DSS Tenants and Pets Considered “subject to guarantees”

Published 15/08/2012

Mark Alexander, landlord since 1989 and founder of Property118

If you want to get your phone ringing off the hook next time you advertise a property to let just add the words “DSS Tenants and Pets Considered subject to guarantees.”

In this readers letter yesterday several landlords shared their horror and dare I say naivety of the law in some of the comments they left.

DSS tenants It is not a criminal offence for a person not to pay their rent, no more so than refusing any other household bills, perhaps with the exception of taxes. You will not go to prison for failing to pay your gas or leccy bill, nor your phone bill.

Yes, you stand a good chance of damaging your credit history if you don’t pay your bills and in extreme cases you may even be declared bankrupt but off to prison you are NOT.

Like it or lump it, they are the rules we all play by.

Therefore, if you are worried about letting your property to a tenant who might not pay their rent or might damage it or have a pet that damages it you have three choices:-

Refuse to let your property to them
Take the risk and suffer the consequences
Protect against your risks

It’s all very well knowing that you COULD make somebody bankpupt if they damaged your property or failed to meet their committments but how much will that cost and will you be any better off as a result?

The answer is really, REALLY simple. Choose option 1) or 3).

Let me expand on option 3) a bit.

Anybody can find themselves in a position where they can’t afford to pay the rent. They could lose their job, their partner could lose their job, they could be long term sick, their partner could leave them etc.

So how can landlords protect themselves without saying NO to DSS tenants or tenants with Pets?

Simples!

Say YES, subject to tenants being able to get a guarantor who passes credit referencing and who you can take Rent Guarantee Insurance against.

OK, so lots of tenants will say they can’t and that’s fine. I’d love to be able to finance a 100 metre yacht but chances are I’d get declined – such is life

However, in the same way that some people can get finance for a 100 metre yacht, DSS tenants and people with pets can also get guarantors.

Trust me, if you add these words “DSS Tenants and Pets Considered subject to guarantees” to your next advertisement you will have more telephone calls than you can possibly cope with.

When you give it a try and don’t know what to do next due to the phone ringing off the hook, email your question to me or post it as a comment below.

It’s not rocket science is it?

PS – You can arrange referencing of guarantors and 12 months rent guarantee insurance for less than £100 these days.

PPS – tenants with pets and DSS tenants who can get guarantors tend not to move out. They pay their rent and stay pretty much forever! WHY? because they can’t find another landlords that will take them, that’s why

About Mark Alexander
Mark and his family have been investing in property since 1989, initially in the Norwich area but more recently across the length and breadth of England. Mark created Property118.com as a social network for landlords with a vision of becoming the UK's best respected online property community. Mark is also a freelance internet marketing consultant to law firms Email - mark@property118.com

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