Private Rented Sector Access Scheme - Reaching Landlords is the Key. Plus A Comment on HMOs and Shared Houses

I’m extremely busy with corporate work right now.

I am working with banks, insurance companies and with the public sector to help them improve their landlord facing products.

For local authorities and housing associations this typically involves helping them make a better job of Local Letting Agency Models, Private Rented Sector Access Schemes and Supported Access Schemes – which really boils down to getting landlords to let their properties to people on their housing waiting lists.

Many clients in the public sector have a fair understanding of what landlords want but the main area they could do a much better job of is to understand how to get large numbers of good landlords on their books.

For the banks and insurers my work usually involves improving the strategy, marketing, product design and training issues around buy to let mortgage and landlords insurance products.

Understanding among the banks of the landlord sector is usually quite poor (and apart from a few banks they tend to be less inclined to accept new thinking than is the case with the public sector).

This lack of understanding of what landlords want is in my view is partly because in the past they have typically relied on mortgage brokers to sell buy to let mortgages and because they still use the same systems that they use for residential mortgages.

For example, most banks send statements at end of the calendar year not end of the tax year – which is, of course, totally inconvenient for landlords who all have to complete a tax return.

But it is still nice to help private landlords from time to time (though my time to do this is ever more limited and I simply don’t have the time to answer every email.)

Multiple Tenants in a Shared House

One enquirer recently wrote to me enquiring about multiple tenants in a shared house and the situation where there are four co-tenants that are living in a house.

When the lease was up, two of them who were now married wanted to sign the lease without the other two but one of the others says that he is not leaving.

He asked me, “If the lease is signed without the others, do they have any right to stay? If they do stay how can you get rid of them?”

This case highlights one of the dangers with shared houses and HMOS because no matter how you do it this sort of situation does come up a lot.

Basically though, this is not the landlords problem.

The fact is, unless stated otherwise in the agreement all tenants are jointly and severally liable so must all start and end the contract together.

This means they are all in practice individually responsible for whole rent until such time that all of them end the agreement, even if one or more does not live there anymore.

So the onus is on tenants to agree about leaving among themselves and if they can’t, that is tough on them - they should not have entered into the agreement with the others in the first place!

In this instance, if the landlord really wants to force a resolution (and he doesn’t have to), the only way out is for him to give them ALL notice under S21 and follow normal steps to recovery.

Then once the old agreement ends, he can start a new agreement with whoever he likes.

This case is a pretty good example of why shared houses are a headache.

And despite what the promoters of HMOs say, large shared houses involve a lot more of this kind of work which in practice eats into the extra yield you can earn from HMOs and shared houses.

Election Fever

So, the election is on us already and the newspapers are now more biased than ever - reflecting their particular political allegiances.

I was reading the “Telegraph” the other day (someone left it on the train) and after having read it, I can see how readers of it could really feel that we are on the edge of Economic Armageddon in the UK. All caused by “This Labour Government” as the Telegraph would undoubtedly put it.

That’s why I stick to the non political FT - to understand what is really happening in the economy. I love to read it on a Saturday. And though things are bad, they are not that bad!

However, even in the FT, there are some bits I skip.

For example, I can never see the point of studying charts to predict a stock or currency’s future performance.

What happens to a stock’s price, just like in property, is driven by fundamentals and cannot be sensibly predicted by charts in any way.

Well, that’s my view, at least.

MORE ABOUT LETTINGFOCUS AND WHAT WE DO

LettingFocus.com is the home of landlord information.

I’m David Lawrenson, a landlord and property investor myself for over 25 years and author of “Successful Property Letting” – the UK’s top selling commercially published property book for the last 3 years.

Services to Businesses and the Public Sector

Primarily I am a consultant to banks, local authorities, social housing providers and other organisations – helping them with their landlord facing or buy to let product strategies and services.

For example, I help banks improve their buy to let mortgage lending practices and I help housing association / local authorities find private landlords (private rented access schemes, local letting agency models etc.)
I also write for property websites and am regularly quoted by the broadcast media.

