Potential Problems with Tennant

clutton_2

from now on, any letters you write send via ordinary post and get a receipt from the post office - this will be your "proof of Service" if it gets to court.

Fire_Fox

gromit2303 wrote: »

Just really that everything was to be in writing from now on and could she provide us with a written termination of tenancy as a text was not acceptable. We have not had anything yet apart from a ranting phone call last night demanding to see copies of the damp proof report.

My husband intends to write again tomorrow if she does not respond. It can be put through her letter box whilst she is at work.

Do not put a letter through the door, you should not be going to the house uninvited as this can be misrepresented as harrassment. If you specified that you wanted contact in writing then why did you speak to the tenant on the telephone? Send the next letter recorded delivery again keeping the slip, and if your tenant rings reiterate your request for contact in writing, say goodbye and quietly put the phone down. You must be more professional, even if the tenant is not.

Kilmaley01

God you guys really can be blunt!! Firefox....the house is practically on our doorstep...whats so wrong with putting a letter through a letterbox....or answering a mobile out of politeness?? It's clear we would know she had called and we had ignored it.

Whilst I agree that we need to be more professional when it comes to her leaving etc, I see no reason why we should be rude or ignorant and treat her with no respect!

socrates

gromit2303 wrote: »

God you guys really can be blunt!! Firefox....the house is practically on our doorstep...whats so wrong with putting a letter through a letterbox....or answering a mobile out of politeness?? It's clear we would know she had called and we had ignored it.

Whilst I agree that we need to be more professional when it comes to her leaving etc, I see no reason why we should be rude or ignorant and treat her with no respect!

I told you ages ago this thread was spiralling out of control - just follow my advice in #55 and Cluttons advice and soon it will be all over - after that come back and get advice on how to do things properly - LandlordZone.com is also a good place for advice

clutton_2

gromit - please realise that you are an amateur in this - and we know what we are talking about - and have seen this before - you have not.

There is so much advice for tenants these days, and every action you take will be mis-interpreted and twisted out of all recognition if this gets to court - and there is never any guarantee that it wont.

Someone as unstable as your tenant could be very difficult indeed - if you visit you mat be accused of breaching her "quiet enjoyment" - and there are criminal sanctions of 3 years in prison for harrassment ....... (i was threatened with that yesterday by a tenant because i bumped into her in the street and spoke to her )

i know all this seems ridiculous to you - but - these are wise words from us landlords - please heed them

Kilmaley01

Clutton.....I'm sure you are right and I'm sure they are wise words. However, I'm a firm believer in talking to people and treating them as equal...... Ignoring her telephone call would have been downright rude. If she raises her voice or makes any threats, then no, we will not continue the conversation and end the call but to just ignore it and not reply, is, in my opinion, ignorant.

As Landlords, yes we may be a little nieve, but only because we have not had any problems until now and not needed to worry. We have another property thats been let for the last 5 years and never once had any issues with any of the tenants that lived/live there.

That said, I appreciate all the good advice and help I've had on here. Thanks.

Kilmaley01

Hi again,

Hoping some of you (Clutton perhaps) will remember this thread and not have to go all the way back to read over it. So here's an update and maybe someone can advise us....

Tenant moved out as agreed on 13th October, still insisting we had a damp problem which has caused damage to her clothes and some of her furniture (sofa against outside wall) etc. Two days after she moved out we had a damp specialist in (same one that gave us a report 3 years ago when we bought the house) and his report confirms that there is no damp / excess mositure in the walls and that the mold on the walls etc is caused by lack of ventilation / heating / drying wet clothes on radiators - therefore that it is condensation caused by the tenant. Anyhow, we had agreed ourselves that it would be easier and less hassle to just clean the walls and decorate again, due to the access on the policy where the bond was.

I phoned all the utilities last week to advise them that the tenant had moved out. This included 'Flo Gas'. The tenant left the property with 40% gas still in the tank. Flo Gas told me that this had been paid for up front and that they did not give refunds or extract the gas back and that what gas that was left in the tank was there for the next tenant or whoever to use.

This evening we have had a phone call from the tenants mother saying that we were obliged to pay her for the gas she left behind in the property, and that when she had phoned Flo Gas, that they said to persue us for the money as they wouldnt give any refunds.

So where do we stand with this? We've written off the damage that she caused to the walls and carpet rather than cause a fuss and now she wants to claim money off us for gas she paid for earlier in the year and has not used.

Can anyone throw any light on this?

I should point out that we have not joined the Landlords Association as we have decided to put the property on the market once it's redecorated.

Thanks in advance!

Fire_Fox

I don't really know how much more we can help, you seem to want to do things your way and misinterpret what we recommend (e.g. who said to ignore calls?). You are still dealing with a formal situation in an informal manner and, as a result, the tenant is running rings around you again.

Why are you debating anything with the mother, was she ever party to the tenancy agreement? The issue of damp/ damage and the issue of gas are two separate entities: the tenants contract for gas supply was not with you, she paid the utility company so if she wants a refund she needs to speak to them.

Kilmaley01

Firefox, thanks for responding. Someone along the way in the thread said dont answer calls from her and make sure everything is in writing.

She asks her mother to speak to us because I think she is afraid to do it herself? When we did the inventory when she moved out, her mother was there then also.

Sorry if I didnt seem grateful whilst on here before, I very much am to all of your advice.

clutton_2

i dont think you are responsible for re-imbursing her for the fact that she bought too much fuel..

as FF says you are under no obligation to talk to her mother, she is not your tenant

what happened about the deposit ?