There is a lot of bad press out there regarding tenants who are on benefits, and many landlords and letting agents believe that renting to LHA tenants can cause problems regarding arrears and the way the property is looked after.

We manage over 150 tenancies where the tenant is in receipt of LHA and currently have an arrears rate of 2%, so how do we achieve this?

On all of our LHA tenancies we utilise the DWP's legislation to our landlords and tenants benefit to ensure we as the agent receive direct payment. Tenants like the fact that the landlord is receiving the rent direct as this takes the onus off them and gives them one less thing to worry about.

It is important to be able to build a relationship with your tenant to ensure a smooth running tenancy and that any changes in their circumstances are notified to us immediately to avoid overpayment and a claw back.  If the tenant is not comfortable with you then they will quite often avoid contact and bury their heads in the sand which can potentially lead to arrears.