In 2013, just under 40,000 tenants were evicted from their homes by court appointed bailiffs according to the Ministry of Justice. This is the highest number since records began and is exasperated in London where rents are rising faster than wages.
If people lose their jobs or their unsustainable lifestyles catch up with them when their credit supply stops, how can you protect against loss of rent?
The simple answer is landlord insurance. Before the tenants even sign a tenancy agreement, a comprehensive reference check should be carried out looking into their last tenancy to see if they paid on time and actually paid, employer check to see that they have a job with sufficient income to cover the rent and have enough to live on, copies of their bank statements to see that their wages actually come in and there are no large outgoings to raise an eyebrow but most important of all, a credit check to find out if they have money outstanding that has been claimed through the courts.
If all the above are satisfactory, this will most likely obtain you an insurance policy, but even that has its pitfalls. Insurance policies often take time to pay out and if you have a mortgage to pay, could you afford to go 2 months without any income?
At Homefinders we don’t need to know the answer as all our landlord’s rents are guaranteed for the first year of the tenancy free of charge. After the first year, with our rent on time management option, we will pay the rent the same time every month regardless of whether the tenant or insurance company has paid and we will continue to do so until the tenant is evicted. The only risk is…there is no risk!
Feel free to contact any of our offices to find out more.
Haydar Sehri's blog
