Most Lenders Now Offer DSS Tenant Buy To Let Mortgages

Following a high profile campaign, it has been reported that most buy to let lenders have looked at their mortgage underwriting criteria and now will lend to landlords that let to tenants on benefits.

UK finance reported that the firms with no restrictions on tenants on benefits now make up 89% of the market for new buy to let lending.  Although there is a couple of lenders still have the clause in their policy.

Comment

Difficult one this as we can only see increased costs on the landlord.  Not all people on benefits are bad tenants but some are.  Likewise, not all landlords are good landlords.  We see landlord insurance costs rising.

We maintain, provided a landlord ensures the property is of a good and habitable standard and provided the tenant pays the rent on time and keeps the property in good order then all should proceed normally.  If either party does not then all their rights should be lost.  If a landlord does not act quickly to sort faults then rent should not be paid FULL STOP with no arrears being built up and indeed compensation should be paid to the tenant if the problem continues.  If a tenant does not pay rent on time and also keep the property in good order then there should be no waiting time, the tenant should be evicted unless there is good reason for arrears.  We would not expect any tenant having their rent paid by benefits to fall into arrears FULL STOP.

Perhaps a new quickfire, dispute resolution service should be regulated by Government/Local Authorities where for say a £100 fee (chargeable to the ‘at fault’ party), a local housing government inspector can visit a property and make an award ‘on the spot’ for the tenant or equally issue an eviction notice.