Services for Private Landlords

We also find some spare time to help landlords and property investors by coaching them in how to make money in the private rented sector using ways that work, which are ethical, fair to tenants and which involve minimal risk to the investor.
We pride ourselves on giving independent unbiased buy to let advice on either a one-to-one mentoring / coaching basis or through our occasional group seminars. With no links to property firms, developers or bridging loan providers we can advise on where and what type of property to buy for investment and when to buy it. We also show you how to manage tenants properly.

AT OUR WEBSITE LETTINGFOCUS.COM:

THE HOME PAGE OF THIS BLOG click here: Blog

THE HOME PAGE OF OUR MAIN SITE click here: LettingFocus Home Page

For general info on our CONSULTING click here: Consultancy and Seminars

ONE TO ONE PRIVATE CONSULTANCY click here: Property Mentoring

NEXT SEMINAR AND NETWORKING EVENT for Landlords and Property Investors:
Next Property Investment Seminar and Networking Event

We have OFFERS on a range of services and products for landlords too; click here including landlords insurance, tenant referencing, tenancy agreements and more: Services and Products for Landlords

TO READ CLIENT TESTIMONIALS – both commercial and private click here: Testimonials

BUY “SUCCESSFUL PROPERTY LETTING” click here: Buy the Book at Amazon plus anything else you fancy at Amazon.co.uk

To JOIN our Free QUARTERLY NEWSLETTER simply send an email to david@LettingFocus.com - Please note we WILL NOT send spam or sell our mailing list to advertisers!

IF YOU HAVE A SITE WHY NOT LINK TO THIS BLOG OR TO OUR WEBSITE?

IF YOU SELL SERVICES TO LANDLORDS, YOU COULD BE A PARTNER ON OUR AFFILIATE PROGRAMME.

PLEASE GET IN TOUCH!

See our TWITTER PAGE: http://twitter.com/LettingFocus

Copyright of Blog: David Lawrenson 2009. This blog is updated roughly once a week usually on a Monday or Tuesday.

TO VIEW RELATED POSTS select a “Category” at the bottom of this page.

Local Housing Allowance - Tips to Make Sure Rent is Paid by LettingFocus

It’s been a very busy week.
I have been speaking (twice) at the London Landlords Show, plus there was my own Seminar and Networking Event on Tuesday.
On Wednesday, it was off to an excellent meeting with people involved in the private rented sector access schemes and local letting agency models at the Crisis charity offices.

All good stuff!
At my talk at my own seminar, I looked at 12 tips for success if you are letting to tenants on Local Housing Allowance.
Here are 6 of those tips. (All attendees at the Tuesday seminar will be sent the rest. Past and present consultees will also be sent them on request.)

Getting Paid Under LHA

First, get the tenant to sign a disclosure form for the Benefits Service to allow them to share the tenants claim info and progress with you.
Second, make sure the tenant has all the documents they need with them. The form they need to complete asks for lots of documentation so you need to ensure it is all there or else there will be a delay in paying the claim.
Third, ideally go with them when they hand in the form so you can be aware it has actually been handed in and can be aware if (after all your efforts) there was still something missing.
Fourth, be proactive. Contact the Benefits Service often – for example if you are aware of any change in the tenant’s circumstances.
Fifth, if rent is late, apply immediately for the “safeguarding policy” so you can be paid direct as soon as possible.
Sixth, find out what the local authority is like in your area. Speak to them. Ask other landlords.
Some local authorities are very switched on and supportive of landlords and are fully up to speed with all the latest guidelines – which you can read here: http://www.dwp.gov.uk/docs/lha-guidance-manual.pdf Others are not supportive of landlords and are slow at paying LHA claims.

MORE ABOUT LETTINGFOCUS AND WHAT WE DO

LettingFocus.com is the home of landlord information.
I’m David Lawrenson, a landlord and property investor myself for over 25 years and author of “Successful Property Letting” – the UK’s top selling commercially published property book for the last 3 years.

Services to Businesses and the Public Sector

Primarily I am a consultant to banks, local authorities, social housing providers and other organisations – helping them with their landlord facing or buy to let product strategies and services.
For example, I help banks improve their buy to let mortgage lending practices and I help housing association / local authorities find private landlords (private rented access schemes, local letting agency models etc.)
I also provide other services for both sectors as a consultant and I write for property websites and am regularly quoted by the broadcast media.

