HAP tenant- Yay or nay?

sullivk

We are renting our duplex apartment out through a letting agency. Agent contacted me today to say he is working through a shortlist of potential tenants. One he is recommending is a HAP scheme, employed single parent.

I have had a read up on the HAP scheme but I'm just not sure. Any landlords want to share their experiences and opinions? Any reasons why I should/should not choose a HAP tenant over a non-HAP tenant?
And at the risk of sounding selfish... what real benefits are there for us? Thanks

newacc2015

Dont do it. Unless you can afford to not have rent paid to you for next 6 months while the council slowly organises the payment. I know a landlord who put a HAP tenant in and wasnt paid for 3 months. He was told they would deal with his case within the next 2/3 months.

sullivk

newacc2015 wrote:

Dont do it. Unless you can afford to not have rent paid to you for next 6 months while the council slowly organises the payment. I know a landlord who put a HAP tenant in and wasnt paid for 3 months. He was told they would deal with his case within the next 2/3 months.

Thanks for your reply. It seems like a lot of extra paperwork and hoop jumping with no real benefit or extra security to the landlord.

Lux23

Does the council not look after the property for you?

sullivk

Lux23 wrote:

Does the council not look after the property for you?

No, from what I've read the tenant pays a small amount of rent to the council and the council then pays the whole rent directly to landlord.
However, the contract is between the LL and tenant, not between council and landlord. So if the tenant stops paying the council then the LL doesn't get paid by the council.
It seems the council takes no responsibility for the tenant as it's technically a private rental??

Unless I have it completely wrong... Anyway, I don't see the advantages for us unfortunately

The_Conductor

Lux23 wrote: »

Does the council not look after the property for you?

No- the council does however pay the landlord the rent- and the tenant pays the council their portion of the rent.

If the tenant gets into a dispute with the council- and the council stops the rent- the landlord isn't told anything (at all)- and it can take months to have it reinstated (and good luck with arrears etc).

The council can also, despite signing a contract, decide to change the rental amount- and good luck chasing them once again.

In short- there is absolutely nothing in this for a landlord- other than the knowledge that they are performing a socially good deed (for the prospective tenant).

If a letting agent comes up with a HAP tenant- I would pursue a case against the letting agent..........

sullivk

The_Conductor wrote:

If a letting agent comes up with a HAP tenant- I would pursue a case against the letting agent..........

This agent is on thin ice with us as it is. Thank you for the reply, I just needed to make sure I wasn't missing out on any important info regarding the scheme.
It's very unfortunate they haven't something better in place with more incentive for LL!

The_Conductor

sullivk wrote: »

This agent is on thin ice with us as it is. Thank you for the reply, I just needed to make sure I wasn't missing out on any important info regarding the scheme.
It's very unfortunate they haven't something better in place with more incentive for LL!

In a time where landlords had difficulty getting tenants- and there was no shortage of property- it was an excellent opportunity for a landlord to tenant a property. The boot is however on the other foot- only local authorities and councils don't want to acknowledge this.

Other than a case where a landlord cannot find prospective tenants for their property- there is nothing in it for a landlord.

Perhaps if there was a massive building boom- and there were excess properties on the rental market- it may change- however, that isn't going to happen any day soon..........

Cuddlesworth

sullivk wrote: »

This agent is on thin ice with us as it is. Thank you for the reply, I just needed to make sure I wasn't missing out on any important info regarding the scheme.
It's very unfortunate they haven't something better in place with more incentive for LL!

Any agent that suggests RA or other government schemes should be gotten rid of straight away since its clear that only thing they are interested in is a quick paycheck.

sullivk

Cuddlesworth wrote:

Any agent that suggests RA or other government schemes should be gotten rid of straight away since its clear that only thing they are interested in is a quick paycheck.

I suspect he knows the hap tenant and is doing them a favour trying to pull strings.
If that's the best he has on his shortlist I'll be surprised

TheDoc

sullivk wrote: »

I suspect he knows the hap tenant and is doing them a favour trying to pull strings.
If that's the best he has on his shortlist I'll be surprised

Might not hurt if that is the case?

Surely what you ideally want is a tenant that is hassle free, treats your asset as best as possible and gives you no frills or spills?

Not everyone on HAP or RA are lifetime scroungers, could be temporary measures. And whatever about if they were doing the tenant a favour, could do you a massive favour if it's a top tenant.

An EA really going to put their rep on the line for a tenant with a history of bad behaviour or issues?

Mitzy

Take it from someone who has been there - don't take a HAP tenant.

I stupidly did so a few years ago. Ended up getting no rent for nearly 5 months. The house was left in a state. Cost me over €7,000 in total.
This meant I got into mortgage arrears & it effected my credit rating (which takes 5 years to rectify).

I know that some tenants can be fine but it's just not worth the risk.

Only alternative is to insist on 6 months deposit but at the moment with the demand for tenants I can't see why anyone would take a HAP tenant.

Glenster

TheDoc wrote: »

Might not hurt if that is the case?

Surely what you ideally want is a tenant that is hassle free, treats your asset as best as possible and gives you no frills or spills?

Not everyone on HAP or RA are lifetime scroungers, could be temporary measures. And whatever about if they were doing the tenant a favour, could do you a massive favour if it's a top tenant.

An EA really going to put their rep on the line for a tenant with a history of bad behaviour or issues?

The issue isn't with the tenant per se. Its that the Landlord now has two hassles to deal with, the council and the tenant.

sullivk

The fact that with HAP you are introducing a third party (the local authority) into the mix without having a direct contract with them doesn't sit easy with us. They bear no responsibility for the tenant.
We've looked into it and the extra paperwork alone has put us off.
Paperwork = delays and the last thing we need is to spend the next 6+ months trying to cover 2 mortgages ourselves.
Thanks a million for all the replies and information:)