UK Landlord Forum / Life

Hello,

I am going to be a new landlord and my first potential tenant is related to a neighbour and has found herself in a position where she must utilise housing benefits. Ordinarily I would pass but I liek this neighbour and I do empathise with the situation as they are a nice family and it will be very hard for the woman to find somewhere nice in our area that accepts DSS.

I have a property in a very sought after area so I am by no means desperate for a renter but I cant help but think that renting to someone that I know through a neighbour on DSS is less risky than renting to a complete stranger.  This neighbour, I absolutely adore her family and they own the property so they are here long term and would like their family member to also be on the same street.

We had TERRIBLE renter neighbours for about a year which is why we have ot move from this house because we're so paranoid of who is going to rent next door next!

Am I being delusional for wanting to be nice and help and feeling like this could be a win win.

My questions - my only concern is that it is a single mum and I am concerned that the dad might want to come back on the scene at some point.  How do I make sure that he has to be 'approved' and on the lease.  What are the guidelines. How many days can he stay over  is there any guide to this?

Next - I've been told (and read here) that I should ask for a guarantor. If the tenant should not pay, does that mean I take the guarantor to court.  Is this pretty iron clad, are there loopholes that they can get out of it?  Not that I think they will but say the renter takes off, can the guarantor claim they have been fooled or misled and relinquish responsibility

Thanks in advance for any and all advise and experiences

You know them because a neighbour has told you about them, so you don't know them, only the neighbour?
As they say 'no good deed goes unpunished'
DSS ceased to exist decades ago, it's housing benefit or universal credit now, paid in arrears, to the tenant to then pass on.
Benefits can be stopped for all sorts of reasons, such as a change in circumstances like......no longer being a single parent.....stopping benefits is called being sanctioned.
New landlord, benefit tenants, house in a sought after area, there is no way I'd be proceeding with this.
I'd want liquid tenants, who are earning, and have money I can go after if things go pear shaped.

I have to agree with Riptide on this. However nice and decent this lady is, her situation is precarious and you could stand to lose money as well as damage the relationship with your neighbour. There are just too many variables. I have not been a landlord long myself, just long enough to have gone through every classic pitfall there is to go through! Your property sounds great so find the appropriate tenant for it.
I hate to sound harsh but I would say how sorry about their family member to the neighbours and regret you can't help. Also isn't there a saying,never do business with family or friends?

Please do not do this to yourself.So many landlords reading your post must be groaning.It's like those films where the girl could run from the house with the serial killer,and she just decides to pop down to the cellar instead.

First I appreciate the brutal honesty. You are all fantastic with your answers!! This is really hard for me because they are a lovely family. if I do decide to just do it...do you happen to know about the things I asked how long can someone 'stay' before they have to go on the lease and can i refuse to allow someone on the lease after the fact.  What about the guarantor?  Thanks, Ill just be here down in the cellar hiding out meantime lol

It is generally taken as fact that a guarantor agreement is not worth the paper it's written on.I am not sure about the number of days the Dad could stay,but they could hide the facts from you very easily anyway.When tenants of mine have asked to have a housemate move in,that person has had to undergo the same checks as the main tenant (and pay the fee) and get added to the lease.If they are not prepared to do this,you really would not want them in your house.Sorry to be negative,but for every case like this where it works out well,there are numerous ones where it turns into a nightmare for the landlord.Look behind you,he knows you're down there!

My ideal tenant is one that pays rent on time and looks after the property.  If things go wrong I would relish taking that person to court and getting money from them as they would be liquid, I wouldn't feel guilty in the slightest and there would be no detriment to any of my relationships because of it.

My rental properties are bricks and mortar, I don't actually care about them or get emotional about them in the slightest.  The tenants are customers, I have no emotions invested in them, don't have a friendship with them and don't know their friends or family, they are merely people paying me money, they can't make me feel guilty, do things that I don't want to do and our relationship is purely business.

Hard luck/sob stories, as unpleasant as they may be, do not interest me in the slightest, I want what I perceive the 'best tenant' that I can get and reduce the massive risk that I am taking.