I'm thinking of offering an AST to a couple who are struggling to raise the full amount of 1 months' rent (£480) plus the deposit (£700) in advance. This does go against the grain for me but I feel that otherwise they are a good bet, and that if they can provide £500 deposit, plus top it up by £50/month for the next four months, that will be OK.
However, how would this work with regards not falling foul of the deposit regulations (I use the Deposit Protection Service)? Can you deposit an initial amount then top it up? If not I suppose I could deposit the full amount up front and have the tenants pay me back in the proposed installments, but that sounds a bit dodgy; eg if they didn't pay up?
Alternatively I could reallocate the money they pay so that the full deposit is covered and registered, but they effectively only pay two weeks' rent and are so in arrears for the first 4 months until they've made this up. That option doesn't sound great to me either.
Any thoughts?!
However, how would this work with regards not falling foul of the deposit regulations (I use the Deposit Protection Service)? Can you deposit an initial amount then top it up? If not I suppose I could deposit the full amount up front and have the tenants pay me back in the proposed installments, but that sounds a bit dodgy; eg if they didn't pay up?
Alternatively I could reallocate the money they pay so that the full deposit is covered and registered, but they effectively only pay two weeks' rent and are so in arrears for the first 4 months until they've made this up. That option doesn't sound great to me either.
Any thoughts?!
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