What if I only want to let for 6 months?

Sorry, but there's nothing you can do other than an AST.

There may be other sugestions on here, but they will inevitably be shams and fraught with danger. Housing legislation is pretty clear.

Use a good agent and set clear parameters. There's no guarantee, but too many people fall foul of legislation by carelessness.

Airbnb?

Ironic that one of the reasons behind the introduction of ASTs was to enable people to let out their properties for short periods to fit in with their personal circumstances with a good degree of certainty of getting them back.

Nobody should be under any illusion that doing so now is high risk - even if S21 is still around, court delays could mean a six month plus wait to gain possession. And S8 looks like going to minimum 2 years wait on the grounds of owner wishing to move in.

S21 has only become such a problem due to the shortage of rental homes. Sadly, Rayner, Gove before her and Neate,Twomey etc can’t grasp that many properties will be left empty rather than coming onto the rental market for relatively short periods - making the shortage more severe.

AirBnB could be the answer. You set the flat up with all the basics for a walk in. You can set up a minimum number of nights stay. The rent is higher (x2 round here) but you must do changeovers etc. The market is not just tourists. We see 2-3 week stays by people doing work on their main house or 1 week for contract workers from Brickies to university lecturers who travel for short term gigs. They are more likely to be good renters as they rely on good reviews to get their next accommodation. A bad review means you don't touch them and people don't use you. A 6 month AST can take 15 months to move on a tricky one with damage etc. Wonder why AirBnB (others are available) is so popular?

Not worth the risk for six months. Just keep the flat empty.

I wanted to let out my flat for 6 months only every year as I do not want to live there during the summer months, (I am fortunate to have a holiday caravan to reside in during the summer) however, I would wish to regain possession for the winter months. This would provide an additional revenue stream for me and HMRC I am now far too scared to enact this plan due to labour policies and I fear greatly being able to regain possession.
The government has now lost a tax revenue stream from me and prevents somebody from living in my flat for the summer months for whatever reason they need to.
Thanks, commies.

Reply to the comment left by Dylan Morris at 09/08/2024 - 11:24
I echo that. 6 months isn't worth the trouble and potential nightmare.

Don’t do it …!
Worst decision
If doesn’t leave…?
All laws are in ‘their’ favour.

1. Take out an insurance policy to protect you against the risk of a tenant failing to move out of the flat?

However I've only ever heard of rent guarantee insurance, not "repossession insurance"

2. How many bedrooms does the flat have? If more than one, when your tenant moves out, move into one bedroom yourself: possessions, put your name on the utility bills and council tax, tell your new neighbours etc. Then advertise the other room(s) as available for lodgers, not tenants. As a resident landlord your rights to evict are absolute. Of course you don't need to sleep there all the time, just enough to prove you are indeed a resident landlord, someone who is getting set up in their new home whilst still owning your main property, making it tidy for sale, doing minor DIY etc.

You will still attract short-term clients, as there are lots of people on contracts, short work projects etc, who fall between the high costs of very short-term hotels and AirBnB and the six-month commitment of an AST. There's been a decades-long serious shortage of accommodation for such people, who are poorly served because of current legislation.

Depending when you brought the flat or your main dwelling if you paid the second property surcharge you might be able to claim it back after your sale. I can’t remember the exact rules around this but if it is allowed maybe that can boost a bit of income in order to keep it empty. Also depending on the councils some allow £0 council tax for 3 months others is only 1 months some are full no matter what, you don’t get single discount either so worth looking into this too.

Either way either AirBnB or keep empty. No worth risk for 6months