Serco group

3card

I friend of mine has rang me this afternoon. He is just looking at renting out a house he owns.

He has asked me if i have heard of anyone that have used Serco group who will take over the property on a long term contract (7 years) and they will manage it and cover all maintenance issues, etc and the figure they have quoted him as a landlord is a good rent for the area his house is in

https://www.serco.com/uk/sites/serco-aasc/landlords

They rent out the property to asylum seekers and Serco also pay all the utility bills

Has anyone on here had any 1st hand experience this this sort of set up? pros/cons

eddddy

I don't have first hand experience, but speaking to others who've used similar schemes - one of the major issues is the condition of the property at the end of the contract.

The occupants might treat the property badly. The company say they will do all repairs and maintenance, but I suspect they'll do the quickest and cheapest fixes possible. 

After 7 years of neglect and/or botched repairs, the property might be in poor condition. See what the contract says about the condition the property will be returned in.


Does the friend know (or care about) the neighbours? If the occupants are anti-social, the company won't have any incentive to re-house them or do anything else. In a similar situation, a landlord I know started getting hassled by neighbours because of drugs related activities at their rented property, and petty crimes by visitors to the property.


Also, if your friend has a mortgage on the property, the mortgage lender almost certainly won't allow this. (And your friend needs to find out who arranges insurance - an appropriate policy would be required.)

marcia_

 Not a landlord but do know many houses that are used by them in my and local streets.
They are not taken care of by the tenants, frequently have broken windows just boarded for weeks, smashed up properties and general disrepair. So depends on how much you trust serco to look after your house. 

deannagone

Doesn't seem to be anything positive about any Serco run businesses online (in fact its all rather negative), and found https://www.theguardian.com/business/2021/feb/25/concerns-raised-over-squalid-serco-asylum-seeker-housing-in-derby.

I wonder if its possible to ask to view other properties they have contracts on?

I have also found this thread.., starts in 2019 but ends in 2020.., sounds like it might be important to really check what SERCO will be responsible for.

https://www.propertytribes.com/letting-to-sercog4s-through-compass-scheme-t-127636321.html

eddddy

deannagone said:

Doesn't seem to be anything positive about any Serco run businesses online, and found https://www.theguardian.com/business/2021/feb/25/concerns-raised-over-squalid-serco-asylum-seeker-housing-in-derby

Yep - and one contract I came across said that compensation would be paid for any damage to the property, at the end of the contract.

But the contract also said that compensation would be capped at 2 months rent. 2 months rent wouldn't come close to covering the cost of repairing that kind of damage.

user1977

deannagone said:

Doesn't seem to be anything positive about any Serco run businesses online (in fact its all rather negative), and found https://www.theguardian.com/business/2021/feb/25/concerns-raised-over-squalid-serco-asylum-seeker-housing-in-derby.

Given the nature of their businesses, I'm not sure how much positive stuff one would expect to find.

"Had a lovely stay at HMP Doncaster..."

[Deleted User]

Serco mostly gets work by cosying up to the Tory party. Competence is not something they bother with. I'd avoid them.

3card

eddddy said:

I don't have first hand experience, but speaking to others who've used similar schemes - one of the major issues is the condition of the property at the end of the contract.

The occupants might treat the property badly. The company say they will do all repairs and maintenance, but I suspect they'll do the quickest and cheapest fixes possible. 

After 7 years of neglect and/or botched repairs, the property might be in poor condition. See what the contract says about the condition the property will be returned in.


Does the friend know (or care about) the neighbours? If the occupants are anti-social, the company won't have any incentive to re-house them or do anything else. In a similar situation, a landlord I know started getting hassled by neighbours because of drugs related activities at their rented property, and petty crimes by visitors to the property.


Also, if your friend has a mortgage on the property, the mortgage lender almost certainly won't allow this. (And your friend needs to find out who arranges insurance - an appropriate policy would be required.)

The neighbours issue is something my friend is worried about because he knows the neighbours very well and doesnt want to upset them

No mortgage involved

Its still early days for my friend so hes weighing up the pros & cons but i will pass on all the points mentioned on this thread

Thanks all

pramsay13

Our property was managed by Serco in Scotland until they lost the contract. 

It was slightly below market rate for the property but the money has been paid consistently, even through Covid when our other property lay empty for half a year. 

It will certainly take the hassle out of renting as Serco will cover all the rent and repairs required.