What is the process for renting your property to a supported housing provider?
Whether your buying more properties or looking to rent your existing portfolio out then working with a supported housing provider can be an alternative option. Working with supported housing for the first time can bring up a lot of unknown’s…
How does it work?
How long does it take to lease the property?
Where does the provider want properties?
How many bedrooms do they need?
What are the room sizes?
When do I get paid?
When do I sign the contract?
And many more…
In this article we walk through the typical process for leasing your property to a supported housing provider so you know what to expect should you wish to explore this alternative rental strategy.
Step 1: Specification match
The first stage is to understand what houses the providers are looking for, what rents they can pay, and what safety requirements are needed to be met. For example, one of our providers is looking for 3-5 bedroom HMO’s across Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire. They can pay £400 per HMO room. By understanding the providers specification, you can save time by only focussing on properties that match.
Step 2: Location check
Once you have a property that matches the providers specification then you need to submit the full address and property details to the provider. The occupiers are often vulnerable adults and therefore the location check is done to ensure that vulnerable individuals are not placed in a vulnerable environment. The location check usually takes 2-7 days to complete depending on the provider you are working with.
Step 3: Property inspection
Once the location is approved the supported housing provider will visit the property to understand any improvements that are required to be made to meet their standards.
Step 4: Schedule of works issued
After the viewing, the provider will send you the schedule of works to complete. At this point, you can sometimes request a heads of terms or agreement to lease to ensure that if you complete the works they will lease the property. We often see this on larger refurbishment projects where the schedule of work is capital intensive.
Step 5: Landlord completes schedule of works
The landlord completes the schedule of works and notifies the provider to book in a sign off visit.
IMPORTANT: Do not book the sign-off visit till all the works are completed as this will waste everyone’s time and you will build yourself a poor reputation.
Step 6: Sign off visit
The provider will re-visit the property and sign off the works. If there is any snagging they will request at this point.
Step 7: Compliance
You will then need to provide all the compliance for the property. This usually consists of a gas safety, EPC and EICR and can include Fire risk assessments, HMO licenses, asbestos reports and legionella assessments where applicable.
Step 8: Contract Issued
The provider will issue the contract which you will review and sign. You will often require a witness to the signature.
Step 9: Collect the keys
The provider will collect the keys. You will often receive your rent in arrears (at the end of month 1) rather than in advance.
Summary
Each provider will have slightly different processes but in principle all the providers that we work with follow this process. Understanding the process will give you an advantage when it comes to planning the next steps and give you a good reputation for the supported housing providers.
If you have any further questions about the process of renting your property to a supported housing provider then please don’t hesitate to contact us today!
