Croydon Council Croylease scheme

Croydon Council Croylease scheme

9:02 AM, 2nd January 2018, About 6 years ago 16

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Hello everyone, I have a 5 bed house in Crystal Palace which I am considering letting to Croydon Council under the Croylease scheme. Basically I let it to the council on a long lease, 5+years.

They are responsible for the maintenance, insurance, finding tenants etc. I have no control over who it is let to, but the council are required to give me back the house in the condition it was let to them in. I will make sure I take lots of photos !

Does anyone have any experience of this scheme ?

I am having the lease checked out by a solicitor, but would welcome any first hand experiences of this scheme or other similar schemes.

Thanks very much.

Julia


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Comments

Neil Patterson

9:05 AM, 2nd January 2018, About 6 years ago

Hi Julia,

Council Fully repairing and insured leases (FRI lease) have been and are quite common and I have know many landlords that have used them, but I am not familiar with this particular scheme.

What you need to watch out for in particular is the criteria of your lender if you have a mortgage. Many will not allow leases of longer than 1 year and those that do allow FRI leases tend to have a maximum term of three years.

John Constant

11:39 AM, 2nd January 2018, About 6 years ago

Hi Julia,

Neil has pre-empted my comments here about problems with your lender, if you have one. Potentially, you could be breaking the T&C's of your current lender if you let like this. The lender entered into a contract with you that they would allow you to let your property for a maximum period at a time, albeit with a rolling extension. However, it still allows the lender to get the property back if you have not kept up the repayments on the mortgage, for example.

There are lenders who allow 5 year leases, but they are few and far between. If you need to investigate this further, please feel free to contact us via my personal link.

Mandy Thomson

11:58 AM, 2nd January 2018, About 6 years ago

Hi Julia

This is not something I am overly knowledgeable about, but I did have one account from a property owner who did this then found the local authority (not Croydon) wouldn't give back the property at the end of the term, at least not with vacant possession.

She might have been able to argue that the sub tenancy wasn't binding on her as the lease was only for a set number of years, but that would depend on what was stated in the lease (which she was unsure about) - I strongly suggest you seek a proper legal opinion on this.

It's my understanding that councils are only supposed to put temporary tenants in such properties, but nowadays, as councils are so desperate for housing stock and under so much pressure, housing staff are resorting to housing people by hook or by crook (as in the example I've given above).

Last but not least, Neil makes a valid point about your lender and there is also buildings insurance to consider - many policies will allow tenants who claim housing benefit, but not tenants placed or referred by a local authority.

Paul Kaye

12:14 PM, 2nd January 2018, About 6 years ago

Simple answer is ,do not do it !
You must have control at all times and comply with all rules and regulations.
I do not trust any councils at all,you will get screwed for sure !

terry sullivan

13:03 PM, 2nd January 2018, About 6 years ago

Reply to the comment left by Mandy Thomson at 02/01/2018 - 11:58
croydon council=bunch of sh**s=avoid

David Rundle

14:50 PM, 2nd January 2018, About 6 years ago

Reply to the comment left by terry sullivan at 02/01/2018 - 13:03
Terry can you tell us why as Property Tribes interviewed them at at the Brighton Investment show and came across all ok?

Mandy Thomson

15:04 PM, 2nd January 2018, About 6 years ago

Crystal Palace is a very desirable area which is just down the road from Balham, which is in the flat share heartland of South London. In other words, if the property is in good condition and well presented, you should attract plenty of interest from young professionals.

If you’re new to property letting and HMOs in particular, it isn’t that difficult to get up to speed; the RLA run a good HMO course I attended. For practical day to day tips, I recommend reading “HMO Landlady”.

There ARE some agents such as Northwood who will manage HMOs on a rent to rent basis, but few agents will manage as well as yourself.

Monty Bodkin

16:26 PM, 2nd January 2018, About 6 years ago

Reply to the comment left by David Rundle at 02/01/2018 - 14:50
The question PT should have asked is why are Croydon council discouraging good private landlords with compulsory landlord licensing?
A bit of schadenfreude now they are picking up the consequences.
Personally, I wouldn't go near it with a bargepole.

https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/2643250/woman-let-her-house-to-homeless-trashed-property-bill/

Monty Bodkin

16:31 PM, 2nd January 2018, About 6 years ago

Julia,
Have you asked the neighbours what they think of living next door to such a scheme for the next 5 years?

Sam Wong

21:19 PM, 2nd January 2018, About 6 years ago

I had a property which the agent let to the council who then put in a young girl. Her boyfriend, who was not a tenant, called the police bcos he cudnt get into the flat (she was sleeping). The police kicked in the door. Then nobody wud take responsibility to repair/replace the door. I suppose I cud hv taken somebody to court to compensate my costs but then it was cheaper to put it down to experience n not hv anything to do with this bunch of walking disasters again.

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