Private renting advice for first timers?

RestlessOverDebt

Hi Strawbubbi
'I've always been warned by my mum once I have a council place to never give it up and go private because of the risks'
Your mum shared words of wisdom there... take heed.
With the current housing crisis, both Housing Association and Council tenancies are so highly sought after, due to both the security (home for life) and reasonable rent (compared to private).
I would most certainly NOT give up your Housing Association tenancy.
Kind regards

 

dimbo61

A number of changes in tax allowances and tax relief have made being a Landlord a whole lot more difficult.
Most Landlords offer 6/12 months tenancies and then are happy for the tenant to go on periodic tenancy.
Yes rents tend to be higher than Council/Housing association properties but the number of rules, regs and laws that landlords must follow all cost money.
All rental properties must by 2030 have an EPC of C or better.
All gas appliances must be checked every 12 months by a Gas Safe Engineer 
Electrical Inspection and condition report every 5 years.
All rental properties must have an EPC.
The rules surrounding protecting your deposit and trying to make deductions for damage are a bit of a nightmare.
 Video inventory 
Having housing benefit tenants can cause huge problems with delays in payments of HB and the housing benefit allowance can be less than the rent.
Maintaining and improving rental properties is  expensive and may take years to recover the monies spent.
There is always the risk that bad tenants  who won't pay the rent and trash the property.
To the poster can you apply for a bigger property or house with your local housing association ? 

Morbier

I could give you tips for private renting, as I've been a private renter for a while now.  But I won't, because I would advise you NOT to swap a Housing Association property (and one which seems to suit your needs) for a private rental. Your security of tenure in your HA home far outweighs any advantages (if there are any) of a private rental in your situation. Be patient and keep hoping an HA or council house becomes vacant and is offered to you.

I've been fortunate in that I've rented from decent landlords, but I still don't have the security that you do - plus the fact, as you say, private rentals cost a lot more.

[Deleted User]

Always bear in mind that after your assured term, the landlord can give you the legal minimum 2 months notice at any time.  It may never happen but it's not nice to have that uncertainty always.

natasha22

The difficulty with private renting is there is no general experience and it very much depends on your landlord etc. With Local authority housing then there is often a set standard, which might not be very high but is sustained. In private rented for example some will have much nicer decor/layouts then council (eg my fitted kitchen is to a higher standard than the council kitchen) but some landlords will leave the property short of local standards. Eg if you get an issue, then the council can take a while to respond, some private landlords will respond faster than that as there is less paperwork involved, others wont respond for months or at all so you are left with a leaking roof. 

Here people tend to stay in council housing because the rent is lower (often significantly so), the tenancy is secure, and they have a lot more freedom eg, having pets. Some people locally do leave it though, as the properties they are after simply dont come up/ they never meet the elgibility for (eg they decide they dont want kids to share rooms but will never be a priority for houses with that many rooms so rent independently)

macman

desktop said:

Always bear in mind that after your assured term, the landlord can give you the legal minimum 2 months notice at any time.  It may never happen but it's not nice to have that uncertainty always.

Currently 3 months notice though. And, should the tenant not vacate, there are no evictions at present. Even once these measures are dropped, probably in the autumn, the backlog in the courts will be such that the whole process up to eviction is likely to take at least 6 months and possibly 8 months.

Morbier

macman said:

desktop said:

Always bear in mind that after your assured term, the landlord can give you the legal minimum 2 months notice at any time.  It may never happen but it's not nice to have that uncertainty always.

Currently 3 months notice though. And, should the tenant not vacate, there are no evictions at present. Even once these measures are dropped, probably in the autumn, the backlog in the courts will be such that the whole process up to eviction is likely to take at least 6 months and possibly 8 months.

Yes, but that still wouldn't offer much stability for the OP, their partner and children. Nothing offers more security for a renter than a council/HA secure tenancy (as long as they pay the rent and comply with the conditions of the tenancy, of course). 

Jack_bauer24

macman said:

desktop said:

Always bear in mind that after your assured term, the landlord can give you the legal minimum 2 months notice at any time.  It may never happen but it's not nice to have that uncertainty always.

Currently 3 months notice though. And, should the tenant not vacate, there are no evictions at present. Even once these measures are dropped, probably in the autumn, the backlog in the courts will be such that the whole process up to eviction is likely to take at least 6 months and possibly 8 months.

Plus, if we getting a second wave (according to the latest news) then the whole eviction process will be even longer.