Long term tennant advice

[DaGuv]

My current tenant is a really nice lady and she has requested a long term lease of 5 years. She has offered to fund improvements to the flat to make it more to her tastes such as new night storage heaters, paint work, new bathroom suite and kitchen improvements. Also new UPVC windows. She would do this all if we agreed a rent reduction. We havnt decided what this will be yet as we are due to see her next week.

I trust the tennant to do the work but is it worth getting something in writing legally to say what will be done with regards to the improvements. I don’t want to be in a position where I have reduced the rent and no improvements have been made. The current lease is due for renewal in December. The remortgaging will be done soon on a 2 year deal. Any advice would be great. I just rent my flat out as I wouldn’t sell a few years ago. I will sell once the current tennant has gone but her proposal to do the work and pay for it is good. Thanks

[anonymous-user]

(1) You are dealing with a valuable property. Better to pay for insured advice, Any advice you get here will not enable you to complain if the advice is wrong.

(2) You need no complex document - a letter setting out in clear and plain language what you and the tenant have agreed should do.

But see (1) above.

[Sloan85]

Any plans to sell or remortgage in the next 5 years? Doing so with a tennant will cause issues.

[TooMany2cvs]

DaGuv said:

My current tenant is a really nice lady and she has requested a long term lease of 5 years.

Anything over a three year tenancy takes it out of being a normal, vanilla Assured Shorthold Tenancy, and means it needs to be signed and witnessed as a deed, IIRC.

[Red Devil]

Correct. Any fixed term tenancy over 3 years must be prepared and signed a a Deed.
I reckon that takes it out of the 'd-i-y' scenario.

https://www.kfh.co.uk/resources/landlords/letting-...
http://www.mypropertyguide.co.uk/articles/display/...

I'm in full agreement with BV's point (1).

[James_B]

If it were me I’d do it the other way round, set the rent at a level that covered the work, and pay for it myself.

That way you, the owner, has the contract with all the suppliers, the benefit of guarantees etc, and you get to specify the right sort of things.

[Who Me]

I dont believe many BTL mortgages like anything other than standard Assured Short Term ageements. If they wished to repossess for some reason then a 5 year lease agreed with your tenant would cause them issues.

Check with your lender first.

Also bear in mind some peoples idea of DIY is a complete shambles, that includes simple things like painting that without proper preparation end up making a mess of your walls that you are left with once they move out.

[anonymous-user]

Breadvan72 said:

(1) You are dealing with a valuable property. Better to pay for insured advice, Any advice you get here will not enable you to complain if the advice is wrong.

(2) You need no complex document - a letter setting out in clear and plain language what you and the tenant have agreed should do.

But see (1) above.

I ailed the exam by reading the OP too fast. I thought that he/she was planning a side agreement re an extant lease. If he/she is planning a whole new lease, he/she needs more than a simple letter. The lease need not be complex - leases are usually mega over-drafted using bad old fashioned legal blah, as favoured by rubbish High Street solicitors who are rightly un-confident about their drafting skills. Get the thing done properly via a proper property lawyer. PM me for some solicitors and direct access counsel who can do the gig for a fair price (NB that does not mean **** all. A cheap lawyer is just as bad an idea as a cheap dentist or a cheap car mechanic).

[Wings]

OP, unless you possess the bright lamp of hindsight, leave a lengthy fixed term of five (5) years tenancy agreement well alone.

As a landlord and property owner, one needs to always retain control over one's property/investment, and that is best achieved through offering one's tenant/s a tenancy agreement with the minimum term, length of tenancy.

The very best legal advice, can still not enforce your tenant/s upholding their side of any tenancy agreement, and since it is only possible, and easier for your tenant/s to walk away from the rental property, it is an agreement you should not consider.

[anonymous-user]

That seems an unduly negative view. There are many trouble free long term tenancies in both residential and business sectors.

[Rovinghawk]

Breadvan72 said:

That seems an unduly negative view. There are many trouble free long term tenancies in both residential and business sectors.

There are also many troublesome ones.

I know of tenants who move in, don't pay a single penny from then on & have a minimum eight months living rent-free prior to eviction with pretty much the full support of the legal system.

There's no way I'd agree a long-term lease, especially with a rent reduction (presuming the rent would actually be paid during the lock-in period). Standard ways are standard for generally good reason.