ciggarettes in the toilet

Milliewilly

zet wrote: »

Well there is nothing more annoying than a landlord acting like a boarding school housemistress. Without seeing the property then it is hard to tell if you are just being neurotic or whether you should evict the tenants ASAP.

What I mean is that if the property is recently decorated and maintained to a very high showroom style-spec then I would also be worried as cigarette smells would put off certain future tenants.

However, if your rental hasn't been decorated well or was decorated in the distant past, then you are never going to get that type of tenant, so I would at least be happy these tenants are paying the bills. Future smoking tenants will not be able to smell it. The propensity to smoke among renters is far higher than the general population.

?? So if the tenant decides after accepting the tenancy terms and inspecting the house that the decor isn't quite upto their high standards then its OK to smoke in it is it?

I will never become a Landlord after reading the horror stories on here. No smoking means no smoking if the tenants doesn't like it they should look for a let which allows smoking not make excuses about the decor.

Fire_Fox

Don't feed the trolls please children.

mikey72

I don't think a no smoking polikcy is legally enforcable, all you can do is chuck them out.
Keeping the deposit to cover re-decorating if they have turned the ceiling brown is ok though.
You haven't given the trademen keys to get in have you, that's not ok.

zet_2

navarato wrote: »

zet i brought the property 6/12 ago and renovated it top to bottom to a high standard

I would look at getting new tenants then ASAP. Completely getting rid of cigarette smells require at least extensive cleaning and airing, if not a complete repaint.

feefee_3

'professional in this field' wow then he could have fixed the problem then, i smoke and if i was in a let i would probly smoke in the bathroom with the window open, as its the smallest room and when the wall do go yellow it aint a massive paint job
hopefully its just a one off

ThrowingStonesAtYou

navarato wrote: »

tenants contacted me about repairs in first place which i answered by giving them a written 24 hr notice that tradesperson will be coming to property to deal with issues raised. sometimes i don't know why i bother....:mad:

Obviously if the tenant has asked for repairs they should be accomodating to the repairmen, but that wasn't my point. My point was that you can't go round trying to enforce highly suspect AST clauses, if the tenant is in any way aware of his rights you are just going to make the situation worse.

zet_2

Milliewilly wrote: »

?? So if the tenant decides after accepting the tenancy terms and inspecting the house that the decor isn't quite upto their high standards then its OK to smoke in it is it?

I will never become a Landlord after reading the horror stories on here. No smoking means no smoking if the tenants doesn't like it they should look for a let which allows smoking not make excuses about the decor.

I am just being practical from a commercial perspective. The rental market is differentiated into different segments. From showroom perfection aimed at professionals to gracefully declining properties.

Until this year I rented for many years from a series of private landlords, and despite the houses being in the cheap and gracefully declining category, I had a very friendly relationship with them, and they were all willing to provide references for me when I left. The fact that they saw it as their vocation to provide places for people to live, rather than investment vehicles, accounted for this.

navarato

feefee wrote: »

'professional in this field' wow then he could have fixed the problem then

i think he probably wanted me to give him the job so he could earn a bit of cash for xmas....;)

Fire_Fox

navarato wrote: »

Ha! just got a rude text from one of the tenants saying he thinks my tradespeople i have sent to the house are crap-apparently he says he is a 'professional in this field'. I am a bit miffed as any problem they've reported to me i get fixed for them asap, allow them to pay the rent 5 days later then what it says on the ast, got them a sofa when they requested it (was none in the house). I have protected their deposit with dps.

Tenant says in future he wants us to agree on who these people are before they come to the house! But it says in my AST that any perosn i authorise for repairs on 24hrs notice can enter the property. Also, i am not in the habit of sending cowboys to do repairs and the tradespeople i have all have the appropriate licences.

Why are you allowing your tenant to communicate with you in such an informal manner? Why are you allowing them to call the shots in regards to payment dates and furniture supplied? Why are you even contemplating whether the tenant can veto your choice of contractor?

This relationship clearly needs to be put back onto a professional footing! Do not be drawn into any further debate on this issue, use the broken record technique - that means you politely repeat what you intend to happen until the message gets through. Reply to all future texts in writing reminding the tenant that emergencies should be reported by telephone and all other problems be communicated in writing.

zet_2

Fire_Fox wrote: »

Why are you allowing your tenant to communicate with you in such an informal manner? Why are you allowing them to call the shots in regards to payment dates and furniture supplied? Why are you even contemplating whether the tenant can veto your choice of contractor?

Is the AST period still in force? Not sure why we need to know that you protected his deposit, since that is a legal requirement since 2007. But yes a bit odd for him to choose the contractor, it is not his property.

How often do contractors go in? If it is essential work that will cause damage if not maintained (i.e. the plumbing) then he can not object. However, if it is less essential, giving your tenant the minimum 24 hours notice could infringe on his peaceful enjoyment of the property. I wouldn't be too happy if my social arrangements were regularly interrupted by contractors.