A question for landlords, do you have blanket policies or are you open to discussion

lil_me

Just wondering about how landlords on here seek tenants, if they have no pet/DSS/children blanket policies for tenants or if they view them all as individual applicants and discuss matters with them?

Reasons I ask, I have a person I have been helping currently looking to rent, family of 5 on benefits due to disabilities. The family is entitled to over £2000 a month in benefits, their rent would be paid through LHA in addition to this (up to the maximum for the area/rooms of course) council tax paid, they don't have to pay for school meals/prescriptions etc etc yet they are being turned down flat by many landlords with blanket policies of no DSS/HB/LHA clients. They IMO are in more of a position to pay than many who are working. Then of course if they were in arrears the landlord could ask to be paid directly.

When we were looking at renting many had a blanket no pets policy, wouldn't even discuss it. My neighbours have commented they didn't realise we had them until last week as haven't heard/seen them and the garden is always cleaned up. They have done no damage etc. Now I'm getting calls from agents on behalf of landlords who turned us down offering to rent us a home, at a discounted rent as they still have an empty house 9/10 months later. Maybe learning from their mistakes?

I've seen ones advertised who even disallow children, one was on a retirement site which is fair enough but some are large homes, surely it's families who would prefer to live there?

Just wondered how landlords on here operate, if you consider cases individually or if you have a blanket policy for some things. I am not posting this to be critical, just curious as to how many are willing to discuss these matters.

N79

I have no problems telling you.

I advertise using local agents and I have contacts with most of the large local employers. These are the two main sources of tenants that I have. The most realiable has been the contacts with the companies as they recommend me to their foreign staff who usually make excellent tenants. In return I try to be a good landlord! They have gotten into the habit of handing on the same house to the people who come in to do the same job, IYSWIM.

I have always felt that to say no children is so British! I have never had this restriction.

I have always allowed pets by negotiation. In fact, I have never actually said no to a pet, but I do sometimes take an extra deposit for large dogs. My wife is also adamant that we should never allow spiders although why she cares I do not know - it is not as if she would enter the property!

I do have a blanket ban on DSS. I have been messed around by council's far too much in the past and I feel that I am more likely to have problem tennants. I have yet to meet a DSS tennant, and increasingly few judges, that understand that the tennat are liable for the rent, irrespective of whether the council pay benefits. I am a business, not a social charity. My insurances would also need to be changed.


Thats my policy.

N79

silvercar

Reasons I ask, I have a person I have been helping currently looking to rent, family of 5 on benefits due to disabilities. The family is entitled to over £2000 a month in benefits, their rent would be paid through LHA in addition to this (up to the maximum for the area/rooms of course) council tax paid, they don't have to pay for school meals/prescriptions etc etc yet they are being turned down flat by many landlords with blanket policies of no DSS/HB/LHA clients. They IMO are in more of a position to pay than many who are working. Then of course if they were in arrears the landlord could ask to be paid directly.

All this would put me off, not because I don't want anyone on benefit but because of the mentality behind it. I don't want to know if a tenant gets free school meals, I'm not interested if they get free prescriptions or LHA. All I want to know is that they can afford to pay the rent and can supply a deposit and a reference. When you start talking about them being in arrears and the council paying directly, I'm really not interested. I want a tenant who isn't on the wavelength of arrear payments. And I'm certainly not applying to the council to receive rent from them.

I would take someone on LHA provided that they understood that it was their responsibility to pay the rent and sorting out their benefits package was down to them. I want the rent paid once a month in total and on time; I don't want the LHA element coming one week and the top-up later, I don't want sob stories.

The obligation on being a landlord are numerous; but that's fine I've chosen to do it.

The obligations on being a tenant are to pay the rent in full and on time, if someone can do that, they can be my tenant - LHA or not.

No problems with kids or size appropriate pets.

