No DSS, No Smokers, No Pets

[JustAnotherPoster00]

Sick of seeing those 3 on every single house I look at, I'm disabled (mainly MH related) and I need to move but can't simply because of those

Head - and why should tenants be able to have the lifestyle of a home owner, eh?

And people wonder why landlords aren't widely loved.

So on a mortgage free house you'd expect to pay how much kirinm ?

Because they are not a home owner.

My lifestyle doesn't allow me to have pets either.

Sometimes needs must. Obviously I wouldn't be out on the street but it depends on the person. Our house definitely does not smell of cat wee. In fact we mopped our floor around the cat litter with bleach the other day because I was paranoid it did smell. You can't just put a poor cat on the street or into rescue because it's difficult to rent!

I'd enquire anyway, my parents were told to put all three on the advert for both properties, now both tenants receive dome sort if benefits and one has a dog, although to be fair if they had more people interested they may have waited for someone better, if you have good references they may accept anyway (depending on mortgage/insurance issues) if you have pets then maybe a higher deposit would help persuade as well as the previous reference

What exactly does lifestyle have to do with this conversation? What if your child is poorly and wees on the floor or is sick everywhere? Would you send her to be fostered?

Former LL here. Agree with everyone else about pets and smokers - we had to re-plaster our whole house when we moved in because the old stuff was so deeply impregnated with smoke. WRT housing benefit, this was also a clause in in our mortgage, and it was a question that our insurers asked, too. However, I am aware of tenants and LL who have got around the issue by finding a suitable person to act as guarantor on the tenancy. Not an option for many, I appreciate.

We're debating renting our house out at the moment as we're relocating. I'd love to be able to rent to pet owners but am a little wary of it as all I hear is about the damage, and the fleas and the stink left behind.

I won't want to live in this house again so it doesn't matter that much, except it could cost a lot to put right when we come to sell or if the tenant leaves. That said, it's not a huge house so there'd be a ceiling on how much the repair would be I guess.

the reason I don't let to those on HB.
-a bond certificate (if they cannot afford rent they generally cannot afford a bond) is hell on earth to use to claim against for damages.
-out of a 12 month rental (6 month lease)HB (paid direct to me) was stopped 16 times. they did reinstate and backdate each time but I gave the tenant notice. I could not keep someone on with that record of payment. Tenant left arrears anyway.

• If they're not working or on a low enough income to claim HB if they wreck your property you've got no chance of suing,because they're likely in DRO/DMP land anyway and no court would order them to pay unless it was a couple of quid a month.

I know not everyone on HB is a bad tenant but there are too many risks, I've let to 5 people on HB all but one treated my property as if it was there own (except for the person who I think, accidentally, left one item in the fridge and it looked like a science project gone wrong by the time I sent cleaners in!) The person who treated me the worst as a LL was a working professional, rent was always paid, granted but by the time they left my property had sustained over £15000 worth of damages. Carpet (throughout the house) needed ripping up and replacing costing £1000 for fitting and carpet itself, due to HUMAN shit on the floor, Sink was ripped off the wall and left in the living room, furniture (it was let furnished) was all destroyed by shit and piss, mold, there was spaghetti down the side of the cushions which had gone moldy. Furniture replacing bill (all needed replacing) £7000,The intial cleaning bill was £850, second cleaning bill (getting stuff ripped up, cleaned under carpets etc) was £400. Professionals in to strip the walls £200 plus then repainting £750... I could go on and on. I sued him and now he pays me 15 percent of his salary each month via attachment of earnings. But I wouldn't have that option if I let to someone who was poor enough to need HB and they did the same

We've had to do things that were not palatable for our children just to keep paying the mortgage. So I understand.

Ideally Head, I don't think people should be allowed to own multiple houses. Plenty of people are capable of owning but are prevented in doing so because they pay ridiculous rents - please don't try to claim £1700 for a 2 bedroom flat is justifiable.

You see housing as a business. I see housing as somewhere to live and if I'm paying you £20k a year, the least you could do is let me live in the place in the same way you could.

Your disdain for tenants is clear.

