Tricks tenants get up to

scrummy_mummy_2

Had to test this once...NLA told me that, once served, if served correctly that is! a S21 DOES NOT expire and can be enforced at any point...in my particular circumstances I was working with a tenant who was having real problems paying the rent, but I wanted them to be able to stay as long as possible and give them as much chance to catch up as I could, so issued a S21 in Oct...didn't apply for possession till the following August.

franklee

Hi scrummy mummy, Have you noticed there is a scrummy-mummy here too? Such a similar user name had me well confused for a second just now.

angrypirate

Ladybird20 wrote: »

take no deposit, add £37.50 per month onto the rent, on your AST in the section "extra condtions" add the phrase or similar "upon completion of tenancy provided property is left in a clean & tidy condtion with no outstanding debts, £450 will be refunded upon vacant possesion" hope this helps.......
Thats a bloomin good idea has anybody done that????

As a tenant (and i'd like to think of myself as a good one) i think this is an appalling idea. Ive had bad landlords who have delayed and delayed in returning the deposit - one even claimed that the cheque he had sent me had even been cashed and it wasnt until i threatened him with the small claims court action did he return it. The TDS is fantastic and shouldnt be shunned. I would never sign such a contract and I expect most good honest tenants wouldnt either. This is a sure-fire way of only attracting bad tenants.

daska

Well, I wish we had Clutton as LL at the last place we lived! Our LL wrote to us to tell us we could stay if we behaved (we'd called in the council to get a category 1 safety deficiency repaired and complained about faulty oven, microwave, hob, freezer and washing machine and a 1" gap around the front and back doors letting in wind and rain!!!!!!) at the same time that the Agent sent us the S21. We agreed a period of leniency on the last month's rent with the Agent while they attempted to sort out the dispute over the repairs. The LL then repossessed (before the end of the 6 month tenancy) without giving the agent warning of their intentions or allowing us a check-out, and while we were not at the property, and claimed all our deposit on the basis that we were behind on the rent and we'd deliberately broken the locks... To get anything back from them we'd have had to take them to court, which tbh we don't have time or energy for. So we settled for half the deposit... Unfortunately for Clutton and ourselves (we are also LLs), it's LLs like this who make it more likely that tenants will take advantage whenever they can.

tbs624

angrypirate wrote: »

As a tenant (and i'd like to think of myself as a good one) i think this is an appalling idea. Ive had bad landlords who have delayed and delayed in returning the deposit - one even claimed that the cheque he had sent me had even been cashed and it wasnt until i threatened him with the small claims court action did he return it. The TDS is fantastic and shouldnt be shunned. I would never sign such a contract and I expect most good honest tenants wouldnt either. This is a sure-fire way of only attracting bad tenants.

The idea, put forward originally in this thread by mshale, would in any case still fall foul of the tenancy deposit law and leave a LL unable to serve a S21 - see post 21

The good thing about such suggestions being aired on a well-used forum is that more tenants will become aware of what it is that such LLs are trying to do. There is little advantage to the Tenant - yes you avoid having to find a lump sum up front, but you run the risk, as was the case previously, of the LL just deciding to keep the whole lot at the end anyway.

lucielou5

I have to agree that the TDS worked for us.

In a previous rented home we had an appalling experience.

Our little boy had heart surgery at 3 weeks old and we spent weeks living at the hospital (40 miles away). We were a week late late with one months rent but our LLs response was that we should "make the rent our priority." :mad: He then served notice on us and no amount of reasoning would get him to change his mind. We ended up technically homeless and, to cap it all, he deducted £250 from our deposit for "expenses." At the time we were angry but were too concerned with our sons health and finding somewhere to live to challenge it.

In desperation I placed an ad on Gumtree outlining our predicament and lo and behold we were offered a beautiful home from a fantastic LL. He was like guardian angel. :A The deposit was placed in a TDS and later when we (reluctantly) moved out due to my partners new job offer we had no problems getting our deposit back.

lucielou5

Clutton,

I am appalled at the way you were treated. To have your generosity thrown back in your face is terrible. Was it not for a LL like yourself, my family would have faced a terrible future (see previous post).

Head-Out-Of-Sand

I'm not 100% on the ins-and-outs of section 21s as I am RLL and things are much simpler, but legislation aside, what a despicable way to behave towards you, Clutton!

You are clearly one of the good guys when it comes to being an LL and this girl has treated you appallingly. No matter what the legislation says (and it sounds dodgy to me being able to move out with no notice) there is such a thing as common decency.

Oh well, I guess you can just leave it up to karma, eh?

All the best, and well done for not letting this bad apple ruin your good attitude!

franklee

Head-Out-Of-Sand wrote: »

I'm not 100% on the ins-and-outs of section 21s as I am RLL and things are much simpler, but legislation aside, what a despicable way to behave towards you, Clutton!

You are clearly one of the good guys when it comes to being an LL and this girl has treated you appallingly. No matter what the legislation says (and it sounds dodgy to me being able to move out with no notice) there is such a thing as common decency.

The issue is, if a landlord serves an Section 21 notice requiring possession (that's essentially requesting the tenant leave) then if the tenant leaves after the notice period in the S21 has expired, BUT without serving their own notice back, can the landlord then claim a further months rent off the tenant for lack of tenant's notice?

Thing is some landlords serve the Section 21 as part of their tenancy agreement, but this time Clutton may not have remembered to fill it in, she didn't in her copy of the tenancy agreement but I don't know if it was filled in on the tenant's copy. Why it's in the tenancy agreement in the first place

Personally I think that if the landlord served notice then the tenant doesn't have to.

clutton_2

thank you guys (blushes!) - i do my best. i am about to house another single parent mum with a 10 year old daughter, who failed to pay her rent in her last house through unforeseen circumstances two years ago and ended up with CCJs - sometimes folks need someone to give them a second chance.

had i recalled the "overlapping benefit" payment facility, none of all this would have been necessary, i will for sure remember it next time.