To let my property through the council

[Haveaproperty]

Name changed for my own reasons.
I have a property that I let and I am thinking of letting it through the council. The rent is the right money and it will be a private let but to working families on universal credit. The council source the tenant, sort their deposit and then the tenancy is handed over to me.
I am thinking this is actually quite a good thing to do as there arent many good properties in the area that are 4 bed to let and people need housing. I also have it on the market through an agent but no takers yet(only been on for 2 weeks).
I am wondering if I should go for it, does anyone have good or bad experiences to share of letting a property through the council.
I don't want speculative comments about things that might go wrong or some sort of debate on what is right or wrong with housing or whatever.
Just lived experiences if anyone that either lets their property or lets a property through the council and your experiences. Hopefully good ones. That can help me make a decision.

It's something I've done for several years. Just check with your landlord insurance - I had to change company as the original one wouldn't cover it.

That sounds like a lovely idea, op. A family who would never be able to afford to could have a home because of you ❤️

Oh thats a good point thanks. Any pitfalls or has it been generally good? Thanks

If you are in Wales they guarantee the rent (Leasing Scheme Wales), and will give you funding to bring up to lettable standard.

Oh thats a good point thanks. Any pitfalls or has it been generally good? Thanks

The pluses and minuses depend on the detail of the scheme.

Previously the one where they guaranteed the rent (so basically the council paid me and then they dealt with the tenants rent) and dealt with repairs (obviously at cost) was the best scheme.

Currently it's private letting and I can no longer pay to access the councils repair team because of their own cutbacks. Tenants still, understandably, expect council repair speed though (and round here they were very good) and that is expensive.

The big upside for me was that tenants could accept a social housing place if they were offered it regardless of their tenancy with me because the housing officer always had several more people wanting to move in. So people weren't stuck with double rent, or me with a broken tenancy and the dilemma of chasing rent. It works well for everyone.

The one thing I would say is ask hard questions if they ever want to buy. I've just went through the process of being close to selling to my council (which is absolutely logical for them) and it's fallen through. For the fourth time. Again "budgets don't allow at the moment". I won't be entertaining it again as it costs me money every time.

I have a BTL and turned down a 5yr council offer based on the experience of a friend . He let to the council who had a young family in there and for the first few months all was well but then he started getting concerned calls from the neighbours about noise , antisocial behaviour and randomly, water leaks . It turns out the mother had got a new not very nice boyfriend who was causing disruption . I’m not saying for one minute all tenants will be like that but this case the attractive package from the council didn’t stop the constant complaints from his old neighbours .

Yes these are generally good deals they will made good any damage before returning the property to you.

it’s illegal for your insurer to refuse to allow you to rent to people who claim housing related benefits so make sure you tell them that if they try it on.

most landlords who are desperate to do this find there aren’t enough councils willing to pay them, so def take advantage!

He should’ve ignored the neighbours it’s nothing to do with him. He doesn’t sound very experienced?

Letting one person's one experience decide for you is madness

Think how many LL's have bad tenants - if folks let one experience sway them nobody would be a LL

Yes exactly. I know people that have let privately and it has turned very sour. But we were so lucky with our last tenants I am worried we were spoiled. They were the lovliest people and we had such a nice relationship with them. Tenants from all walks of life can be good or bad, same as landlords!!

This is what we are being offered. The council are introducing the tenant then it is a private let. It sounds good on paper. Going to ask some more questions tomorrow. Thanks for the info :)

You think a landlord should have ignored water leaks? That could end up costing him a fortune to put right.

A friend of DP's did it.

Took four years to get the house back from a short term let (it was the first one) and then it had to be completely gutted and what was left of the kitchen and bathroom rebuilt/floorboards replaced where they were soaked through - some parts this was due to multiple dogs, the rest were where the outgoing people showed their displeasure by ripping the sinks out and leaving the washing machine tap open. They had to start legal action against the council in the end, which with the repairs, wiped out the income they'd received.

They promptly sold it rather than risk having to do all of that again.

The council take care of this under the agreement. He hasn’t understood the agreement he signed. The council will contact him if necessary, not the neighbours

The house a couple of doors from my daughter, was let this way. I'm afraid it didn't go well. DD had to call the police to huge fights twice, and had to endure loud music and the smell of weed constantly.

At least if you find a tenant yourself, you can check references.

That's awful. Our prkperty was our family home and I have a lot of memories there. My two children grew up there and our last tenant had her two children there too. I realy want it to be enjoyed by a nicr family and not destroyed.
Do you know what kind of tenancy they agreed?

With this deal from the council you can meet the tenants and do the viewings and show them round yourself. I think only a working family in universal credit would be able to afford the rent.

Only that it sounded exactly like yours, just with short term lets as an 'introduction' so they weren't tied to a long term contract with a single unscreened tenant from the outset. They definitely thought they were doing something good to help people who couldn't pass credit checks at the outset compared to going for the private rental market - and the council assured them everything would be taken care of properly.

Oh thanks for the additional info, what a horrible nightmare for them. Definitely will consider this too. A lot to think about.

The thing is with the Renters Rights Bill going through ATM if the tenants do turn out to be difficult or annoy neighbours you can't ask them to leave. In the past I've given the benefit of the doubt and given accommodation to single parents with DC. They are only more of a risk because they have one income and if they lose their job they maybe can't pay their rent whereas with two working parents if one loses their job the other can still pay the rent. I can't take that risk anymore and will only let to two parent families. When I rent out my houses I let EA do financial vetting to see if they pass the credit check and check for CCJ's too. EA comes back and gives me the choice of tenants giving me basic details about if they work and what industry. Last time 13 families wanted the house I had to let. It's very hard to pick one family because in reality I think they'd probably all be good tenants.

OP you need to clarify what the council are doing and what you’re signing up for. Being introduced to tenants is nothing, they’re acting as a cheap estate agency. Do it or don’t do it, it’s a nothing decision.

”letting your property to the council” is completely different. Your agreement is with the council who maintain the property and deal with tenancy issues. You effectively forget about it until the agreement comes to an end. If you chose this it’s important that you don’t care who lives in the property- it’s nothing to do with you.

Don’t do it.
All good until it isn’t. And then it REALLY isn’t.

actually no. He shouldn’t have ignored the neighbours. I have one flat I let and we had one couple who were very noisy and antisocial. They we frequently told to reduce noise and this worked for a while. As the landlord you have a responsibility to speak to your tenants. Everyone has the right to peaceful enjoyment of their home.

To clarify, are the council finding the tenants (possibly from their council housing waiting list), helping fund the deposit, but then you’ll receive the rent directly from the tenants and will be dealing with all the maintenance etc?

Or will the council be effectively taking over the property from you, so they will be responsible for managing the property, all maintenance and repairs, up to evicting tenants if needed? So your involvement would purely be receiving the rental income?

Can be very hard to get tenants out if you ever need the property back.