RAS "Rental Accommodation Scheme"

Blair

I have a house in Clonsilla that I have been renting out for the last 4 years but as of today its up for rent again, I was rang by a girl asking if I would be interested in renting the house to RAS. Does anyone have any experience with this as either a Landlord or Tenet, just wondering if it’s a good idea or not.

edellc

http://www.environ.ie/en/DevelopmentandHousing/Housing/SocialHousingSupport/RentalAccomodationScheme/

thats the link that supplies the information

my sister avails of this scheme and it seems to work very well for her and the landlord he gets a long term tenant and she gets security knowing that her rental is long term, she has been in her current place eight years and all is well still

ricman

The drawback is, the council chooses the tenant ,not you, you could end up with a woman with 2 or 3 kids living there,depending on how big the house is.
I Don,t think you get a chance to interview the tenant,As far as i know.

Blair

ricman wrote: »

The drawback is, the council chooses the tenant ,not you, you could end up with a woman with 2 or 3 kids living there,depending on how big the house is.
I Don,t think you get a chance to interview the tenant,As far as i know.

The tenant contacted me, she said if I contact RAS directly and let them know I’m willing to rent to her they will agree to rent it for 5 years. It would be handy not having to worry about renting it out for the next 5 years.

Wildebrian

In my work I deal with a Lot of landlords.Given the current state of the propert market if you can tie the council into a five year agreement and they are responsible for any repairs {over and above normal wear} i would go for it,especially if your rent covers your mortgage.I would also advise that in 2011 you look at fixing your interest rate.

black & white

I am a landlord and have my house let under the RAS. I have full control over who comes in and how long they stay, the rent was agreed in June of this year and cannot be reviewed for 2 years. I am still responsible for maintenance and any other issues as with any tenant. The lease is for 6 months initially and see how it goes after that, the Council did not ask for any fixed term.

To avail of RAS a tenant must be renting in the private sector for a minimum of 18 months. From the LL point of view, I must provide a Tax Clearance Cert, BER Cert, prove the house is insured and proof that I have paid the 200 Euro second home tax each year since it was introduced.

The council pay the agreed amount directly into my bank every month, they do a payment run every second week so the date the money hits the bank can vary slightly from month to month.

The other thing is that the council will not pay a deposit but will guarantee to cover any damage up to the value of a months rent.

This applies to Clare county council, not really sure if it's exactly the same everywhere. The staff in Clare co co were excellent to deal with and I would not hesitate to do so again.

Wildebrian

Hi Black & White

That sounds about Right.Any landlord I have dealt with seems happy with the deal even if the rental level may be slightly lower.More and more people are getting in on the scheme so I would not wait around too long given the current climate.

Blair

The only thing I don’t have as yet is the BER cert, as soon as the house is finished being painted and the windows serviced I think I will give the RAS scheme a very strong consideration. I would love to sell the house and be done with it but that looks highly unlikely.

Wildebrian

Make sure to check with your local Authority the minimum rating required by them before you get you Ber done.In some cases a few minor improvements are all that is required to comply with their requirements.In other cases no work is required.This nornally this applies to newer houses

Blair

Its only a ten year old house and it is in great condition but it does need a bit of TLC before renting it out again.

Wildebrian

Most Local Aithorities require at Worst a C3,which,given the fact that you say your house is only 10 yr old and depending on a number of other factors should leave your house ok.Just Check with them first to be on the safe side.

The_Conductor

Wildebrian wrote: »

Most Local Aithorities require at Worst a C3,which,given the fact that you say your house is only 10 yr old and depending on a number of other factors should leave your house ok.Just Check with them first to be on the safe side.

Correct- anything under a C3 is a deal breaker- though the person doing the BER is obliged to give you a list of remedial actions that can be undertaken to improve the rating (and normally will give a discount to re-rate the property post completion of the remedial works).