Written by Carlo Lega –Grant Specialist Wolverhampton
Feature -Home Improvement Grants For Landlords
Not a match made in heaven unfortunately.
After 5 years of dealing with private tenants to upgrade their heating and insulation, I have had to adopt certain measures in order to get the job done !
My Dilemma
Getting a home improvement grant installed whether for new central heating or insulation upgrades through to completion and installed in a rented property has always been extremely challenging to say the least.
You would think that there would be a lot of enthusiasm from both tenant and landlord , not to mention gratefulness.
However, my findings have been that the landlord usually wanted it all done for him / her and would not lift a finger unless he had to! Tenant apathy was also a big problem with little interest in helping the landlord improve his property.
Failed applications
When I first started out, I had loads of failed jobs much to my frustration! As a very conscientious type of person, I had many a sleepless night too !
These failed jobs were usually down to : ·
Unable to contact tenant. ·
Incomplete paperwork. ·
No access to property for surveys or install. ·
Tenant refusal.
I could never understand why the tenant would be so unenthusiastic towards a measure that would benefit them financially ( smaller heating bills ) and make their home more cosy.
The Penny Drops finally
After much deliberation and research which involved speaking to many tenants I finally put my finger on the reasons why. These include: ·
A lot of tenants I have come across do loathe their landlord and would not **** on him if he was on fire ! Failure to do repairs to the property , high rents , lack of interest in property maintenance have all taken their toll on the tenant / landlord relationship unfortunately. ·
Lots of tenants move on after 6 months ( after running up lots of arrears ! ) so do not want to do something that will only benefit their landlord or new incoming tenant. Why should they care!
I do find that the majority of my clients are short term tenants. I wonder why !
No tenant incentive.
Many landlords have happily accepted their free / discounted boiler without making small provision for the tenant whose benefits have made this £2000 gift to them possible.
A small gift voucher or discount off the rent would have done wonders for the goodwill of the relationship.
The Answer
I do like to react to problems quickly and put a fix in place. I do have this nailed now and very rarely get a problem with rented property’s. ( What a clever boy am ! lol)
· When I get an enquiry from a tenant , I always insist that the landlord calls me as I explain that we are only allowed to deal with the property owner. No landlord call = deleted enquiry. ·
If the landlord calls I again explain that our installers will only deal with the property owner and that he will have to be at the property for survey and installs. Any resistance = deleted enquiry. ·
I will only supply landlord numbers to my installers so that the landlord HAS to be involved if he wants the boiler or insulation measure.
My Findings- Has it worked?
This has worked out really well as I have found that landlord will not want to miss out on a £2000 boiler ·
Will not be so quick to cancel if asked for a contribution if they have had to put themselves out and attend the property for surveys.
They will have to get up early to catch me out !
Summary
If you are working as an energy surveyor / lead generator and want to ensure all your grant applications get installed AND you get paid………….. Only deal with the landlord.
Thanks for viewing