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Leasing house to council

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  • 23-06-2011 10:41am
    #1
    harry1
    Registered Users Posts: 28 ✭


    Hi,

    Just wondering if anyone has any experience of leasing out a property to the Council for social housing purposes. There is a scheme whereby the council may (subject to assessment, needs etc) lease your property for a short term (<10yrs) or long term (10-20yrs). Any comments on the pros and cons of this scheme?

    My wife and I are in a situation where we wish to move, but selling our house is proving difficult (as it is for anyone trying to sell right now).
    So we are exploring this possibility. Of course, we would then to need to secure a second mortgage to finance building our own house which is what we would like to do. This may of course not be possible as the bank may simply say no to a second mortgage.

    We are not in negative equity, and have a relatively small mortgage (<100k). But in order to buy a site and build, we would need to borrow a considerable amount. But I would hope that the guaranteed income from a long-term lease of our existing house would go some way towards helping to secure a second mortgage. I.e. it would cover existing mortgage repayments with a bit left over to go towards second mortgage repayments. I have a secure permanent job earning a reasonable wage.

    Has anyone else considered this? Any feedback on how you got on would be appreciated. Not looking for specifics, just whether a bank even consider.


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    #2
    ricman
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,559 ✭✭✭ricman


    My friend used the scheme ,i think the council picks the tenant ,find out is the rent gauranteed ,or is the rent payed to the tenant s bank account first.
    Its very easy to get a single mother ,with one or 2 kids as a tenant ,advertise rent allowance accepted ,in dublin the max rent for a single mother is 930 per month.
    find out whats the situation re a deposit.It worked out ok for her, had a tenant for 4 years under the scheme.


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    #3
    harry1
    Registered Users Posts: 28 ✭harry1


    Thanks ricman. If you don't mind me asking, do you know what the term of the lease was? I.e. was it just 4 years?

    As I understand from reading the documentation on this, the council will guarantee rent monthly for the entire term of the lease regardless of whether there is a tenant or not.

    This would be very important in my circumstances as I intend to approach a bank about borrowing more money.
    But if the coucil can decide within the lease term to discontinue, then it is no good.


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    #4
    ricman
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,559 ✭✭✭ricman


    no,it was not 4 years,the owner put the house up for sale,maybe theres more detailed info on the coiuncils website.i think the standard time is 5 years ,im not sure.a single mother would get a house in less than ten years ,or an apartment from the council.


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    #5
    Milk & Honey
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 1,950 ✭✭✭Milk & Honey


    I know someone who has leased to the Council for 10 years. The rent is about 80% of current market rent. New windows had to be installed, a garden shed provided and a RECI electrician had to certify the electrical installation. All furniture had to be removed prior to the letting.


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    #6
    the_syco
    Registered Users Posts: 37,300 ✭✭✭✭the_syco


    IIRC, you don't get to choose the tenants, and from posts here, some people see it as "their" house and make alterations to the property without prior consent with the landlord.


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    #7
    mikemac
    Closed Accounts Posts: 19,986 ✭✭✭✭mikemac


    http://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/housing/local_authority_and_social_housing/rental_accommodation_scheme.html

    Rental Accomadation Scheme, some call it the landlords dole

    The council chooses the tenant and you will have to meet standards and upgrade if necessary. Windows being a common one.
    Then you have to negotiate with the council and they shouldn't be paying market rate due to the long term security.


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    #8
    siralan
    Registered Users Posts: 80 ✭✭siralan


    Hi, just wondering if you went ahead with the lease with your local authority. My house is in Cavan and I am going to ring the Cavan County Council Local Housing Authority Department tomorrow to see how interested they might be in taking a property from me on a long term lease. I have had a bad run of tenants who have either skipped without paying rent, damaged or stole belongings and the Social Housing Lease Scheme appeals to me because of this. My property is quite old and could do with a little modernising and freshening up. I dont want throwing good money after bad but I am just wondering what exactly the Local Authority are looking for when considering taking on a property from a landlord on a longterm agreement. Has anybody got experience of this ??


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