The Benefits of Renting to Tenants on Benefits!
You
might know that I have a property rental portfolio here in Leeds.
What you might not know is that half of my single let rentals are occupied by tenants on benefits.
Now
whilst benefits tenants often get a bad reputation, many low-income families
are just like you and me: decent, pleasant people, that have found themselves
in a certain situation.
Being
on benefits does not mean that you are a write-off, or a bad person. It does
not mean you are scum, a degenerate, a waster, or any of the other negative
connotations the media try to impose on us.
Of course, there are some people who aren’t as savoury as we would hope, throughout all areas of life - but we cannot tar everyone with the same brush.
Not
all benefits tenants are bad ones, in the same surprising way that not all high
paid ‘professional tenants’ look after the property and pay their rent - as
some of my landlord friends will vouch for! 😱
As with anybody, carefully check out your prospective tenants, and be convinced that they are a good choice.
So here’s my reasons for the benefits of renting to tenants on benefits:
✳️ They are usually
families, looking for a long term home, which means they stay longer.
✳️ There are lots of
them looking for housing, as the council has a severe shortage of available
local housing authority accommodation.
✳️ Often the council
will provide a deposit for them or a scheme whereby they will fix damaged items
✳️ You can request for
the rent to be paid directly to yourself as landlord. This massively reduces
the risk of rent not getting paid.
✳️ You are helping
vulnerable families by giving them a chance to build themselves a secure
lifestyle, and a steady foundation for their children to progress in the
future…
…
because that’s exactly what happened to me.
I’m
the product of a single parent on benefits. And although we were poor, our
council house was immaculate, and we tried hard to improve our situation.
I’m
not scum, a reprobate, a degenerate, a lowlife, or any of those things.
I’m
a good person, just like my tenants are.
I
was a kid who had a good grounding to want to do better than the situation I
found myself in.
 |
| A couple of these kids in my class are from benefits families, can you tell which? Of course you can't - but all kids deserve a decent start in life! |
I appreciate everything, because I still remember what it means to have nothing.
And
that’s exactly why I choose to rent to low income families - because I’ve been
there, and know how important is it for someone to just give you a chance and
believe in you.
So as there’s over 3 million
people claiming housing benefit in Britain… why not consider renting to them?!?