JCR

I have to agree with the points made on DSS tenants, as my experience has been that tenants have withheld the money paid to them by the council in order to buy other things. The Council don't care what they do with the money that they are paying to the tenant (they just hope that they are using if for rent) and it's not until they are 2 months in arrears that you can do anything about it. Not that I am saying your friend is like this, it is just that my experiences haven't been good.

I also have no problem with pets as I have a large dog myself and understand the difficulties in finding places that will allow them.

Bungarm2001

Like Silvercar, I wouldn't be interested in how or what they get benefits for because all I'm really interested in is can they pay the rent and if they will not trash the house.

The LHA would put me off too, but I would be open to reconsideration if they could provide a very full set of references etc. They would have to be squeaky clean before I would even think about taking them on. Even then it would only be for a 6 month AST to start with.

We ALWAYS say not to pets because of past experiences. One tenant we had took in a dog without telling us, then another which we found out at an inspection that she kept in a cage indoors...(don't worry, RSPCA was informed:eek: ) and consequently, the place stank of dog pee when she moved out. Even to this day we can still get whiffs of it in what was her bedroom...other places where we allowed cats ended up full of fleas..I won't go on, but take it from me, we STRICTLY do not allow them.

If we took on tenants in receipt of LHA, our insurance would go up so much that it would be borderline whether we would break even, so thats another reason to say no.

I hate to say this, but we are also wary of letting to people with children. Again, our experiences in the past have made us that way, but again, with glowing references behind them, we would consider.

Sorry if all that sounds a bit harsh, but it took me years to realise that we run a business, and we can't help everyone much as I dearly would love to...we simply can't afford the risks.

If the stupid and blinkered goverment could see further than the end of their latest clipboards and stopped messing about with things like HB direct payments to the LL's, people in their position wouldn't have such a struggle to find a home. I fear there are going to be masses of poorer families on benefits who are going to find it nigh on impossible to find a rented home once the LHA is fully in force throughout the UK.

mlz1413

I agree with the points above, I took one DSS without knowing (council paid rent direct to her and she didn't say) they paid the deposit and month up front with a guarantor, no problems there. They did so much damage I could not believe the state of the house in just 6 months. Again not saying all DSS that way, but one bitten twice shy!

You must also be looking for a house rather than flat and any 3/4 bed house in my area is snapped up, with demand high the LL can be picky about who he rents to.

Gorgeous_George

Mark me down as agreeing with silvercar.

Pets - depends on the pets and helps if the tenant proves houseproudness befoire asking if they can have a pet in my house. My tenant has a dog and it is not a problem.

Kids - I cannot imagine being so controlling to demand no kids.

DSS - or HB/LHA. My best tenants have been claiming benefits. That said, working tenants are likely to cause less wear and tear. Also, I have had problems getting Landlords' insurance when tenants have been claiming benefits.

All terms in my contract are negotiable BEFORE it is signed. Changes after that may incur a (modest) cost but I've never been asked to change my contract.

GG

brightonman123

I think the main reason is the delay in getting initial rent (or deposit?) paid, from benefis office..?

if the tenants trash the place, or do a runner, the L/L could be out of pocket.

luckily i am in a council flat (a long term family dwelling), and they have been v patient when out o work, getting income support sorted, and then catcing up any arrears (if some periods not covered) by paying extra when back at work..

i have no intention of giving up the place, unless i win the lottery!

Benefits_Blagger

i have a question for LL's, how do you know if your taking on a DSS tenant? As i understand it with the new LHA, all the tenant needs to do is take the contract to the benefits office and they get the rent which is then paid onto you.

Bungarm2001

Well, for a start the fact that the prospective tenant won't be able to give an employers reference would be a bit of a give away. :rolleyes:

seven-day-weekend

I think landlords would take on more SS tenants if

a) the rent was paid promptly at the start of the tenancy instead of taking months and
b) the landlord had a choice to have the rent paid straight to them.

As others have said, they are not a charity and still have ther own bills and expenses to pay and quite often literally can't afford to wait for the benefits to pay up.