Our property investor member was moving abroad for work and was looking for a secure hands-off tenant for his two properties in Nottingham. He was attracted to supported living as a way to make a real difference to someone's life without the stress of managing the property himself. Care and housing providers tend to offer longer leases with no voids, so they are ideal tenants for investors with minimal time on their hands.
The property was listed on the Supported Living Gateway portal and our member was contacted by a community interest company (CIC), a social enterprise that provides housing and support for people facing homelessness in the Nottinghamshire area. The CIC arranged a viewing to see our members’ 2-bedroom flat and agreed to take it on a 5-year lease. As they were also looking for more properties in the area, the CIC agreed to take a 3-bedroom house owned by the same investor as well, also on a 5-year lease.
The tenants will be provided with support sessions at least once a week focused on building life skills such as budgeting, applying for training or work and helping with referrals for any other problems regarding their mental health or any addictions they might have. Access to public transport is really important and self-contained units are currently their priority.
Two young men (18 and 19 years old) have moved into the 2-bed flat, both are care leavers who have been in the system for many years, in and out of hostels, living in squats, and involved with drugs. The CIC are giving them support to find work; one has started a carpet-fitting apprenticeship and the other is receiving some help to start an online course.
A young couple and their 3-year-old daughter are moving into the house. They had been evicted from their previous property and had accumulated debt after losing work and struggling with mental health. They already have friends and family in the area and are getting support to pay off their debts and find work.
In both cases, the tenants didn’t need any special adaptations to be made to the properties. Both the flat and the house had been rented out previously and needed some cosmetic improvement which was organised on behalf of our member. Their enterprise offers housing placements and support for people for up to two years, and they take on the responsibility of placing the tenants themselves. They also arrange all the maintenance, carry out property inspections and manage the inventory. All voids are covered as the rent is guaranteed, there is no management fee and the rent is above LHA rate so the property investor ends up with a higher net income each month whilst he worked abroad, safe in the knowledge his property is being looked after.
We’ve used The Gateway since it was first established, and during this time we have secured two properties for our residents. It was a smooth process and the communication has been superb. We will continue to access The Gateway to help provide our residents with more great accommodation!
The potential rental income can look really attractive with HMOs but a lot of that income can get eaten up by costs and voids. Find out how you could be better off with a supported living lease.
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A young man with complex learning disabilities needed a home urgently after his placement had broken down.
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