We recently received the following query from a member

 

I just joined and your site seems very good. I was saddened to see that you implicitly advise against renting to women fleeing domestic violence on this page: http://www.pims.co.uk/Selecting-the-tenant 

I'm sure that advice is accurate, but to raise that specific concern about the victim - rather than the fact that you may be renting to an abuser, who is surely a higher-risk tenant - does a disservice to people trying to rebuild their lives and provide a safe home for their children.

One to think about, perhaps. We all have ethical responsibilities in how we work - even if you're "just being honest".

Best wishes,

Flora

 

Dear Flora

 

Whilst I do agree with you sadly there is a fine balance to be considered of risk management and we accept each case must be considered on its individual merits.

 

All good Landlords accept they  have an ethical responsibility but ones first obligation is to our ourselves and our own families, sadly we deal with many cases each year where Tenants reunite with dubious partners  and all too often this results in further violence against their partners, neighbours, the property and even the Landlords and their partners. – A specific case I dealt with the Landlord’s wife was seriously assaulted by the Tenant’s partner  with a hammer.

 

Whilst our guidance may be perceived as “a disservice to people trying to rebuild their lives” the fact remains we hopefully achieved the objective of asking landlords to stop and think before making a decision to pass control of a valuable asset where there may be a possibility of violence and damage.

 

It is a moral decision for each individual – but as you appreciate first and foremost the objective is to achieve the best tenant for you – the risk you elect to take is your decision for penultimately it will be your reward or loss. Being a landlord it is not only about social responsibility it also minimising risk to your asset, yourself/family and rental income – and in our opinion both sides of the scale must be balanced  along the lines of risk and reward.

 

Regard s

 

Richard

 

 

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It's better to vet than regret . There are 140,000 Tenants evicted every year and they will ALWAYS find another landlord. Make sure its not you who gets stuck with the bad apple