Agreed it’s hell. I have a tenant I am trying to evict which is difficult beyond belief. Numerous anti social complaints, stopped paying rent despite being on benefits and there is a legal loophole in the deposit. The council backed deposits are utterly worthless.
She’s got a solicitor on board and tried to get fraudulent invoices through claiming compensation for work that never took place/never requested. It really is a nightmare. Never never ever again. I’ve had 2 and both been dreadful/stressful.
All this in first 7 months. Evictions have hit a wall due to covid.
Thank goodness its not just me - what defies belief is why the benefits system is in cahoots with these criminals - oh, and how the politicians decriminalise tenant destructive and thieving activities. Can you imagine hiring a taxi - deciding you need the car because you haven’t bought your own car, refuse to return the taxi - trash it, while taking petrol and fuel without paying for it (tenants also omit paying utilities) and authorities say - oh, wait a year or so, maybe you can get the remains of your taxi - and sue someone on benefits for the damage and loss of income. Ha ha! (that is a wild hysterical hopeless laughter!)
I think the point is lost, how many people have lost their litter part-time work? thousands, that feed you in Starbucks etc, they do not have that 45000 deposit to rent, and its right for the council to step in and help them, not every person is a nightmare, it only begins to go so when landlords become greed and dishonest, its when things turn negative, in this case, they are even offering deposit which you have in case of damage to property, guys stop being greedy, life is life when that life goes never is back, The Hindu God said “what did you bring that you lost”? you came empty-handed and you shall go empty-handed". Take a moment and reflect yourself seeking shelter, sitting with your heart in your hand, sudden illness leading to death, and dismay. Why don you guys reflect for a moment, my rented flat will hopefully bring smiles and joy to a life that was “lost and crying” , you who speaks doubt on people, the cry and pain from those people move in mysterious ways, humanity is our strength and source of health, i spoke here the voiceless.
I do not have £45000 deposit either. My deposits are only in the low hundreds and I would not be seen dead in Starbucks . I never buy over rated coffee in such a manner
the point also is councils promise you the earth and then dont deliver . They are generally LIARS and con councils that is what is wrong They are greedy to exploit landlords
True over priced coffee and so many other fake cafe what, cafe that, time has to reset everything can heal, the word Fair has to be rebranded, and what alternatives do none if study why other countries have better economy like the Swiss, the reason so many people rent in Switzerland, in many cases for life, is because of the historical availability of good quality rental housing and good legal protections for tenants. Banks also require high minimum deposits from mortgage applicants making home ownership unaffordable for many. It stablises work, good health, functionality of everything, successive government have turn housing into a football game for votes, money laundering and to acquire wealth, the reason we now have the highest covid19 death in Europe is exactly what we have discussed here,.Foreign firms are not allowed to invest in residential property in Switzerland but there are enough pension funds, insurance companies and other big investors in the Swiss market for them to play a major role, especially in prime locations.
I wish I could post something positive, but, we did this with our council and they let us down dreadfully. Promised to intervene, should there be any problems, including anti-social behaviour. When we did call on them and in particular the tenant’s case officer (they will have one) they were only interested in the tenant!!! The tenant was multi letting, causing problems with neighbours with anti social behaviour. The pleasant female that moved in, once settled soon became a tenant from hell. The apartment was left in a disgraceful state and not recognisable as the newly decorated and carpeted place it had been when she moved in! The council argued the toss and we did not get any damages at all. Yes they did pay the rent directly to us, after her arrears and us applying for them to do so. I would tread very carefully, they are so convincing to get you to sign them in. Wishing you well whatever your decision.
I think people seem to be tarring all council tenants with the same brush.
I’ve been a council tenant for many years after being forced to move out because the landlord sold the house from underneath us without even telling us. First thing I knew when I came home from work with the estate agents walking around my home showing the buyer.
Being a council tenant is not good I’ve had to live with mold growing on my walls which I constantly have to wash which grows on the furniture , my windows are always open so it’s not the condensation excuse ,I’m constantly having to decorate , been telling the council for years and they deny it’s damp even after we had the cavity insulation taken out squeezing the water out of the insulation as it’s being pulled out , we get no it’s not damp even now with this stupid external insulation it’s like Grenfell stuff looks nice but wouldn’t chance a fire but hey I’m just a council tenant I’m not allowed to have views on what cladding I get out on my council house and it was a right cowboy job I can tell you . As a council tenant you get no respect from the council who see you as scum because you live in a council house. They don’t care that they wreck your house when doing work or walk muddy footprints all over your cream well kept carpets. They don’t care that you have had pipes leak in your celling and you have watermarks all over your ceiling that you can’t just paint over because it comes back through.
