Long term letting to County Councils.

KOW

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I have an apartment let to South Dublin County Council on the long term letting scheme.
I get 80% of the going rent for similar properties. Unlike RAS scheme SDCC manage the apartment repairs tenants etc. At the end of the lease which is for 8yrs my agreement/lease states that the apartment is handed back to me in original condition.
Can anybody who availed of this scheme advise me how well their property was returned to them at end of lease. Cheers
 
Expect - should be same as you gave - subject to normal use and age (8 years older)
 
How old is that scheme? It may be too early for any properties to have been handed back yet.
 
Variations of the scheme have been running for at least 15 years so there should be ample experience. Dublin City Council's scheme has options to lease long-term for 10, 15 and 20 years. They will pay 80% of market (they say Daft average for similar properties) rent or 85% if property has a service charge paid by the owner. Rent is indexed to CPI at regular intervals.

Interestingly, the rent is not subject to RPZ restrictions so it might suit a landlord trapped into a historically low rent level having done the decent thing by a long sitting tenant. No RTB registration fee either.

I downloaded the draft long term rental agreement and it APPEARED to say that at the end of the lease period, DCC would not be responsible for handing back contents. In practice, I suppose furniture would be written off and replaced after ten years anyway.

On the surface at least, it looks like an attractive option for a landlord that wants to be hands off. A letting agent would be charging about 10% anyway, so an extra 5% to cover all voids and all repairs is a good deal.

And it would also simplify record keeping and tax returns.

I'd be interested in hearing from anyone with practical experience.
 
Baby boomer,

@galway_blow_in has posted good information before on this scheme though not specifically on the point raised by the OP. See these threads:


Post 33 and after

 
Baby boomer,

@galway_blow_in has posted good information before on this scheme though not specifically on the point raised by the OP. See these threads:


Post 33 and after


While Nobody has answered the question I have asked let me add experience to date.
On the scheme for past four years. All good paid on time every month. No dealings at all with the property. Just phoned up council regarding rent review after two years and no problems there.
Anyone considering the scheme please note in my case I was liable for any repairs etc for the first six months of my eight year lease.
 
While Nobody has answered the question I have asked let me add experience to date.
On the scheme for past four years. All good paid on time every month. No dealings at all with the property. Just phoned up council regarding rent review after two years and no problems there.
Anyone considering the scheme please note in my case I was liable for any repairs etc for the first six months of my eight year lease.


When you entered into the scheme, was there much negotiation over the rent figure? did they give a figure and it was take it or leave it? Did you rent a house or apt to them? How rigorous was their inspection of the property and finally how long was the process to get signed up ? Thanks.
 
When you entered into the scheme, was there much negotiation over the rent figure? did they give a figure and it was take it or leave it? Did you rent a house or apt to them? How rigorous was their inspection of the property and finally how long was the process to get signed up ? Thanks.
Hi Laststop,
Rented an apartment to South Dublin CC. They compared three properties in the area and we agreed what 80% of the average rent was. No problem there.
Inspection of property was straight forward as I had just renovated. Bit of paper work showing proof of ownership maintenance fees up to date. Electrician signing off all was to code etc.
I had tenant in situation on the RAS scheme so I think it took about a month once everything was submitted to go from RAS onto Long Term Lease.
Hope that helps.
 
Hi KNO, My mum is thinking about this scheme I’ll do the negotiations for her. So I’m just wondering if you could use your own Electriian or an up to date cert inspection that the electrics were up to code or do they insist on their own inspection? Thanks in advance
 
Hi KNO, My mum is thinking about this scheme I’ll do the negotiations for her. So I’m just wondering if you could use your own Electriian or an up to date cert inspection that the electrics were up to code or do they insist on their own inspection? Thanks in advance
As far as I can remember at the time they had a list of sparks that they approved. You choose and arrange inspection etc. The sparks then sends report directly to Council.
 
They need a 4 page report from an electrician (any qualified electrician in my case ). The electrician gave me the report and I just scanned and sent it to the council
 
one thing to be aware of is the local authorities have the right to sub lease the property to a third party who then manage the property instead of the council

they are often homeless charities or NGO,s who help rehouse people who have been in prison or substance abuse issues , my return on money has been very good in the nearly two and a half years but im not sure id do it with anything but a cheap property

in this country where the bleeding hearts get all resources , i think its too tempting for councils to use long term leases to house seriously dysfunctional people , ive only staked 72 k and ive already taken in over 23 k since july 2018 without spending a single penny but im still not sure id do it with a property costing more than even 120 k as i would not be sure the council would hand it back the way they got it , could easily see myself having to spend a years rent doing repairs after ten years , in my case il probably just extend the lease to twenty years but someone might not want to do that with a property costing 300 k ?
 
Where did u get a house for 72k in 2018 that a council were interested in renting from you? It must be in a terrible area is it? Great ROI though.
 
Where did u get a house for 72k in 2018 that a council were interested in renting from you? It must be in a terrible area is it? Great ROI though.

limerick city and not st marys park or moyross etc ( town house ) , the house along with several each side of it flooded in 2014 , it was completely dry lined and refurbished by the time i bought it in september 2017 , houses a few doors up sold for 45 k in 20151 ( post refurbishment ) as that was before the flood prevention began , i thought of buying two at the time but talked myself out of it

since 2014 , limerick city council has erected significant flood defences in this area so i see the risk as worthwhile , granted if it ever flooded again , id be a fool
 
Some recent experience on seeking to let a property to DCC under their LTL scheme:
  1. Their standards are very high. Their surveyors will examine the property top to bottom and "issues" that have never caused a problem in 100+ years of occupation of the house by its owners/private tenants will be show-stoppers for the council. For example, very small gaps in the party wall in the attic of a 100+ year old house will not be acceptable, if the windows are big enough to meet fire exit requirements but are not very large they may request that hinges are changed to increase the opening area.
  2. They offer no solutions in respect of the issues raised. Owner must resolve everything privately.
  3. There is no list of contractors/surveyors/certifiers that they require you to use to meet the requirements they set.
  4. The lease cannot be executed without appointing a lawyer. Presumably there is some sort of lien on the property that gets registered on the folio.
  5. There is a requirement to obtain the "consent" of the lender if there is a mortgage on the property. However, there is no prescribed form or standard wording.
  6. It is necessary to have the Council noted on the insurance policy, which the owner must retain. Some insurers may not be willing to provide insurance on a house let to the council/this type of letting may be regarded as riskier for the insurer and may attract a higher premium. The council offer no solution in this regard.
  7. Full certification is required in respect of electricity supply, fire alarm systems and gas supplies. This must be
  8. The property has to have a D1 energy rating or better. This may increase in the future.
  9. Oil/Gas boiler has to have been installed in the last 5 years or this is a show-stopper.
  10. All white goods have to be less than 6 months old with receipts/guarantees even if they are in perfect working order/high-end models - must dump anything more than 6 months old and replace with new or lease will not proceed.
  11. Council want a right of first refusal in event of sale of property during the lease term. This may mean the owner won't get full MV for the property if they have to sell.
  12. Tax Clearance certificate, NPPR certificate of discharge, LPT record.
  13. Exacting furniture requirements.
  14. No negotiation on rental valuation offered.
  15. No sense that there is a crisis of accommodation - if anything, they appear to have a good supply of property being made available and are in no rush to secure one-off properties.
Overall it's possibly simple enough for properties that have recently been refurbished from top to bottom, new builds or recently purchased buy to lets.

Has anyone gone through the process and if so, can they offer a ballpark for the cost of the legals, surveys etc.?
 
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