Tenants won’t move out…how does this work?

[SisforSarah]

Explain to me how this works please. Tenants moved in 2 years ago, it was a long let. The landlord served notice over 6 months ago. They can’t find anywhere else to rent or buy (they are in a particularly busy property hotspot) so are refusing to leave indefinitely, and apparently that’s legal. So the landlord can’t sell his property and benefit from the inflated prices, or move back into his house. How long can they stay there? I’m a bit dumbstruck at this? What would happen if the landlord needed the money from the house sale for something else? Would he be forced to remortgage? I am neither this tenant or landlord or a tenant or landlord of any other property.

@thecatneuterer

All that will happen is that more landlords will learn how the process actually works and will stop being so short sighted and will actually get insurance against it happening.

To repeat my post above: LL insurance (for non payment of rent/eviction) is extremely difficult to get and is only offered on the most gold-plated tenants with very high credit scores and who are earning a huge multiple of the monthly rent. Really the only tenants you could get it for are the sort of tenants you would be unlikely to need it for.

The last house I rented out none of the applicants would have been eligible for me to get insurance on them.

The vast majority of tenancies cannot be insured.

What rubbish Where I work we over landlords legal conver (for cover against eviction) and landlords rent guarantee And it's not hard to buy it if you want that cover and you've got the money to buy it then you buy it it's as simple as that!

@myheartskippedabeat

I don't mean to be funny but as a tennant why would you deliberately try to be awkward especially if you needed a reference for another house.

Well if I can't find a house with an LL that will accept me, to give that reference for, it's pretty meaningless. I've never been deliberately 'awkward' and indeed on all but one occasion have been able to leave by the date stipulated. The one time I couldn't, I didn't have anywhere to go, choices were either too expensive so I didn't pass the financial vetting, or I was turned down because of my DD or my job, or because I had tax credits top ups (and worked ft) and without current LL releasing deposit before I moved out, might well have ended up staying until evicted by bailiffs. I didn't like that prospect any more than the LL did. I was a good tenant, paid rent without fail and didn't trash the place, yet faced the judgement and stress of dealing with bailiffs, who aren't known for their kind and understanding disposition.

@purpleme12 well you are completely wrong. Yes some agents offer stuff like that, but that tends to be the rent guarantee schemes, which are a completely different kettle of fish and which I wouldn't touch with a bargepole.

As I've said, post pandemic it is more or less impossible to get insurance unless you are very high earning tenants indeed. I spent two days phoning every bloody company on the internet. They all said no.

What are you looking for?

I don't see why it's any more okay not to pay rent than it is to waltz out of the grocery store without paying for food.

@thecatneuterer i mean what policy are you looking for? what do you need it to cover?

@purpleme12 non payment of rent and eviction costs. I understand it used to be easier, pre covid, but I never took it out then as I've always rented out rooms, rather than whole houses, and firstly it never seemed worth it and secondly I tend to rent to new arrivals in the UK, normally here to do internships and such, and they, having no credit history at all would never be eligible.

But now I've decided to rent a whole house and really, really wanted to get non payment of rent insurance, particularly with the new covid rules making eviction take about a year longer than it used to, but unless I could find tenants earning around £65,000 (on rent of £1800 pcm) and receiving no benefits and with a perfect, more or less, credit score, which I couldn't, it was impossible.

[quote thecatneuterer]@JustLyra Well you were lucky. I've tried previously and not managed it. And post Covid it's been impossible. I spent a couple of days doing nothing but trying to find insurance and would have paid huge premiums, but there was just none available. Many brokers told me that post Covid most policies had been withdrawn.[/quote]
Do you always rudely right off things other people do that you don’t manage to find as luck?

Nothing lucky in it. I’ve always spent time, effort and money making sure I have proper insurance cover for things like that in place because I have often let out to people a lot of landlords wouldn’t.

Obviously insurance companies are going to be less generous with policies for new customers post covid. It’s basically the equivalent of trying to insure after the flood.

The two companies that insure mine both renewed without any issues.

The rent guarantee when i work would be applicable regardless of whether the tenants are working or students or on benefits and regardless of how much they are earning or their credit score. it would be added on to the buildings insurance if you wanted it. as long as you weren't renting to asylum seekers or refugees. the rent guarantee covers for the things you mentioned in your post.