And some of the properties we looked at were horrendous as well with mould all over the bedroom ceiling. That's when I started to think that tenants are seen as the low class. It is very annoying some can get away with charging ridiculous amounts of money for rent so they can make money. Obviously I do sympathise and understand landlords who like doing properties up and renting them out but there should be more equilibrium for people who aren't even on their first home. Our previous landlord hasn't even giving us back our deposit yet because he went on holiday and was then busy evicting one of his other tenants but he was a good landlord when we were paying him £1250 a month!

Tenants are really treated as some sort of underclass it seems

That's a bit of a hysterical overreaction.

DSS - condition of many mortgages that you don't rent to DSS tenants. Surely you don't expect a LL to breach the conditions of the mortgage? If they do that and the mortgage is withdrawn, there will be no home for the tenant.

Smoking - fairly reasonble. It wrecks properties.

Pets - would happily discuss if tenant wanted but would require larger deposit/agreement for tenant to cover deep clean at the end.

It isn't about seeing tenants as an underclass. It is about mutual respect and a business arrangement. At least it was always for me.

i understand its sometimes to do with the mortgage but whose to say someone wont get made redunant in a once stable job

it makes no sense-youre guaranteed an income from benefits

I agree with you hammer. We have paid a larger amount for our cat which we offered. Turns out they owned a cat too!

poster kirinm
no housing crisis where I live, just last week I saw a cluster of properties going for 8-20,000. Why shouldn't I buy multiple homes?

Is it? Have you read the comments here? Tenants pay rent but have massive restrictions on what they can and can't do. How dare a tenant consider having a pet?! How dare a tenant treat the place they're renting as their own home.

I realise that there are a large number of LLs on mumsnet and expect nothing less than broadbrush generalisations about HB or pets.

Stopping smoking would be a good start

How does property being for sale indicate there is no housing crisis?

IT really depends on how much the property is worth. It needs to cover the mortgage.

You see you could invest that money either to buy the house or in the bank or shares. You are aiming for a return, otherwise there is no point in doing so.

A house costs money.

And no I don't have dogs either, even as a home owner, due to work commitments. As I say, needs must.

kirinm why shouldn't people own multiple homes?

Some people work in other places to their family.

poster kirinm
to be fair I assumed that you meant that landlords owning more than one property drove up demand (For houses for sale) therefore driving up the price while there is no alternative supply,
There are lots of cheap houses where I live. Thats the reason most take issue with it, forgetting not all of us live in london or within 100 miles of London (Where the housing crisis is at its peak)
So what IS your issue with me (or anyone else) owning multiple properties/

Our current tenants receive HB. The property is mortgage free so we can accept them. When they first rented the property they were working full time but ill health has meant that they have had to take a break from work and now work reduced hours. We have supported them through the whole process of applying for HB which was an utter nightmare. At one point our tenants were £1000's in arrears as it took the council about 8 months to sort out their HB claim. The tenants were paying what they could but it was a lot less than the usual monthly rent.

If we were reliant on receiving the full rent every month to pay a mortgage this sort of situation would have been untenable and we would have started s8 eviction proceedings as soon as rent arrears hit the threshold.

I have done voluntary work with people facing eviction in the past and HB delays were a major issue. Once London borough was trying to evict council house tenants for non payment of rent when the same council was taking a year to process HB claims (the Courts were not impressed and at one point the judges refused to hear cases from the council where there was an outstanding HB claim)

I can see why some landlords won't touch DSS.

As a homeowner with a dog, I'd never rent to a pet-owner. No way. She completely destroyed a corner of our garden (as well as all the rugs), I have to keep an eye on her constantly while she's out there and I wouldn't trust anyone else to care as much as I do.

Non-smokers can't understand how much smoking destroys the top layer of a house because they're inured to it.

Tenants pay rent but have massive restrictions on what they can and can't do. How dare a tenant consider having a pet?! How dare a tenant treat the place they're renting as their own home.

I'm a lodger & I wouldn't have moved into my current place if my LL smoked - outside or otherwise. Even if someone smokes at the back door or whatever the stench is still going to drift in / come in on their clothes, & it's disgusting.