Question for landlords

[Dobbysgotthesocks]

If you had a tenant enquiring about renting your property would you be more or less inclined to rent to them if you were told upfront about their cancer diagnosis?
Or would knowing about a diagnosis put you off renting to someone with a cancer diagnosis.

Ability to pay up to 12 months rent upfront is there.

So far cancer diagnosis has not been disclosed to any prospective landlords or estate agents.

I wouldn’t expect to be told about your health issues - but to be honest the 2 dogs would be a no from me. One dog we would possibly say yes to but not two.

Off topic but I'd never accept 12 months rent upfront no matter what else was going on. It would make me wonder why a tenant didn't want me to be in touch for 12 months. I realise this is an unpopular opinion by the previous replies and your circumstances.

I wish you all the best OP :)

Just seen about the two dogs-that wouldn't put me off :) happy to be one of the few that accepts people with animals.

I've had far more damage done from tenant's children than their pets and I've had plenty of tenants with both/one or the other!

I would assume it's the dogs that are the issue.

I would not expect a prospective tenant to disclose their health diagnosis. (Dogs would put me off as neighbours would complain).

im so sorry you’re going through this with your health.

you need assistance and the rental market is awful. My ex only got a flat as he offered 6 months up front and the landlord rewarded him by putting up the rent dramatically after that 6 months.

i wish you well.

It wouldn’t be a permanent option but are there any holiday let’s or holiday annexes who would let to you over winter?
some annexes (like the one with the property I bought) have a max stay of 28 days but if someone was desperate and I didn’t have any bookings I’d take them for 28days at a cheaper rate (I’m in the north)

As a LL I'd be worried about how you'll sustain your income during your chemo if you're self employed.
It's the "self employed" that would concern me more than the cancer per se.
Are you concerned about that yourself? Or do you have savings to sustain you? Depending on the type of chemo you have, it can be brutal, or you'll sail through it.

I'm so sorry to hear of your situation. We are a family of 4 and have also been given notice to leave with nowhere to go.

I don't know about you but where I am our council will give us somewhere to live when the time comes to being evicted if we don't have anywhere else to go.

It is so stressful. I wish you good luck in finding a secure home and your cancer treatment.

I don't at the moment need chemo. That might change. I'm on a hormonal medication which whilst it makes me tired doesn't prevent me working. I may need surgery in due course.
My earning potential has decreased slightly but I'm hopefully not going to be off sick for months.
I also have some savings and family support.

My parents have offered to give me 12 months rent to make sure I am ok financially.
So no I'm not worried about it right now. I can't afford to worry about it too.

I’m so sorry your going through this.

I don’t think you should disclose anything if you feel it would affect your chances. How is it any different to planning a pregnancy and losing an income during maternity leave or becoming a SAHM.

In saying that however, my tenant has cancer, he was upfront when he applied. He lost work initially due to covid lockdowns, then was too sick for a while and then couldn’t pay rent due to the cost of trial treatments. He is paying again now but there is about 6 months arrears owing that we may or may not get back. We are fortunate to not need the rent to cover mortgage payments, we chose him because my husband is a big softie and we knew it was the right thing to do. He is the most easy going tenant, fixes things around the house instead of asking us to do it, never complains. So for us, we were more inclined but I suspect we are the minority simply due to our personal circumstances.

Keep that years rent in your parents account - if you later want to claim UB.

I don't at the moment need chemo. That might change. I'm on a hormonal medication which whilst it makes me tired doesn't prevent me working. I may need surgery in due course.
My earning potential has* decreased slightly but I'm hopefully not going to be off sick for months. I also have some savings and family support*

My parents have offered to give me 12 months rent to make sure I am ok financially
So no I'm not worried about it right now. I can't afford to worry about it too.

So in that case, I would say your cancer is irrelevant