Should I accept a retired tenant on benefits?

Reply to the comment left by Mick Roberts at 27/06/2025 – 10:37
Thanks a lot for your comment, I believe the tenant wants to move mainly to be closer to their family and friends (their son lives on a parallel street and their good friend on the same street) so I hope when the time comes it won’t be too difficult to deal with. Considering the likelihood of a very long tenancy I’m prepared to accept some void time at the end.

Reply to the comment left by Paul Essex at 27/06/2025 – 10:52
Thanks a lot for your comment Paul, anything you could recommend to lower the risks? Tenants son is willing to be their guarantor, what kind of responsibility can I include to the agreement on top of the rent?

Reply to the comment left by Rina S at 27/06/2025 – 11:41
That’s even better when they want to live near family, they never move. I’ve bought loads of houses for tenants in the past where they’ve wanted near family & schools & they stay there.
There is a Negative, when u want to sell 20 years later, they still there & not moving.

Reply to the comment left by Mick Roberts at 27/06/2025 – 12:25
Thanks for your comment Mick, I think if I do sell I’ll try to sell it tenanted – I think BTL landlords should be interested especially if the property is kept in a good condition 🙂 I was rather keen to buy a tenanted property myself just didn’t see anything nice enough, for the only tenanted one I tried to make an offer for the owner wanted more money than it was worth (3 more people offered exactly the same amount as myself) and by the time the seller was ready to negotiate I had bought a different one already 🙂

been there done that and its fine. For such benefit recipients the government will ensure that they always have enough to more than meet the min LHA and top ups easy with everything else they can claim.

if you have a guarantor too then job done.

I find as others have mentioned, they themselves are usually no trouble but you may at some point have to contact family to call on them for instance if flat becomes a bit of a tip because they can’t cope with looking after the place and possibly themselves. In the absence of family, social services is there…but in my experience bloody useless.

Yes. I’d accept. Has more disposable income than many and offering a guarantor. You know they won’t lose their right to a pension, unlikely to lose the LHA as has already been means tested.

A tad concerned you have publicly stated “ landlord who unfairly discriminates against an older person just because they claim benefits” as it’s illegal to discriminate on age and will be soon re benefits.

I’d ask to be written into the will to cover losses, no love lost here

Moving to be nearer family is a positive. My friends problem is with a tenant who seems to have no relatives – the tenant seems oblivious to her financial problems and unless she asks for help the landlord is probably going to have to evict her.

I have a gent, who was in a ground floor flat, he was unhappy with the flat & it’s location , but to the council he had a property to his needs, so would not entertain him. So he came to me, to rent my house, since he moved in, no rent payment issues, but he has been building up a hospital / doctors portfolio to try & get a council ground floor flat / bungalow. So I have found myself being used by tenant for an easy move.

Anyone’s circumstances can change, these seem less likely than losing a job