new tenant advice

[bertha]

a gentleman who has access to his young child has applied for one of my flats ,everything checks out he has been homeless due to a family situation not of his making.The problem is I will accept no bond as he is willing to decorate the flat(he is a painter decorator by trade)due to his situation of living on the street /family sofas he has no job ,He will get housing benefit but housing will not deal with his claim until I issue a tenancy agreement.
This is a sad situation but I feel that if I offer a home and housing mess about I will get no rent for 6 months and will have to evict.
I have suggested he pay weekly so that he gets the keys starts his new life and I feel I have not just handed over the keys.
asking this as in previous posts my agent did just this but how he checked that tenant out I dont know as he has no known addresses at all.
there are sadly people out there who have no money but because of the bad ones no one will help them

[thesaint]

Have you a question?

[MrJohnnyB]

However, for a lot of people, being a landlord is a business - without making money it maybe them who are on the streets thus want the tenant who is most likely to actually pay the rent.

[ram]

If he has no job, and no housing benefit money coming in, how is
he going to pay you ?
The first month maybe, but then not for the next 5 months.

The "dole" money ( if he gets it ) is for food, and no way can JSA
pay for rent as it's only just enough to survive.

If he is known to the council, they have to house him, even in a
bed and breakfast ( He can use his "family" address to receive mail )

Let the council house him.

You are not a charity.,and if you want to be a charity, you had
better sell everything you have, to give it to unfortunate people,
thereby making yourself homeless.

R.a.M.

[LesleyAnne]

Bertha, if you don't mind me saying, having read some of your previous posts here about problem tenants, why are you embarking on another tenant of dubious means and opening yourself to yet another catalogue of problems?

I appreciate your sentiments and everyone deserves a 2nd chance, but this tenant comes with existing issues, and whilst getting a property and a new start may turn them around, are you really willing to take the financial and emotional gamble on them?

I think you need to start again, get a good, credit-checked working tenant who can cover the rent, look after the property and not have the potential for being a payment nightmare before they even move in.

What proof have you that he will decorate? What proof have you that he will decorate well? What proof have you that he will ever qualify for benefits or have enough money to top-up any payment he gets? Its all too risky, and having been through problem tenants before, I think you are mad to even be considering this.

[thesaint]

If he is known to the council, they have to house him, even in a
bed and breakfast ( He can use his "family" address to receive mail )

This is obviously incorrect.

[theartfullodger]

Dave's Localism Act 2011 is about to become law (? 9th Nov 2012??) as regards local authority duty to the (unintentionally) homeless....

This wonderful act includes the new power whereby the council will have discharged it's duty to the homeless by offering them a suitable private sector tenancy (ie an AST with a private landlord). If the homeless person turns the offer down the council do not have to do anything further...

Seems to me regarding this...
a) Our esteemed government ain't very bright, particularly Pickles & Duncan-Smiff
b) The sort of landlord who makes such offers may not be, shall we say, always the very best of landlords... (not always mind.. some will be fine..)
c) Even more homeless people will be let down by the state...

RAM - could you kindly outline the "5 tests" the homeless applicant must pass before a council will help them please???

see...
http://www.gardencourtchambers.co.uk...BulletinID=792
&
http://www.cheshireeast.gov.uk/housi...elessness.aspx

Cheers!

[bertha]

sorry but clearly you all have property in work areas and rich tenants who have plenty of money and you can pick which one you want.my problem tenants have been put in by agents then I have to sort the mess out.

[MrJohnnyB]

sorry but clearly you all have property in work areas and rich tenants who have plenty of money and you can pick which one you want.my problem tenants have been put in by agents then I have to sort the mess out.

Clearly!!

Or maybe we opt to not use useless agents, or take tenants who we know can't pay the rent. Its bad enough when you have a tenant with a decent full time job, even then you're never guaranteed.

[LesleyAnne]

sorry but clearly you all have property in work areas and rich tenants who have plenty of money and you can pick which one you want.my problem tenants have been put in by agents then I have to sort the mess out.

No not at all, I have had 4 tenants in 12 years and all but 1 were HB claimants. But you are proposing to take on someone with no money, no income, no guarantee of benefits or that their financial situation will improve any time soon; plus give them carte-blanche to decorate your property themselves and reduce the rent accordingly. If you want to run a charity for the homeless out of your own pocket, then I admire your conviction to the cause, but you came here, I assume, asking for advice, and the general consensus is it is not a good idea to take this tenant.

Your agents may have caused you grief in the past, but are you proposing to carry on where they left off? Have you not learned by their mistakes? We may be unfairly judging this tenant, but too many naive LLs seem to be taken in by sob stories and you will be the one bearing the cost of all this ... again!

If you are having trouble letting the property to all but the most desperate tenants, you are either charging too high a rent for the area, or advertising in the wrong places.

[theartfullodger]

sorry but clearly you all have property in work areas and rich tenants who have plenty of money and you can pick which one you want.my problem tenants have been put in by agents then I have to sort the mess out.

Absolutely not! I have 3 houses on a run down Scottish housing scheme so deprived there is a funded project to upgrade the insulation for free: very few such deprived areas exist (thankfully..)

[bertha]

thank you for your advice the gentleman has paid for a complete credit check and refs all ok ,housing benefit available to him and he works 3 days a week
the job front is not good in the area.He is going to pay his rent weekly until housing start paying.
I have been letting my property for 12 years it is only last year that I had my first bad tenant and she ended up owing me one months rent which the council paid on her bond.the worst tenant is one the agent put in as I could not manage my properties after a serious accident seems the agent only did an insight search.
I try to treat my tenants how I would like to be treated fair but the grounds rules made clear.
Would you still turn him down on a good credit and ref search and hb sorted.
I dont decorate anymore after my bad tenant last year I had spent thousands decorating a large victorian town house and putting new carpets for it all to be ruin.
Sorry to go on but just put the facts as they stand.Maybe its best I dont ask anymore questions.
but thank you for all the help and facts

[theartfullodger]

Best regards - your good tenants are fortunate to have you...

I've had much worse experiences than you, but from working tenants
(Wish I hadn't) & now am much more careful referencing
Cheers!

[thesaint]

Would you still turn him down on a good credit and ref search and hb sorted.

In what way is the HB sorted?

[ram]

Maybe its best I dont ask anymore questions

Please, do not disappear.

Would you rather people say : -

Yes, all will be fine, go ahead ?
Or
Would you like the real answers.

People only seem to be shouting at you, because they care.
People only say don't be a charity, because as we all know,
sometimes just saying be carefull, just does not work.

Better for members on here to voice their views on your
situation, than not at all.

All too often, we hear of the mess people get into, so
sometimes members have to shout, because they know if
they don't, they will have to give advice on how to get out of
a situation someone got themselves into, by not listening.

You have heard the saying:- You have to be crule, to be kind.
Many people on here have a genuine concern for those who
may treat renting as a good will gesture. It's not, it's a business
that has to make money.

Anyway. Keep asking questions.
You may not like the answers, but you will have at least,
comments from those who have seen your situation arise
before, and only want to make sure you don't get into trouble.

So, keep asking.

Regards

R.a.M.