Letting
I live in and own my house. I want to buy another house and let out this one. What should I do?
You will in all likelihood need to remortgage your existing house – most mortgages prohibit renting in all but a few limited circumstances. You could contact a mortgage broker to arrange a buy-to-let mortgage. You may be able to port your existing mortgage to your new property and just take out one new mortgage for the old one
Do your sums properly – ask a lettings agent to value your house for rental income so you have a fair idea of how much to charge - make sure that the rental income from your old property will cover the cost of any new mortgage – remember to account for any additional costs that you might incur and allow for a contingency in the event that the property is unlet for a period
Decide whether you will let the property privately or through a letting agent – make sure that you are complying with any legal requirements such as gas safety certificates etc
If renting privately think about the type of tenants that you might want – students are easier to please but more likely to damage the property and have problems paying rent – letting to professionals will probably meant the property is better looked after and rent will be paid but you will need to ensure that the property is in a good condition. This will also affect the number, and type, of people that you can let the property to – if you let to students then you may be able to convert the dining room to a bedroom – one extra person, though the overall rent per person may drop slightly – students are far more price conscious and probably won’t mind the extra room – this is less likely to succeed with professionals as they are not quite so price conscious and would probably prefer to have the extra room.
Sort out utilities – your tenants will have to be responsible for paying these so it is important to make sure that you have told them you are not living there any more and transfer the bills out of your name – same applies with council tax.
Make sure that you have water-tight tenancy agreements – you may want to insist that tenants sign a tenancy agreement giving joint and several liability – that way if one person doesn’t pay their rent you can put pressure on the rest of them to either make the defaulter pay or, if they don’t, then you can pursue the rest of the tenants for the rent.
You will also need to decide what type of tenancy deposit protection scheme you need to enter into.
Other frequently asked questions
- My tenants are refusing to pay their rent. What should I do? We suggest you consult a solicitor experienced in landlord or tenant law as soon as ...
- What is a House in Multiple Occupation (HMO)? Under the Housing Act 2004 if a property is let and is one of the ...
- Should I try and let my house through a lettings agent or privately? Both have advantages and disadvantages Lettings agent:Can be member of an industry regulatory body – ...
- Do I need to tell my mortgage lender if I am letting my house out? Almost definitely yes – most mortgages have strict conditions stating that the house cannot be ...
- I am letting my flat out. Do I need to tell the landlord? Very much dependent on the terms of the lease – some will have a requirement ...
- My leasehold flat is starting to develop some structural problems. Can I make the landlord pay for it? Depends on:1) Location of damage2) Cause of damage3) Type of damage Remember that the landlord paying for ...
- The hallway in my building is really dirty and in a bad state of repair. What do I do? The terms of your lease will state that your landlord has a responsibility to maintain ...
- I own a leasehold flat and have just received a massive repair bill from the landlord. What can I do? Depends – the landlord is entitled to charge you for work that has been done ...