Services for Private Landlords

For private landlords and other investors in the private rented sector, we do just two London seminars each year.
We also find some spare time to help landlords and property investors by coaching them in how to make money in the private rented sector using ways that work, which are ethical, fair to tenants and which involve minimal risk to the investor.
We pride ourselves on giving independent unbiased buy to let advice on either a one-to-one mentoring / coaching basis or through our occasional group seminars.
With no links to property firms, developers or bridging loan providers we can advise on where and what type of property to buy for investment and when to buy it.
We also show you how to manage tenants properly.

AT OUR WEBSITE LETTINGFOCUS.COM:

THE HOME PAGE OF THIS BLOG click here: Blog
THE HOME PAGE OF OUR MAIN SITE click here: LettingFocus Home Page
For general info on our CONSULTING click here: Consultancy and Seminars
ONE TO ONE PRIVATE CONSULTANCY click here: Property Mentoring
NEXT SEMINAR AND NETWORKING EVENT for Landlords and Property Investors:
Next Property Investment Seminar and Networking Event
We have OFFERS on a range of services and products for landlords too; click here including landlords insurance, tenant referencing, tenancy agreements and more: Services and Products for Landlords
TO READ CLIENT TESTIMONIALS – both commercial and private click here: Testimonials
BUY “SUCCESSFUL PROPERTY LETTING” click here: Buy the Book at Amazon plus anything else you fancy at Amazon.co.uk
To JOIN our Free QUARTERLY NEWSLETTER simply send an email to david@LettingFocus.com - Please note we WILL NOT send spam or sell our mailing list to advertisers!

IF YOU HAVE A SITE WHY NOT LINK TO THIS BLOG OR TO OUR WEBSITE?
IF YOU SELL SERVICES TO LANDLORDS, YOU COULD BE A PARTNER ON OUR AFFILIATE PROGRAMME. PLEASE GET IN TOUCH!See our TWITTER PAGE: http://twitter.com/LettingFocus

Copyright of Blog: David Lawrenson 2009. This blog is updated roughly once a week usually on a Monday or Tuesday.TO VIEW RELATED POSTS select a “Category” at the bottom of this page.

Private Rented Sector Access Schemes - Landlords Should Take a New Look At Letting to Tenants on Local Housing Allowance

I have to admit, I’m the original landlord who preferred my tenants NOT to be on Local Housing Allowance (the now not so new version of Housing Benefit.)
Many years ago I had a tenant hailing from Guadeloupe who was getting housing benefit. (Guadeloupe as a department of France, presumably qualified him for getting this! Not sure I would get my rent paid in Guadeloupe or even France for that matter, but let’s leave that one to the “Daily Mail” for now.)
His rent was paid in the end, but it was always late and altogether it was quite a bit of hassle.
The tenant also had an odd habit of going out and leaving the front door open, which, as you might imagine, was a bit annoying to people in the neighbouring flats.
After that experience, in future, I only let to tenants who are working and had incomes.
And that’s why many landlords shy clear of letting to Benefit Tenants - it’s the fear of non payment of rent, administrative delays at the Town Hall combined perhaps with other prejudices regarding how their property might be looked after by such tenants.
Now, some of these prejudices are unfair – there are many good Benefit Tenants who pay their rent dutifully on time every time.
And on average “Benefit Tenants” stay longer too.
But, the prejudices exist all the same.

LHA – Using Landlords as Guinea Pigs
But what really got landlords cross was the decision by the current Government to replace Housing Benefit with the new system of Local Housing Allowance (or LHA as it is sometimes called) for landlords.
This was rolled out nationally in 2008.
LHA brought in a different way of calculating what was paid out - which we have looked at in other blog posts - but the key difference as far as private landlords were concerned, was that unless the tenant was deemed vulnerable, or was in 8 weeks arrears, the LHA would always be paid to the tenant.
This was a big change from the Housing Benefit system where it could be paid to the landlord if the tenant preferred it that way (and many did).
Now this change only affected private landlords. The lucky old councils and housing associations would still be paid direct under the old system of Housing Benefit!
In other words, as my friend Tom Entwistle of LandlordZone eloquently put it, “the private rented sector was being used as a guinea pig.”
The idea behind the change was to give tenants more financial responsibility: “Let them manage their own budgets” said the Government, loftily (possibly in the style of the ill fated Marie Antoinette - when she was discussing bread and its availability.)

