ask the LA to use them.

I also have a drain policy, and a heating policy covering the servicing and gas safety side of things. Make's life a little easier.

sharloid

Thanks again for the replies.

We've spoke to family and we've got several places that we plan to stay until the house is back in our ownership so that's not a problem.

As with leaving furniture, all the bookcases etc are brand new so it's not just a case of leaving old tat because we don't want to move it! Obviously we'll have to speak to some letting agents and see if they recommend letting it furnished or not, and if needs be we will get rid of/sell/store furniture.