Becoming a landlord?

[Grandadwasthatyou]

Have recently acquired a small flat and have decided not to sell but to keep it and rent it out. I have no knowledge in this area at all. I really don't want to use a letting agent as have plenty of time on my hands for sorting out any problems which may arise.
Where do I start? Furnished, unfurnished? Do I need to take out special insurance, how do I go about holding the tenants deposit, length of tenancy, inventories etc etc.
In short is there a site which will tell me everything I need to know and are there any landlords out there who can advise on pitfalls etc. The one positive thing is there will be no mortgage so I am not terribly worried if there are gaps between tenants.

Join the Residential Landlords Association...tons of information

This site is pretty helpful
www.gov.uk/renting-out-a-property

Landlord zone is a good website. There are lots of legally required checks you have to do. Plus income tax. If your rent takes you over the 40% tax threshold I'm not sure the income outweighs the hassle, but that's individual choice I guess.

www.rla.org.uk/
I would recommend joining this association - you can claim the joining fee against tax. They have lots of papers work/information/leaflets including tenancy forms. They have a great information line -they advised me on filling in form for eviction so well that I didn't a solicitor (so that saved me a lot of money) There is a forum which discusses all issues & you can attend training. This site will have information on step by step of doing things in a legal way. personally I wouldn't do furnished - you have you make sure furnishings conform to safety rules - you will have to use deposit schemes for tenants deposit (& its about a months rent maximum & you are not legally allowed to ask for any other extra deposit or cost except the rent) There are strict rules on things like gas servicing & gas safety & eviction. You need to do your home work - be careful about finding tenants & check their references etc - & remember you need to do tax forms so keep all paperwork. Basically, be careful about your paperwork & do your research.

& when you reckon on profit from rent - (especially if you have a mortgage & if you do have one it will have to be one for rentals) think in terms of 10 months rent a year & 2 months for expenses & gaps in tenancy & don't forget you will need insurance that covers for rental & that costs more!

Think twice about doing this. Very little scope for profit and a potential world of expense, heartache and stress.

In Wales (don't know about England) you have to be registered with rent smart.
Consider what you will do if your tenant wrecks your property (speaking from experience)

Haha most people don't decide to start running a business which is what you will be doing without doing research or hiring professionals to help.

Agree with BMW6 - this is not something to take on casually, IMO.

A (good) agent isn't just there to sort out possible problems - they are there because they know (or should know) exactly what your responsibilities and rights are, and what the tenant's responsibilities and rights are.

You can't always take lots of time to sort out an issue, either. If you own your home, you might (for example) take a month or two to sort out a problem, but when people rent, part of what they are paying for is to have problems sorted within a reasonable time frame, and often that means sorting problems faster than you might find easy. For example, you might be happy to wait a couple of weeks or a month to get a dud cooker mended, or to sort out an unexpectedly expensive break down of the heating system. As a landlord, you can't really do that. So you don't just need time - you need cash reserves (just in case), and you need a good awareness of what you can ask tenants to wait for and what is considered essential.

I'd also say (and I am a tenant) that I would be terrified about those tenants who take the piss. What will you do if they need to be evicted? How will you cope if they are causing a disruption and the council wants you to get rid of them? Etc.

Thank you all. For those who suggested going with an agent initially I think you are right until I have some experience behind me.

Phew! I think you really should. Good luck with it.

I’ve ran two rentals..didn’t use an agent and I’ve had no problems.
I recommend unfurnished...there’s less to go wrong or need to replace if you rent u furnished
I used an estate agent as a tenant finder, which is good as a good one will vet the tenant
After paying that fee, the rental money is mine and the tax and.
I only have one now..there was no mortgage on either of them. I inherited them
I charge a fair rent and if there’s a problem I attend to it immediately or within twelve hours.
My tenants can ring my plumber if there’s a problem and I can’t be reached.

If you go with an agent...it still comes back to you to fix the problem
Build up a good team..plumber, electrician, carpenter,
Locksmith, decorator....that’s all you need.

..money is mine and taxmans I meant to say.

Oh and I haven’t put up rent in ten years.

Have you thought about approaching the local councils housing dept.

They can take the property for a certain number of years.

It is not as much as you would get renting privately but it is a guaranteed monthly income, no void periods and there isn’t a problem if you get tenants that trash the place as the council hand it back in the same state you leased it to them.

Definitely get involved with the RLA or NLA (who are now joining forces - great news for landlords) NLA does regional meetings which can be handy to connect with other landlords locally, who may be able to pass on some regional knowledge. I think local councils show up sometimes, which can be useful if there's going to be licensing/planning changes in your area.

As a first timer, would echo PP and suggest you go with an agent, but do familiarise yourself with the facts too. There's so many legislative requirements, and any cock ups (human error or otherwise,) generally land at the landlords door.

There's some really good checklists available online, work through them with your agent and make sure you're 100% happy that everything has been done, and done in the right order (documents issued on time etc)

Administrative slips that seems really simple, like not issuing the right paperwork at the right time, can really come back to bite you on the arse!