Result – Chaos and Arrears for Some Landlords…….
Well, what’s happened as a result?
Well, many tenants spent the money they got from LHA on something other than the rent.
The result was arrears have risen, landlords have exited this part of the market in droves and both landlords groups and the likes of Shelter and Crisis are calling for a change whereby those tenants who don’t trust their own budgeting skills can once again opt to have the money paid direct to the landlord.
I think this policy reversal could happen eventually even under the current government who brought the original change in. (The Conservatives have already said they would reinstate the right for tenants to elect that payments of their LHA can be made direct to landlords.)
In the meantime, is LHA really that bad?
I’m not so sure.

. …An Opportunity for Other Landlords
I have always known that some landlords specialise in letting to tenants on LHA, and that’s not always because they are letting in areas where the entire population is on benefits either.
So why do they do it?
What do they know that other landlords don’t?
Over the past year, through the consultancy work I do with the public sector with local authorities and housing associations, helping them to understand and attract private landlords though things called “Private Rented Sector Access Schemes”, “Local Letting Agency Models” and the like, I have been surprised by the extent and level of help on offer to private landlords who choose to let to tenant on LHA.
I knew help was there, I just hadn't grasped the extent of it.
It varies by local authority but in many areas there is money to pay you rent in advance, to pay and safeguard deposits and occasionally even landlords finders’ fees.
Plus there is lots of help and advice from the local authority too.

New Rules
Recently, new rules have cut the actual time a tenant can be in arrears before the authorities can pay landlords direct.
And the definition of “Vulnerability” which also triggers direct payments has been eased.
Landlords should look at this sector again, but to make it work for you, you do need to be like the landlords who already let in this sector - very, very clued up on how the LHA system works.
Oh, and you need to be in a place where the local authority is landlord friendly and efficient at processing those LHA claims.

DON'T MISS OUR NEXT LANDLORD SEMINAR, MEETING AND NETWORKING EVENT for Landlords and Property Investors: Next Property Investment Seminar and Networking Event

MORE ABOUT LETTINGFOCUS AND WHAT WE DO

LettingFocus.com is the home of landlord information.
I’m David Lawrenson, a landlord and property investor myself for over 25 years and author of “Successful Property Letting” – the UK’s top selling commercially published property book for the last 3 years.
I help private landlord investors (see more on this below) but these days I’m mainly a consultant to banks, local authorities, social housing providers and other organisations – helping them with their landlord facing or buy to let product strategies and services.
I also write for property websites and am regularly quoted by the media.
I have written articles, guides and documents on letting property and property investing for numerous publications including The Independent, The Telegraph and for quality landlord and property websites.

Services for Private Landlords
For private landlords and other investors in the private rented sector, we do two London seminars each year.
We also find some spare time to help landlords and property investors by coaching them in how to make money in the private rented sector using ways that work, which are ethical, fair to tenants and which involve minimal risk to the investor.
We pride ourselves on giving independent unbiased buy to let advice on either a one to one mentoring / coaching basis or through our occasional group seminars.
With no links to property firms, developers or bridging loan providers we can advise on where and what type of property to buy for investment and when to buy it. We also show you how to manage tenants properly.

AT OUR WEBSITE LETTINGFOCUS.COM:

THE HOME PAGE OF THIS BLOG click here: Blog
THE HOME PAGE OF OUR MAIN SITE click here: LettingFocus Home Page
For general info on our CONSULTING click here: Consultancy and Seminars
ONE TO ONE PRIVATE CONSULTANCY click here: Property Mentoring
NEXT SEMINAR AND NETWORKING EVENT for Landlords and Property Investors:
Next Property Investment Seminar and Networking Event
We have OFFERS on a range of services and products for landlords too; click here including landlords insurance, tenant referencing, tenancy agreements and more: Services and Products for Landlords
TO READ CLIENT TESTIMONIALS – both commercial and private click here: Testimonials
BUY “SUCCESSFUL PROPERTY LETTING” click here: Buy the Book at Amazon plus anything else you fancy at Amazon.co.uk

To JOIN our Free QUARTERLY NEWSLETTER simply send an email to david@LettingFocus.com - Please note we WILL NOT send spam or sell our mailing list to advertisers!

