Checks needed for DSS / LHA tenant?

Reply to the comment left by "Rosalind " at "25/01/2015 - 20:03":

Not sure what council you are with but as I alluded to in a previous post the housing benefit regulations changed in 2011 and it enables me to get all my rents paid direct from day 1 now. No more of this waiting for them to get into 8 weeks arrears.
.

DSS !!!! - No, no, no, no......for me anyway......

But if you MUST !....
Then, as already suggested, check all the social sites you can, google their names and addresses, and even the mobile numbers they have, you may be surprised at what it turns up.
And the electoral register can reveal interesting patterns of where they used to live.
And yes, check if that house was really sold by checking out rightmove or zoopla, perhaps.

One chap I knew ripped out the door frames from the walls (not my tenant), amongst other things,
...and another chap, my tenant's boyfriend who didn't even live there, would break off my car's wing mirrors, presumably he just had a chip on his shoulder...

It is always good to learn from your mistakes,
....but even better to learn from other's mistakes !

Reply to the comment left by "Jeremy Smith" at "29/01/2015 - 13:04":

``DSS !!!! – No, no, no, no……for me anyway……
One chap I knew ripped out the door frames from the walls (not my tenant), amongst other things,
…and another chap, my tenant’s boyfriend who didn’t even live there, would break off my car’s wing mirrors, presumably he just had a chip on his shoulder…
It is always good to learn from your mistakes,``
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What is the correlation you are suggesting here? Is the tenant world divided that neatly into two camps . DSS or non DSS.

The mistake I suggest is not in the fact that the tenant is DSS or working. The mistake is often to be found in the interviewing and selection process. Ive got DSS tenants. One has fixed door frames in one of my houses for me another has fixed my broken wing mirror for me. Its far too simplistic to equate DSS tenants with criminality in one foul catch all swoop. Its discriminatory.

Over the years I`ve had working tenants who stain carpets dont pay rent and get up to mischief . Look at the person not at where his or her rent comes from......

The chip may not be on their shoulder.

A DSS tenant can get a job tomorrow.
A working person can become DSS tomorrow
Their personality does not change overnight
Its all in the interview and selection process
Get that sorted and the financial benefits from housing benefits can be fantastic.
.

just say no.

Reply to the comment left by "graham durkin" at "21/01/2015 - 11:47":

This seems like a good idead, Graham, but was not aware that a landlord could do this now. However, you may be with a sympathetic council. When Universal Credit is introduced in your areas, this will not be administered by a local office, with possibly officers you know. It will be administered from a call centre, from one of the large offices that will cover all claims - Glasgow, Bolton and Cardiff at present, set to be 10 by completion of the process in 2017.
The fact your tenants prefer that the rent goes to you is understandable but irrlevant - part of the ethos behind universal credit was to make tenants more responsible - and that means paying the rent themselves.

For all LHA landlords not being paid direct please quote the below regulation to your council and you should get paid direct at the start of the tenancy. It came into force in April 2011. My council abides by now but some do not so put pressure on them to do so. I did and it transformed my business into a much more streamlined one. The council now include this specific section in their application form I fill in to pay landlords direct. Its worth its weight in gold and brings peace of mind.

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The Housing Benefit (Amendment) Regulations 2010

(8) In regulation 96(3A)(b)(10) (circumstances in which payment may be made to a landlord)—

(a)after paragraph (iii) add—

“or
(iv)the relevant authority considers that it will assist the claimant in securing or retaining a tenancy.”;
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As for UC . I believe by the time it gets completely rolled out or shortly thereafter (when history repeats itself ) there will be similar amendments made to secure again direct payment. IDS`s ideology is yes to be applauded but it is ill thought out and non workable.

There is a significant percentage of the LHA population who simply do not have the ability to manage their finances and never will. It is cruel to them to expect them to be able to do so without anything but a token support structure in place. Many of them have special needs and vulnerability issues and he is setting them all up to fail.

I wouldn`t mind if IDS took the hit himself for his misplaced plans but he is not and he is using us the landlords for his own political agenda. We will be his scape goats and its just plain wrong.
.

Reply to the comment left by "Sharon Betton" at "30/01/2015 - 13:14":

Sharon, I fully concur wioth your comments and my understanding of the Universal credit wii clearly raise serious concerns as to whether the tenant will hand over the rent to the Landlord. I believe there will be exeptions to this mandatory rule but as yet they have not decided fully who can receive direct payments .It was reported in a recent 1 year period the total of £ 250,000,000 YES MILLION POUNDS was given to tenants nationally and then not passed to their Landlords, so what BRIGHT POLITICIAN thinks its going to be any different next time.

I rent mainly to Housing Benefit tenants, both in self-contained houses/flats, and also rooms in HMOs. I have had both good and bad tenants, some stay decades with no problems, others are tenants from hell from day 2 until I eventually manage to evict them. My advice would be to reduce your risks as much as possible by taking a home owning rent guarantor (and damage guarantor), make sure your tenancy agreement is watertight, serve a s21 the day after signing the tenancy (warn them of this and explain it is your standard practice), get an independent inventory and schedule of condition done (with lots of photos), get proof of their HB entitlement (don't just take their word for it), and take photos/notes of any major assets they (and their guarantor) have (e.g. cars). AND importantly, learn everything you can about Housing Benefit rules, regulations, caselaw, and guidance, because it is a specialist area so if/when things go wrong you need to know how to deal with them (e.g. lodging appeals etc). If you are not willing to take the possible consequences, then do not take the risk. If you are willing and able to take the consequences, and have the hassle, and can do all of the above, then perhaps you may choose to take the risk and hopefully they could be great long-term tenants.

far too much hassle

It is hassle yes to do LHA. Being a landlord though is a bit of a hassle anyway. You price in the hassle. Individual choice. Sometimes is less hassle . Sometimes its more hassle. You look at the hassle v reward equation. Ask me to drive to Lands End today and pay me £1000 I`m your man. Offer me £100 . Erm thanks but no thanks its too much hassle .

You study a bit more then you understand LHA. The fear subsides and the hassle factor is significantly reduced because you understand it better. Like most things in life. Then its all about the reward. I want more cash flow. I dont do LHA for fun I do it for the money. And now I understand it , its not extra hassle. So often its less. LHA tenants often just crack on with it. For my part the financials goes like this .
Example

2006 - 2 bed for 75K LHA estate £650 pcm ...Yes please
2006 - 2 bed for 150K private working estate £650 pcm ... No thanks

Two for the price of one.
Twice as much income

Would you prefer to work from 20 - 40 then retire
Or 20 -60 then retire.
Working from age 40 -60 is the real hassle in life
Get to grips with the LHA marketplace
Its can be worth the hassle
Is a 100K income better than a 50K income
You decide
.