Tips on being a landlord

[hellohellooo]

Hello all

My parents house has been vacant for a few years now

A friends colleague wants to move in

He wants to paint and put in a new flloor
I willl of course pay for everything

How do I keep this all formal so that I ensure he does not do extra work and could claim to not owe rent (if that's even a thing)??

I'm new to this

I have a contract to be signed
Checks every six months
Landlord insurance
Photo Id for all tenants

What else am I missing?

Should I give a receipt if I am giving them money for doing the floor??

Not done this before so please go easy on me

Get a letting agent.
pay them to sort it.
it’s far too easy to make a mistake and get it wrong.

Don’t expect to make any money in the short term - see it as investment in a pension.

Great idea

Thank you

Sell the house, it will be easier.

Can't sell the house

Other family members have decided against that

I just want to ensure somehow they won't have a 'right' to the house if they do work on. It

As it’s your first and only property, don’t spend the profit and instead put it aside for any unexpected repairs on the property.

Who does the house actually legally belong to then? Because if it's not only yours, then that surely opens up a whole host of issues for renting it out as well. It sounds like a nightmare waiting to happen tbh.

I inherited a rental property from my parents so I am an 'accidental' landlord. I use a Lettings Agent because I'm so worried about getting something wrong. Their fee is worth it for the peace of mind. I second the advice of putting a large chunk of the income into savings for unexpected repairs etc.

I agree. I'm an accidental landlord and I'm currently messing it up. Give it to an agent. They are experts.

Yes great idea

So the joint decision in family was to rent out and not sell

Does this work need doing? I wouldn't be paying for new flooring just because a prospective tenant wants it.

I rent informally off family, I wouldn't dream of asking them to pay for cosmetic features just because I want them.

You could ask the Agent to liaise with the tenant re the repairs etc that they are willing to do. You will need to pay for the materials but I don't think it would be common to pay the tenant for their time in actually doing the work. But the Lettings Agent can have that conversation for you, hopefully minimising any awkwardness as the tenant is someone you know.

Yes very true

In one room yes

Don't forget that any income you get from rental is added onto your income on tax return for HMRC.

Use a lettings agent if you can't sell up, being a landlord is a nightmare these days. I plan to sell all mine.

Yes !!!

I use an online platform (Openrent but there are others) to do everything so it's all legal and cheaper than a bricks and mortar agent. They sort out the holding deposit etc

EPC
Gas safety check
Electric safety check
Check more often than 6 months

The fact that you even need to ask this is worrying.
Either you have a proper legal landlord and Tenant relationship or don't let them live there. In fact its probably best if you don't, being a Landlord isn't easy at all.
everyone I know with fewer than 5 properties has got out

Via openrent as a pp said. They do it much cheaper and do credit checks and get references.
I go on gut instincts with tenants. Have you met this prospective one?

Fabulous idea

Great!!!!

Yes quarterly checks?

Yes

They have very good references

I used to act for landlords evicting tenants. It’s very easy to come unstuck if you don’t know what you’re doing.

1. Ensure you have a written Assured Shorthold Tenancy drawn up. Make sure your rent payment dates coincide with the monthly rental period i.e. the 1st of each month. I think the minimum rental period is 6 months (the fixed term). After this, you either sign a new agreement or it continues on a rolling monthly basis.
2. Research your obligations under the Tenancy Deposit Scheme. You must provide certain prescribed information to your tenant and ensure their deposit is paid into a recognised scheme. If you fail to do both these steps, you will be unable to serve notice and your tenant can sue you for three times the amount of the deposit.
3. Research your obligations around gas certificates and other safety checks.
4. You’ll need landlord insurance.
5. You’ll need to maintain the property. Be prepared for calls at any time day or night because the boiler has packed up etc.
6. You cannot stop your tenant acquiring security of tenure, even if they do no work on the property. You cannot evict them within the fixed term without good reason e.g. rent arrears or some other breach of the tenancy.
7. You can serve 2 months notice at the end of the fixed term (a s21 notice). The notice must expire at the end of a monthly period. If you get the date wrong, the notice is invalid and you have to start again.
8. If the tenant fails to vacate at expiry of the notice, you must issue possession proceedings and obtain a possession order from the court. If the tenant still refuses to leave, you have to instruct high court enforcement officers. Costs to evict are upwards of £1,500. Plus lost rent for several months if they’ve stopped paying you.
9. You’re not allowed to discriminate against tenants on Housing Benefit but many landlords prefer tenants who are paying privately as they are more likely to be able to rehouse themselves and less likely to require eviction.

If you think you can manage all that, great. But you might prefer to pay a letting agent to deal with it all.