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Renting out a property...

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tasticz
tasticz Posts: 764 Forumite
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edited 23 January 2020 at 11:05PM in House buying, renting & selling
Hi guys,

Currently going on the market looking for tenants.

Property requires a little bit of redecorating which is in progress.

Estate agent asked if I would take on DSS/HB tenant and the council would give me £4,000 cash for the redecoration works after signing contract for 2 years.

I read on the net and it seems DSS/HB tenant can be headache now a days since payments from council are not direct and not many insurance companies cover rent loss for DSS tenants? Does anyone know any good companies?

The estate agents have said if I don't want DSS/HB they will advertise on market.

I am now thinking of only saying Professional - working people only (are you allowed to explicitly say no DSS in advertisement for rent?)

I will ask the estate agent to carry out referencing and credit / employment check? Is there any thing other I need to check? I understand I may have to pay estate agent the fees to carry these out as it cannot be charged to the person renting it out now.

Any suggestions?

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  • theartfullodger
    theartfullodger Posts: 14,605 Forumite
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    DSS was dissolved in 2001. Agency seems a little behind the times.

    Many councils have such bribery schemes, some with larger amounts. Now, why would they need to do that much bribery I wonder?

    Find a new agent. Rent to boring employed people who pass credit and reference checks.
  • lookstraightahead
    lookstraightahead Posts: 5,540 Forumite
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    Yes you need to research all of the legal side of running your business as a landlord. What do you mean by professional?
  • Socajam
    Socajam Posts: 1,238 Forumite
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    I would do some research on accepting councils who have a lot of rules and regulations before allowing you to let.
    Once you pass all their inspections etc, I would think that you are guaranteed payment
    Not sure how the insurance company will look at this, but I would do some research on that as well.
    Once you have all your answers you can then make up your mind.
    I looked into the council scheme, but decided against after all the things they require LLs to have done to the property before they will allow any of their tenants to move in.
  • Dazed_and_confused
    Dazed_and_confused Posts: 6,458 Forumite
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    If you have a mortgage on this property you should read up on the residential landlord loan interest rules as these mean you cannot deduct your loan interest payments from your rental income for tax purposes.

    This can mean that you end up with a paper profit and tax to pay when your costs actually exceed the rental income
  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User] Posts: 3,297 Forumite
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    What kind of tenant is the property likely to attract? You would like to have professionals, so does it appeal to the professional market? If you were to go down the route of accepting tenants in receipt of benefits would the rent be in line with the Local Housing Allowance for the size of property or would the tenant have to make up a significant short fall every month?
  • phoenix1837
    phoenix1837 Posts: 79 Forumite
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    Also, many HB tenants are still working professionals it is just that they don't get paid as much as others so need a top up to help them. I'm lucky that I have savings to top mine up so don't need HB but I only earn £14,100 a year after being made redundant and getting divorced and having a child to look after. Doesn't make me any less professional than you.
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