Before I answer this question I think it’s key that I clear up one great myth I hear about Local Housing Allowance (LHA) tenants...

Before I answer this question I think it’s key that I clear up one great myth I hear about Local Housing Allowance (LHA) tenants – will LHA tenants destroy my property?

There are good people who are workers and there are good people on LHA. There are bad people who are workers and there are bad people on LHA. The difference between you getting a good or bad tenant is not if they are working or not but making sure you have the right vetting criteria.

How does LHA work?

LHA is paid based upon the entitlement of your tenant. If your tenant has a family of three they will be entitled to more LHA than a single person. LHA however is not just accepting the fact that if your tenant has 2 children they will be entitled to a 3 bedroom rate. There are certain criteria that affects what LHA band your tenant is entitled to. So here are the top 5 rules you need to know:

1. Single claimants under the age of 35 are only entitled to a shared accommodation rate.

2. If the children are the same sex and are under 16 then they are not entitled to different rooms.

3. If the children are under 10 and are different sex then they are not entitled to different rooms.

4. If the children are 16+ and any sex then they are entitled to have separate rooms.

5. If the child has a disability (criteria applies) they are entitled to a different room.

Examples

Mum and girl (aged 2) and boy (aged 5) = 2 bedroom rate.

If the children are under 10 and are different sex then they are NOT entitled to different rooms.

2 bedroom rate in Newcastle £446.94.

Mum and girl (aged 9) and boy (aged 12) = 3 bedroom rate.

The boy is over 10 so is entitled to his own room and therefore a room for him, sister and one for the mum.

3 bedroom rate in Newcastle £499.93.

So how does this help?

If you have a 3 bedroom property in Newcastle in the private sector and are achieving £400-£450 rent, you can see by accepting a tenant on LHA you can increase this to just under £500!

NOW TIME FOR THE DOUBLE WHAMMY!-Super Maxed LHA!

If you truly understand LHA there is an opportunity to maximise the rents even further. You can do this on tenants who qualify by doing separate LHA claims.

Example – if one of the family is over 18 and not in full time education – son daughter, grandmother for example then you have an opportunity to SUPER MAX the rent!

Mum and dad.

19 year old daughter.

Daughter has a child aged 2.

Mum and dad=shared accommodation rate.

Daughter and child aged 2= 2 bedroom rate

Newcastle LHA rates= shared accommodation (£260.00PCM) + 2 bedroom rate (446.94 PCM) = £706.94 PCM RENT!

1 tenancy agreement=£706.94 and 2 claim forms.

How do I understand all of this?

It may seem quite complicated but as long as you have a questionnaire with set questions to ask any new leads then you will be able to make sure that you only show people around your properties that meet your vetting criteria and qualify for the right housing benefit rates.

Would you like to Super Max Your Rent?!?!

If the answer is YES then you need to contact us today and transfer your property. To do this just reply to this email and I will contact you immediately,

Yours sincerely,

Chris Fitzakerley

P.S- how can I prove I know what I am talking about?

I am a landlord myself and own 150 properties plus.

I have bought 1 property in the last 6 months.

I have 600 plus properties under management.

I specialise in professional and benefit tenants.

100.4% of rent collected within 1 month in 2013 (we collected owed rent on properties we took on).

Only £53.00 arrears in 2013 written off (NGU Properties).

Only 5% Management Fee for first 3 months.