Would you rent out your home?

I would rent out a property, but not my home.

 

The rules certainly are stacked against the landlord. Somebody I know was in privately rented accommodation and had a letter from their landlord saying they wanted to sell the property and giving them 12 months to find new accommodation. They contacted the local council who told them not to move out until they were forced to do so through an eviction notice. If they agreed to leave voluntarily they would be classed as 'intentionally homeless' and would not be assisted by the council to get new accommodation. In the end it took nearly 3 years to get them out. Is is any surprise there is a shortage of rental accommodation?

 

One of my neighbours has been told the exact same thing , landlord wants to raise rent tenant says its not worth it X Y Z needs doing , landlord gives notice to move out for work to be done, council or lawyer says don't move out or you'll be intentionally homeless .

 

I assume that is the council's rules, which are understandable, but surely that shouldn't apply if the tenant was given notice, and should move into yet another private rental.
12 months notice seems very reasonable.

 

Although I think I'd struggle with all the regulations and give up and sell.

 

My old boss rented out his house and was often up there, he was always replacing kitchen equipment, dish washer and tumble dryer etc.

I dont think he had bad tenants, as such, it just seemed an uphill struggle to me.

 

It doesn't really matter how much notice is given, if the tenants decide (or are advised) to stay put. The only valid reason for eviction is non-payment of rent and even that can take months and an awful lot of hoops for the landlord to jump through.

 

We rented a property out years ago. We had a lovely tenant, but she would phone to get us to change a lightbulb, seriously, I think elf n safety had just started telling people they needed an electrician to do that sort of highly skilled job.
The next was a businessman who did a runner after three months, and hadn't paid any bills - luckily we let through an estate agents, so we weren't out of pocket.
We rent, and we're excellent tenants - we do minor repairs, decorating, maintenance etc where we can, and obviously the gardens are looked after, our landlord really appreciates that.
I don't know if I'd rent out a property again, but if I did, I would do it without a third party I think, and get a long term, well vetted tenant who loved gardening.
Also, I would never rent a place through an agency, they are ridiculous with their silly rules.

 

Sounds like a proper minefield! Perhaps better to sell the property and keep your memories of it than have it become a millstone round your neck, if no-one in the family wants to live in it.

 

So what am I hearing all this about, No fault evictions?

Is raising the rent to stupid levels the only way to evict people.

 

After my parents died a friend of theirs asked if she could rent their house but my brother and I decided it would be too much of a responsibility and cause too much worry, so we sold it. I was glad to get it out of the way. The less I have to worry about the better.
I know we could have had money for renting it but the worry and the cost of getting it into a livable state outweighed that.

 

There are procedures in place to evict troublesome tenants but all the onus is on the landlord to follow those procedures, and they're not quick or cheap.

 

But it is no fault evictions that have had all the publicity and how landlords are throwing people out.

Some people I know have had a rent rise from £800 a month to £1200 a month and a month to either pay up or get out, they are frantically trying to find somewhere else, he is blind which makes things even worse.

 

Well that's astonishing, because if the tenants have signed a short-term agreement the rent rises are strictly controlled. Maybe these publicised cases are irregular in the first place?