The unfortunate landlord

bubblesmoney

i used to stay in shared accomodation owned by a company. i found it much better managed than by private landlords. and think it is useful to have such accomodation for students. atleast for the decent sort who dont wreck the place. right at the start along with the contract they would give each person a detailed general estimate of charges for damages etc it contained repair/replacement estimates for each and every article and mind u they costs mentioned in that list was EXPENSIVE (so expensive were the estimates that i was SCARED of dirtying the place). i made sure i kept everything spick and span. even the carpets etc had replacement costs mentioned per square foot etc and also for everything that needed repairs or replacement they also mentioned the probable labour costs and admin costs and gave a cop out line stating that any excess above those mentioned would also be recovered from tenants. most people lived like people rather than like animals because of the high levels of fines that we had agreed to before taking the tenancy. there were a few fools who didnt abide by the rules and paid dearly. u need strict rules when some morons set off the fire alarm every alternate day and it got so bad the fire dept wrote to accomodation company that fines would be due in future for the high number of false alarms caused by fools leaving chip pans on the hob and disappearing or getting drunk etc, something like 750-1500£ :eek: per false alarm visit depending on the number of fire engines etc needing to be diverted to the accomodation. so the LL sent out a notice that this would be recovered from the flat where the false alarm occurred. no wonder that the false alarms soon rapidly decreased. but i wasnt surprised when they still used to go off. dont know if someone actually got billed for the false alarms and charges due to. one particular week i remember having to run out everyday (once even twice a day) with either fire engines sirens screaming outside or ambulance screaming outside. it got a lot quieter once a few people left the building

probably every LL letting out to students needs to use such a list of dmamge/repair estimates recoverable from tenant if items are damaged / stolen. this needs to be agreed along with the contract for renting the place. would save the LL a lot of hassle and also the other tenants who are law abiding and dont damage places. a lot of students would pay a bit more if they found that disruptive student tenants would be discouraged and booted out after a few misdeamenours. condoning repeated misdemeanours by a few badly behaved students causes all students to have a bad name and end up running around finding places that will accept them. if everyone had such fines built into the contracts then atleast it would be easier for sensible students to get accomodation more easily and not have to pay cleaning charges for mess created by other flatmates. i have had the disgusting experience of having had to stay in a place where some occupants used to get drunk and one even got so drunk once that he lost conciousness and lost control of his bladder and was literally floating in his own !!!!. the other bums who drank with him were just laughing and it was left to me to turn him on his side so that he didnt puke and drown in his own vomitus. it gets tiring when this sort of thing happens often

zebulon

brit1234 wrote: »

student rents have soared butting students in huge debt. Its wrong and blablabla

I would suggest that you check the price of university accommodation.

it's a rip-off.

in edinburgh students move from there to go into private renting, much cheaper (flat sharing etc) -

so you will always find in univ accommodation 1st year students, and mainly from oversea - who quickly realised what they are in for and have to wait 12months to move out.

I work in a university, many of my friends are students ... well I often wonder if I'm the one having a salary... I don't go out as often as they do, I don't shop like they do, I prepare my food, they don't.
If we go out I walk there - they take taxis etc etc.

so, also can't make a generalisatio, I agree with this description!:

"Students also put themselves in debt by drinking too much down the Uni bar, using taxis to get to town and buying ready meals and takeaways & droopy designer jeans . Guess that's the fault of bar staff, taxi drivers, shops and catering establishments?"

boyse7en

When I was a student we rented a minimalist properties for cheap. The landlords didn't do much and there was much to break. That was the student landlord relationship. Now people have in the last 8-10 years have moved into the market to make a great deal of money and student rents have soared butting students in huge debt. Its wrong and all those landlords who get burnt I think it is justified.:mad:

Not sure when you were a student, but I was in Coventry back in 1990-1994 - rent in Hillfields (possibly the worst area in the city at the time) was £27.50 each per week for three of us in a 2 bed house (front room was a bedroom) which had cost the landlord £27,000 to buy. So he was getting £357.50 per month income on a house worth £27k. Even with interest rates being higher then, that was still a very high rent to mortgage payment rate.

Premier_2

slightlycontroversial wrote: »

I've been reading throught the threads and have sympthy with those who are having tenancy issues as I have been a party to unrasonable landlords in the past as a student. Now I am experiencing things from the other perspective. We have a student flat and the tenants have left the place in a complete state with everything from general untidiness to burning the carpets and removing items. What do I do to resolve this in the best way possible?

I was going to suggest that if you have been reading the threads here, you would probably know this is not the site to ask questions such as this. Landlords are scum and tenants should treat them as such is the motto by the usual posse on this forum.

But I see I'm too late, the posts in such context have already been made. We even have one so called landlord (who I've suggested previously is probably one only in the world of Hasbro/Parker Brothers) who even has advised you to "clean it all up and move on" :rolleyes:

I think you know what you need to do about the existing issue. i.e. make deductions from the deposit held and as this probably won't be sufficient to cover the damage, decide whether it is worthwhile to pursue the matter against the former tenants further.

