Renting parents property

I’d sell, no question. You could be lucky, but being a landlord can be a colossal PITA - and a nightmare if you are unlucky with tenants.

And the doing-up of the house could take a huge amount of time and cause a lot of hassle too, even if you don’t actually do any of the work yourself - speaking from experience here! Finding/organising tradesmen, choosing everything from paint colours to kitchen units to carpets - just not worth it in your circs IMO,

Yes, absolutely rent it. We rented DM’s for nine years. Indeed, it was the finance officer at DM’s Council who added it to our list of option and suggested it was a route to explore. It does mean you have to clear the house when she is still alive which we found a lot easier

I would rent my parents rather than sell

It would need a furniture upgrade but then would rent for £2000 a month- maybe re tiling of bathrooms- it was a BTL before they bought to 15 years ago

They have £500k in bank and so not an issue paying for care

Next door is rented to pay care fees. We’ve had 3 lots of lovely neighbours.

It’s now up for sale. The tenant doesn’t want to leave - but assume he will have to.

I can see the new buyer wanting to extend and we’ll have months of building dust to contend with.

Sell it. Huge hassle to rent it out, you have to get it into rentable condition, it can take time to get it back again from the tenant and then you have to get it into sellable condition again and will want it to be without a tenant in when you sell it. You will probably get a better return from selling it and investing the proceeds.

My siblings were keen to do this when my Mum went into care. They did the sums and it just didn't add up.

You may be in a different situation, but even then I would be wary and more inclined to keep life simple.

My DSIL didnt do up her parents and deeply regret its
£650k on care fees and a house that is in poor condition
With hindsight she would have done up the house as a priority (she had home care until the end)

You can use the money to update it. This may help when it comes for sale and it not seen as a deprivation of assets if reasonable

What condition is it in?
Things like windows, central heating etc What EPC does it have?
Look up the minimum standards for landlords

It can be a good idea to rent if it is a modern property but harder if not

Remember that income rental is taxable and so you need to look at the tax position of your parents

If you genuinely think it’s in their best interests to invest some money into bringing the property up to scratch for renting out; and you consult with them/consider prior wishes and everyone close to them and take professional advice - then I don’t see why not.

remember they’ll have to pay income tax on the rent even if it’s going directly to pay their care home fees

I think do the sums, get some quotes and get professional advice and consider if you want the extra admin managing the property for them.

I would sell it. Being a landlord is very difficult when you are experienced. There are so many traps, legal requirements, nightmare tenants and Agents.

It is unlikely that you could use your parent’s money for the renovations. The accounting and legal fees alone to access the money are horrendous.