Any private residential landlords on this here forum?

[YahudaMoon]

Hi

I was a private residential landlord for ten years over 12years back

Due to unforeseen circumstances Im going back into it, just waiting for the sellers solicitor to write the contract up, should be about another week or so before I have the prop, I've decided not having any legal advise as Ive always found it a waste of money.

The prop will be already tenanted as they don't want a mortgage but want to pay rent, though they'll be moving out within 6month (supposedly), Im thinking of renting rooms out instead of having one tenant when the seller leaves

I believe quite a lot has changed in 12years, anything I really need to know?

Thanks

 

[Puddles]

Lots of changes regarding deposits

 

[gavintc]

My rented property is in Edinburgh, so not sure if my advice applies in Manchester. But check the council web site for landlord registration and if you have a number of renters, you will probably need to be HMO compliant - common sense stuff but needs to be checked periodically. It covers things like smoke detectors, fire extinguishers, door closers, size of rooms, gas and electric inspections etc etc. Oh and as Puddles has stated, the new rules on deposits need reading and complying with. Good luck. We moved south and decided rather than sell, to keep our flat in the city centre and rent it out. So far so good, but we have an excellent agent.

 

[Spinney]

Try here.
Lots of knowledgeable people post in the forums as well.

 

[ianrauk]

@Brains is your man....

 

[Brains]

If you are living in the property and using one bedroom, and have several other bedrooms then renting out rooms makes sense, you in effect are the 'lead tennant'

However if you dont live in the property, then renting out room by room is a pain in the arse, it's a lot more work. As you need to sort out all the issues such as bills, cleaning, council tax, bedroom security and so on.
although if you have enough bedrooms to justify this, it can be financially worth while.
Depending on the number of bedrooms you are also likely to now be a "HMO" House of Multiple Occupation, in which case you enter a realm of fire inspections, minimum standards and registration.

So for your sanity and peace of mind I would only think in terms of renting out the property as a single unit.
As others have said the main changes in the last decade are deposits, they have now be registered.
I would strongly suggest that you start by joining the NLA National Landlords Assn as all the info you need, including the latest AST wording can be found on the website for members.