In regards to preventing this happening in future, ensure that you fully check out any prospective tenant by way of references and if you are letting to those without a large disposable income obtained by secure, permanent employment consider the necessity of financial guarantors to chase in case of any loss. Make sure similar checks via references are made on any guarantors.

zippygeorgeandben

For the record, I was a student for four years not so long ago and lived with 3 different sets of people and we never did any damage to any property we lived in. The LLs had no problems with us and respected us for keeping the property well maintained, they even said so on a couple of occasions.

We aren't all wannabe popstars who feel the need to trash a place and I think students are getting a bad name in this thread! It's the minority who are causing a problem so please don't tar us all with the same brush.

THanks,
Ben

tbs624

zippygeorgeandben wrote: »

.......We aren't all wannabe popstars who feel the need to trash a place and I think students are getting a bad name in this thread! It's the minority who are causing a problem so please don't tar us all with the same brush.
..

Ben - I understand your viewpoint but don't take it personally.I would endorse your comments and agree that many students are good tenants.

No-one is saying that *all* students create problems, any more than a thread in which people complain about LLs says that *all* LLs are scum.

tbs624

Premier wrote: »

I was going to suggest that if you have been reading the threads here, you would probably know this is not the site to ask questions such as this. Landlords are scum and tenants should treat them as such is the motto by the usual posse on this forum.

But I see I'm too late, the posts in such context have already been made. We even have one so called landlord (who I've suggested previously is probably one only in the world of Hasbro/Parker Brothers) who even has advised you to "clean it all up and move on" :rolleyes:

:rolleyes:
Premier why do you feel the need to be so rude: Clutton's viewpoint on the OP's situation is as valid as anyone else's, even if you don't personally agree with her. We all deal with this type of event in different ways and after all "time is money". The OP is of course free to peruse the cross section of suggestions and come to his/her own decision on a way forward.

I think it was Loretta who previously pointed out that you can sometimes be really helpful and then seem to feel the need to temper that by denigrating other contributors on a regular basis.

Bungarm2001

zippygeorgeandben wrote: »

For the record, I was a student for four years not so long ago and lived with 3 different sets of people and we never did any damage to any property we lived in. The LLs had no problems with us and respected us for keeping the property well maintained, they even said so on a couple of occasions.

We aren't all wannabe popstars who feel the need to trash a place and I think students are getting a bad name in this thread! It's the minority who are causing a problem so please don't tar us all with the same brush.

THanks,
Ben

Well, in my experience you are in the minority, sadly.

I've been letting to students for over 10 years and have far more horror stories that I even care to remember, let alone post on here. Last year, we had enough of accepting this widely held view that 'students will be students' when we found out that one set of them were using the house as an import/export agency. Suddenly, things weren't funny anymore.

For years we have put up with the inhevitable; i.e. all the kitchen stuff would go missing at the end of the tenancy; all the carpets would need replacing, practically everywhere would want redecorating and there would always be at least one broken bed (and I mean smashed) and/or radiator off the wall..you name it. At EVERY end of tenancy, there would be utility bills outstanding, so now all the meters are pre-paid type. By the way, this is all after they have stamped their feet and DEMANDED that we provide things like microwave, toaster, kettle etc as well as ironing board and iron, hoover (gawd knows why a hoover..it never got used) as well as a shower, washer etc.


Most times we have had the entire deposit off them to go someway to cover the damage, but after the TDS came into being, it is much harder to get recompense, so this year we have come down hard on the rules and regs plus making absolutely sure that we have fully reffed guarantors on board too. Obviuosly not all students act like animals let out of a cage, but believe me, the majority do and have no respect for the house they live in. Like I told the OP..s/he should do everything legal to get at least some recompense. They shouldn't be left to get away with it just because they are students and up to now a lot of LL's have let them off.

Premier_2

tbs624 wrote: »

:rolleyes:
Premier why do you feel the need to be so rude: Clutton's viewpoint on the OP's situation is as valid as anyone else's, even if you don't personally agree with her. We all deal with this type of event in different ways and after all "time is money". The OP is of course free to peruse the cross section of suggestions and come to his/her own decision on a way forward.

I think it was Loretta who previously pointed out that you can sometimes be really helpful and then seem to feel the need to temper that by denigrating other contributors on a regular basis.

What are you, clutton's minder or something?

"...if you disagree courtesy helps." But why do you disagree with almost every post I make?

Clearly one of the posse who doesn't like my presence here ... and one who ironically keeps me posting here.

How have I been rude? I quoted what clutton posted! I respectfully suggest you take your mate's own advice and "chill"
Pehaps I should remind you what you posted in response to a fellow MSE'er in this thread

tbs624 wrote:

Brit - what a load of tosh....

...and you think I'm being rude :rolleyes:

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mlz1413

OP please come back and post an answer to the first few questions - Did you take deposits, guaranators and forwarding address. Have you got signed inventorys and photos of how the property started out?

Mainly because this would answer how you need to move forward - ie none of the above clean up, lesson learned, decide on your future as a LL.

All of the above, get writing, inform you deposit scheme you are claiming all deposits in full for damages. Inform tenant and guarantors of damage cost and rent arrears. And follow it through to the end.