Trust me – I am a landlord

My tenant wants some long term assurances of tenure

I’ve been renting properties for several years and I always advertise that I’m looking for long term tenants.

I reference my tenants properly and I always purchase rent guarantee insurance. Despite never having to claim on an RGI policy it does give me peace of mind. I never want to make a claim either and the fact that I’ve never had a tenant in arrears or causing the sorts of damage and anti social issues I often read about has to be a good thing, but I digress. 

I’m in this business for the long term, well at least another decade or so at least, so I want good tenants and I want them to stay long term because that’s what keeps my business profitable.

In the past I’ve not had many people challenge me on this and when I have I’ve simply given my prospective tenants the telephone numbers of some existing tenants so they can call them and have a chat about what sort of landlord I am. Obviously I get the permission off my existing tenants to give out their details and this has never been a problem before.

This week I showed a lovely couple around my property and I have no doubts whatsoever that they will make ideal tenants. They are very cautious though because they’ve been promised they can stay long term before and have had to move twice in the last 14 months against their will because their landlords have decided to sell up or move back into their former homes. They are asking me for a 5 year lease but I am loathed to give them that just in case. I’m also worried that Mortgage Express who are my mortgage lender might even repossess my property if I do offer them a long term deal on the basis that I will be in breach of my mortgage conditions.

I interested to know whether other landlords have encountered this scenario and if so, how did you deal with it?

Normally I would just give tenants a six month AST and then continue with a periodic tenancy thereafter. I can’t see the point in issuing a new AST as it increases my risks as well as costs associated re-protecting the deposit, not to mention the hassle factor.

Your thoughts would be much appreciated.

Many thanks

Albert Dunning