Updating post from Reddit.
If I were to operate a rent-to-rent business where I lease a property from a landlord and let it out to individual tenants, and I needed to evict one of those tenants through the standard court process, would I be required to attend the court hearing myself, or would the property owner need to attend — assuming the tenancy agreement is between me and the tenant?
It would have to be the actual landlord. That’s why rent to rent is nothing more than a scam. I bet the properties are not properly insured because they can’t be sublet.
Same is true if they have mortgages. No lenders of BTL loans allow subleasing.
If you are asking this question you are clearly unsuitable and unqualified to be running a business of this sort. It’s rudimentary knowledge.
For me, it's more of a one-off situation rather than a business. I’m considering renting a property from a family friend who owns an HMO but no longer wants the hassle of managing it day to day and is potentially moving abroad. I already have my own HMO property, so I am familiar with how to manage one. Could we potentially put something in the agreement between myself and the landlord which allows me to be fully responsible in case of evictions?
The landlord owns the freehold of the house. No mortgage.
No you can’t circumvent the law. The law was changed on appeal about a year ago for exactly this reason.
The insurance issue remains
So then you don't need to do rent to rent anyway, you can just manage it and the owner can pay you to do so as they would a letting agent. You'd be able to do almost anything the landlord can do as their agent - find tenants, collect rent (deduct your fee and pass rest to owner), sign tenancy agreements, arrange works etc. Make sure you have an agreement with them to protect yourself and make it clear what the responsibilities and liabilities of both parties are.
The owners doesn't need to physically be there, they just to be represented by their legal representative (a solicitor)
Doesn't have to be the actual landlord, can be a representative of the landlord equally validly
You’re likely best off going to an ask legal UK type sub.
It’s not something so have expressly come across myself but I would say yes you would need to attend and the freeholder (original owner) may not. It would depend on the situation.
In practice, what I often do see, is the middleman vanishes or declares bankruptcy at the first sign of trouble such as a tenant complaint, refusal to pay rent etc. In such cases it does then fall to the freeholder.
I won’t go as far as to say never do rent-to-rent but never do rent-to-rent as it’s almost always a scam.
Thanks for your response. The reason I bring it up is because I’m considering renting a property from a family friend who owns an HMO but no longer wants the hassle of managing it day to day and is potentially moving abroad. I just want to ensure that, in the event of an eviction, I would be the one handling the entire process so that he wouldn’t need to be involved.
Yes, it can be just yourself. No different than if you were an agent. In many cases you ain't even need to go to court as some are auto granted if they are not challenged like section 8 for missing rent.
The rent-to-rent agent with a commercial lease that allows subletting can attend the court. However, this may lead to confusion, and the hearing could become more complicated as a result. The court may require you to prove that you hold the head lease, among other demands.
If you were to operate a rent-to-rent business, you should consult a legal professional for both drafting such agreements and the eviction process itself.
It's a good question to ask as a lot of rent-to-renters get this wrong and set up more of a letting agent type contract instead of a head lease and fall into this issue.
Strictly speaking nobody needs to attend, you're unlikely to get your desired outcome though 😅
You will get to that stage when you get to it but the courts have a form you fill in to declare relationship with the litigant. Only concern I would have is if the tenant turns up with a solicitor and you are inconsistent in anyway you will be tied up by their lawyering
There would be nothing to stop you attending court as the owners agent and acting on their behalf. The tenancy would name the owner as the landlord, but you could then act on their instruction, including attending court or appointing legal representation to attend court.
In effect you would be the property manager, not operating a rent to rent scam, how you chose to structure the fee is down to you and the property owner. It could in effect be rent to rent, you pay a set price and then try to make profit from renting out to another, without ever being the tenant.
With the owners consent there is no issue with this at all.