@purpleme12 Yes but rent guarantee schemes are completely different and you are basically handing over control of the property to the agent. They in effect become the tenant and there are lots and lots of pitfalls to it. That was a big thing on You and Yours a while ago about it.

Rent guarantee insurance and rent guarantee schemes are not the same thing at all.

@JustLyra Well you are implying that I didn't try hard. I did. It simply wasn't available. As I said, I understand that pre Covid things were easier, but to get it this year I would have needed tenants earning at least £65,000k not receiving any benefits, and with an excellent credit score. No tenants like that applied for this property.

What agent?
The rent guarantee policy where i work doesn't specify any agent?
Are you referring to letting agent?
That's up to you if you do it through a letting agent

@Cyw2018 You are playing a risky game, I used to do referencing when I was at uni. We’d reject people due to arrears, non payment and refusing to move out. Most insurance requires a referencing pass.

I have also worked as an estate manager running country estates, we did thorough background checks and would speak to past landlords. I’d never have accepted anybody who had refused to move out. A CCJ for non payment of rent is also an automatic rejection.

In fact even companies that promoted themselves on the internet as offering rent and eviction insurance to tenants on benefits and such, when I contacted them, said 'ah no, we don't do that anymore, cos Covid ..'

[quote thecatneuterer]@JustLyra Well you are implying that I didn't try hard. I did. It simply wasn't available. As I said, I understand that pre Covid things were easier, but to get it this year I would have needed tenants earning at least £65,000k not receiving any benefits, and with an excellent credit score. No tenants like that applied for this property.[/quote]
No, I didn’t. I simply pointed out that it’s bloody rude to dismiss someone else’s work and effort as mere luck, which is what you did.

@purpleme12 So you don't mean a rent guarantee scheme. You mean an insurance policy against non payment of rent? That's what I haven't been able to find, since Covid. What's the insurance company? What's the multiple they insist on (eg do the tenants need to earn five times the rent)? And do they insure tenants receiving UC?

@JustLyra well now you're just being ridiculous - 'you were lucky' is a perfectly normal turn of phrase. So did you get this insurance post pandemic?

@JustLyra And I'm sure renewing and getting new cover post pandemic are completely different things.

it is called a rent guarantee scheme. but yes it cover non payment of rent. as i said before it covers what you said you wanted in your previous post. it also includes landlords legal cover which includes eviction of tenants. you have to have your buildings insured there and add on this policy to it. so you would have on your buildings policy whether you are letting to working people or students or people on benefits. as long as that was on there correctly which is simple then no problem because the insurance company has the right info. the actual rent guarantee scheme doesn't ask any questions about whether they're working or on benefts or how much they earn etc etc if you are letting the property out on a tenancy agreement then you can put it on there. pm me if you want me to give you the place details

@thecatneuterer Let Alliance are offering a rent guarantee, you need to use them for referencing though I believe

[quote thecatneuterer]@JustLyra well now you're just being ridiculous - 'you were lucky' is a perfectly normal turn of phrase. So did you get this insurance post pandemic?[/quote]
You really are rude.

Good luck with your landlording. Sounds like you might be one of the ones that need it.

i have just looked up the definition of rent guarantee scheme via google because of your comments and i have to say it is different on the online definition to the one we sell.

i found

What is a rent guarantee scheme?
With a rent guarantee scheme a landlord will sign their property to a management company or letting agent, who will then sublet the property and pay a guaranteed fixed monthly payment to the landlord. Companies that offer a rent guarantee will pay you each month, regardless of whether the property is in a void period.

the one i'm talking about is called a rent guarantee scheme but nothing about landlord signing anything over or anything like that!

@purpleme12 So what is it then. If it's sold as an add on to buildings insurance then yes, it is normal rent and eviction insurance. I think it used to be reasonably easy to get but post pandemic it isn't. Also, as I mentioned, they need to assess that the rent is 'affordable', which in my case would have meant my tenants needed to earn a minimum of around £65,000.

@purpleme12 what you described from your workplace was what was more commonly called a rent guarantee scheme before it was something agents did.

The first rent guarantee scheme I ever paid for was laughed at by the letting agent I used ag the time as “a stupid idea because who’d pay you for it being empty”. Said agents (who I ditched long ago) now do agent let rent guarantee scheme like so many.