There’s council tenants that care and wants nice home who spend money out of their own pockets to fix jobs that the council ignore. Then there is council tenants who couldn’t care less if they or their house is treated like crap. And then there is the tenants who have houses in other countries who move into council houses claim housing benefit for most of the time they have spent in the property then buy it just before the right to buy ends all whilst still having another property in another country.
Like I said there are tenants from all walks of life don’t tar every tenant with the same brush and don’t think it’s cushy having a council house because it’s far from that, if you want a nice well maintained council house you have to do the repairs yourself pay to have new windows yourself etc.
If they are offering you better than market value vet your tenants before you agree or sign any contract with the council because don’t expect any standards or any help further down the line because they will wash their hands.
Good luck I’d just treat it like you would vetting a normal tenant there’s good people and bad people , I’ve seen some teachers houses and some doctors houses through work and trust me all walks of like can be scummy just because people have walked on hard times and need a place to call their home never assume how they we will treat your house .
Your best to look for long term Tennant’s if your planning leasing with the council if your planning to sell don’t bother renting because trust me it’s not nice when you call a place home only to have the boot because the landlord wants to sell all of a sudden. Prices will drop next year so if I was you I’d sell now while the market value is high because next year they are going to drop drastically
Good luck hope it helps
this post simply tells us what we oldies all know When the council own/owned houses to rent they could not maintain them so sold them off. Now they need our help but no sane landlord will do that… The local council have double standards “do .not do as I do ,do what I say” Steer clear of them as long as you can
Yes if you want any sanity and honesty don’t go down the council root your better off selling now and just enjoy your life with the profit you make off the sale , times are hard and it’s going to get worse and house prices are going to drop next year.
I’m lucky to have a nice house even though it’s council it’s on the outskirts with fields behind us and we actually care about our house but we have very bad neighbors who just bought their house after being in benefits for God knows how long whilst both working full time ,yes I know how have they managed that and yes they have a house in another country dare not question it though … I want to move simply to get away from them who has made my life hell but I can’t rent because no landlords will allow a dog and there are no council houses that are as well looked after as mine because they are left to get run down and in poor areas where people don’t care about their homes so I would just be passing up one lot of stress for another , that on top paying full rent makes it impossible to save for a mortgage so people get stuck in council houses and make the best of what they have.
Sorry ha ha rant over just don’t tar every council tenant with the same brush , if I could get out of my house I would even though I love my house my large garden the poor repair the damp and the constant harrasement from neighbours doesn’t make it easy living here especially when your creepy harrasing neighbors have they CCTV pointed in your bedroom window lol but hey we just council tenant’s we don’t have a voice lol here sorry I’m just fed up ha ha
You want 100% of guaranty you everything from someone else without force your brain work hard …this is the problem… you use to this but life changed and the world change and if you lose your own ability to feel everything by sniffing )) your native wild instinct you are in trouble. Everyone can gauranty your death )) 100% nothing else ))
Don’t have any deal with Southwark council - realy scamers, will pay younothing i faced with this and listen many similer stories from defferent people and agencies. This is the gauranty for you )) please
I fell in the same trap in 2017 But the lure was much bigger, I was given an incentive of £4000 by Tower Hamlets council to take a tenant that ultimately becomes your responsibility in every way including evictions.
A 2 year contract was signed and and I got tenants who were on universal credit.
When their personal circumstances changed the rent was not paid, and eventually I had to evict them at a cost far more than the £4000 I received. So some good advice is give it a miss.
paul don t you get it The guarrantee from any council is worthless. They just change the rules .Read all the feedback. They just want to palm off tenants who are big trouble to them Speak to them directly? THEY LIE
I agree with the other Landlord’s responses as a no go area for PRS but would like to add that once in the council rental system its a club that you can’t leave. Tenants will fall back on the council support if your property comes into disrepair during their tenancy and the council will push repair claims into the long grass and will also support tenants applications for rent reviews once you are in their sphere of oversight. Steer clear.
Wow I was once considering letting via my local authority. They offered a minuscule financial incentive, but couldn’t guarantee any rent in case the tenant defaulted, couldn’t help evict and wouldn’t help manage the property!
On top of all that, I could only charge LHA allowance rent. On that basis it made no sense at all to go with the local authority so I decided not to. Reading all this, I am 200% sure I made the right decision!