Becoming a Landlord and How to Choose the Right Tenant

Becoming a landlord means that you have to find a suitable tenant to whom you can let out your property. There are certain ways you can find a tenant and these could be placing to-let advertisements in the local shop windows or local press, taking the help of managing agents to seek a tenant (in fact these agents can also manage the tenancy for you), registering your property with local accommodation agencies, etc; however you can be charged for these services.

There is one thing you have to do before deciding on a tenant and before becoming a landlord. You have to decide the type of tenancy that you have to devise. This depends largely on whether you intend to live in the house with your tenant or not. You can create either an Assured Tenancy or an Assured Short hold Tenancy if you choose to be a non resident landlord. A short hold tenancy is the most common type. In fact in the absence of a written agreement, the tenants assume that they have been given a short hold tenancy.

If you choose to live in one part of your house and let out the other then you acquire the status of a resident landlord. In this case you have to create either an Excluded Tenancy or an Unprotected Tenancy.

You can let out your property with the help of accommodation agencies. There are several such agencies that have experience in managing properties and drawing up agreements. They will however take a percentage of the rental income that you make. An initial fee is also usually charged by the agency in exchange for their services.

It is a good idea to contact various agencies in order to decide on the one that offers the best letting practices and gives out advice too. You have to be careful here because there are certain agencies that might be rogues. If they happen to act in an unlawful way then you will be held responsible for their acts. This might lead you to end up with no income. Hence if you are doubtful about any agency then contact your solicitor or the Housing Advice Service.

The Housing Advice Service helps people who are on the lookout for information on rental property. Your property will be advertised by the Housing Advice Service only if it adheres to a reasonable standard. They will then accordingly send customers to take a look at your property.

Before you finalize on a prospective tenant it is absolutely essential to check their credentials. You must ask them for references which they can get from their banks, previous landlords or employers. This will also give you an idea whether they can pay the rent in a timely way or not apart from getting a character sketch. If your prospective tenant happens to be unemployed or has a low income then he or she is entitled to receive housing benefit from the government.

You need to keep all these factors in mind when you think of becoming a landlord.