IF YOU HAVE A SITE WHY NOT LINK TO THIS BLOG OR TO OUR WEBSITE?
IF YOU SELL SERVICES TO LANDLORDS, YOU COULD BE A PARTNER ON OUR AFFILIATE PROGRAMME. PLEASE GET IN TOUCH!

See our TWITTER PAGE: http://twitter.com/LettingFocus

Copyright of Blog: David Lawrenson 2009. This blog is updated roughly once a week usually on a Monday or Tuesday.

TO VIEW RELATED POSTS select a “Category” at the bottom of this page.

Private Rented Sector Access Schemes, Local letting Agencies & Choice Based Lettings - A Criticism by LettingFocus

In our consultancy work for housing associations and local authorities, looking at Private Rented Sector Access Schemes and so called "Local Letting Agency Models," we have seen that the public sector provides lots of different incentives such as Rent in Advance Schemes, Deposit Bonds, Finders fees and the like to get landlords to let to people on low income who are dependent on Local Housing Allowance.

The incentives have been assiduously studied and evaluated on cost grounds by the providers. There has been some especially good work by Crisis and Shelter on this.

However, we have not yet seen any piece of really good research which looks in detail at the value to landlords of the different incentive offers that are used by RSLs and local authorities. (Only the National Landlords Association touched on it as part of a wider research piece but it barely scratched the surface of this question.)
The charity Crisis rightly highlighted the danger of "incentive inflation" as RSLs and local authorities compete to get landlords to give them their properties.
This was a step in the right direction but what's the payoff in terms of benefits to the public purse?

In the absence of more research on this, we at the LettingFocus consultancy say that local authorities are in danger of providing offers that may be OK for the the landlord, but which may not be the best option from the taxpayers point of view.

We thought the Rugg Review was super, but even that review missed this important point.

MORE ABOUT LETTINGFOCUS AND WHAT WE DO

LettingFocus.com is the home of landlord information.
Hello, I’m David Lawrenson.
I have been a landlord and property investor myself for over 25 years and am author of “Successful Property Letting” – the UK’s top selling commercially published property book for the last 3 years.
Primarily, I work as a consultant to banks, local authorities, social housing providers and other organisations – helping them with their landlord facing and buy to let product strategies and services.

I also write for property websites and am regularly quoted by the media.
I have written articles, guides and documents on letting property and property investing for numerous publications including The Independent, The Telegraph and for quality landlord and property websites.

AT OUR WEBSITE LETTINGFOCUS.COM:

THE HOME PAGE OF THIS BLOG click here: Blog
THE HOME PAGE OF OUR MAIN SITE click here: LettingFocus Home Page
For general info on our CONSULTING click here: Consultancy and Seminars
ONE TO ONE PRIVATE CONSULTANCY click here: Property Mentoring
NEXT SEMINAR AND NETWORKING EVENT for Landlords and Property Investors:
Next Property Investment Seminar and Networking Event
We have OFFERS on a range of services and products for landlords too; click here including landlords insurance, tenant referencing, tenancy agreements and more: Services and Products for Landlords
TO READ CLIENT TESTIMONIALS – both commercial and private click here: Testimonials
BUY THE BOOK “SUCCESSFUL PROPERTY LETTING” click here: Buy the Book at Amazon plus anything else you fancy at Amazon.co.uk

To JOIN our Free QUARTERLY NEWSLETTER simply send an email to david@LettingFocus.com - Please note we WILL NOT send spam or sell our mailing list to advertisers!

See our TWITTER PAGE: http://twitter.com/LettingFocus

Copyright of Blog: David Lawrenson 2009. This blog is updated roughly once a week usually on a Monday or Tuesday.