LHA Tenants and Advice to Landlords from John Paul @TheLHAExpert

16:51 PM, 30th December 2012, About 13 years ago 1

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John Paul - The LHA Expert Both John Paul and the The Castledene Group have earned an enviable reputation of being leading experts in the management and letting of residential property to benefits claimants in receipt of Local Housing Allowance “LHA”.

John Paul is a portfolio landlord in the North East and founder of the Castledene Group of letting agents which employs 17 ARLA-trained staff. This article provides an overview of John’s strategies and links to seven further articles.

Introducing The LHA Expert for Landlords – @TheLHAexpert

By Guest Columnist John Paul – Part 1 of an 8 part series

Welcome to the first in a series of eight articles giving you top tips for renting your property to tenants in receipt of Local Housing Allowance (LHA).I have personally built a successful portfolio by letting to LHA Tenants and the profits and cash flow exceed those I could have achieved with working tenants. In some areas rents are as much as 30% higher than market rents in the private rented sector. I think you’ll agree that’s a premium that makes some additional administration worth the effort. read on

Vital Contacts for LHA Landlords

LHA Top Tips for landlords. Article 2 in a series of 8

Inform yourself. If you don’t know all the rules about being a landlord for Local Housing Allowance tenants, at the very least be sure you know where to look when you need information fast. read on

Finding reliable LHA tenants

LHA Top Tips for landlords. Article 3 in a series of 8

The longer you keep a tenant the less paperwork and voids you will experience. Start by finding a tenant you feel confident is right for your property and your management strategy and start as you mean to continue. read on

Forms and procedures for LHA Landlords

LHA Top Tips for landlords. Article 4 in a series of 8

The most important things are that you need everything in writing; you need to keep it clear and simple for the tenant and you must understand timings. read on

The LHA Claim procedure for landlords

LHA Top Tips for landlords. Article 5 in a series of 8

Be thorough, do it once and do it right.

Offer to complete all paperwork with the tenant but always hand it in to the council yourself. Ensure that you give the tenant copies of all paperwork. When you deliver paperwork to the council always keep copies for yourself and always obtain a receipt. Lost paperwork will seriously delay the application and you will need to be clear where the responsibility lies if you have to go through a complaints procedure. read on

Managing LHA tenancies

LHA Top Tips for landlords. Article 6 in a series of 8

Stay in contact to build a positive relationship.

The most valuable asset to a trouble free tenancy is regular, open communication. Ensure both you and the tenant maintain up to date contact details and if possible obtain details of next of kin or close contacts so that you can always reach the tenant if issues arise. Ask the tenant to complete a form for this which states that you can contact all names given for any matter relating to the tenancy. Call from time to time to ensure they know that you want to be told of any maintenance issues as they arise. Some tenants will be nervous about seeming to make a fuss and this can be more costly for you if an issue is left unresolved. read on

Resolving LHA rent arrears and overpayments

LHA Top Tips for landlords. Article 7 in a series of 8

If prevention has failed the next best thing is speedy resolution.

Be organised. Know when your rent or rents are due and what date you are expecting top-up payments. Never allow arrears to mount up before taking action. read on

The Castledean Group The business has client money protection with NALS, PI insurance and subscribes to the Property Ombudsman Code of Practice. Offices are located in Seaham, Easington, Bishop Auckland, Leeds, Manchester, and Belfast

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Tags: Letting Agent, LHA, Local Housing Allowance, Private Rented Sector, rent arrears, Strategies, Strategy

Comments

mary

Read Full Bio

Member Since September 2018 - Comments: 20

10:06 AM, 16th May 2023, About 3 years ago

Hi, I’d like some advice please? I’m a disabled person who downsized and bought a cottage in Sunderland as a buy to let, as income . The agent put in a tenant backed by the Council, who stopped paying the rent, and through the Court was eventually evicted. The property has been completely wrecked : needs everything replaced, and the agent was so tardy at getting back to me I have changed to another. My Rentguard insurance doesn’t apparently cover malicious damage. I don’t have a lot of savings to repair the place. Do I have any recourse against the insurers for miss selling, or the agent for bad choice of tenant, or even the Council? May just have to sell at big loss on online auction?

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