Being stitched up by tenat and agent-need advice

ginger_nuts

wouldnt it be easier to let them move out ASAP .Tennents can cause a lot of damage if they want .Forget the 6 month contract and get rid .

next time check the references yourself .Dont rely on an agent ,its your property not the agents .

clumsycloggs0305

Thanks to all of you, even though we don't know each other, everyone has been very supportive. I can't sleep, hence I'm up since 4.45am. I feel threatened by the interpreter. I phoned the local police station for guidance and also got the number for immigration. I plan to get hold of the LA today before 2pm and demand he put right me being out of pocket. If he doesn't agree, well, we'll have to battle it out with tenants at their offices. I can see things getting very messy. All I keep thinking is, the tenants are in the wrong and why am I being threatened to give the money back? If I can't get the money off the LA, when you think I should say to the tenant, either you make good my position (as I'll be giving the bulk of the money back), or else we go to the police station to sort this out. They are petrified when I mentioned the police...should I use this tactic?

God, I can't even think straight and I have to go to the office for half day, I won't be able to contentrate at all...having spoken to the police yesterday, I feel I should and still have time to have this in control to work in my favour...is it worth it?

MissMotivation

If it were me I would contact Immigration, if they are not entitled to be in this country then she will be deported anyway. I feel the tenants, interpreter and letting agents are all in the wrong here. On the day they are supposed to vacate I would go to the property ask them to vacate and if they won't then threaten to call Police/Immigration........I bet she leaves very quickly!!

Tassotti

Immigration is your only real chance here. The police will see it as a civil matter between you and the tenant.

However, if you are being threatened, this is a different matter. Still, I bet the police will be of no help to you.

From what you say, the Letting Agent provided a tenant introduction service only, and, so now has no obligation to be involved. (I would, however, ask to see the original credit checks/references, and if they are not satisfactory, report the LA to the professional body of which they are a member ((if they actually belong to one)))

As soon as immigration get involved, I think you'll find this family soon disappears. Keep their deposit, and move on.

Tass

nicola1982_2

Ring immigration immediately and find a better letting agent. My letting agent has completely screwed me over (I'm a tennant) in favour of a dodgy landlady and in most cases agents do work in favour of the landlord/lady rather than tennant (which sucks for me!!)

clutton_2

i think this sad sad story is indicative of how difficult it is to manage property. i have been doing it for 6 years now and have never had anything like this happen to me. You have constantly referred to the EA - you really need to use a Letting Agent rather than an Estate Agent, and one who is a member of a professional body such as ARLA. You must NEVER give a tenant 12 months agreement for the first let, - you have no idea what they will be like, and they are then legally contracted, and so are you, for a year.

You are being blackmailed here, and you have precious little room for manouvre. You cannot get them out without a Section 21 - (this is a particular format of 2 months notice), even then, if they dont leave you have to go to court to get a repossession order from the judge, and if they dont leave then, you go back to court to get the bailiffs to get them out. All this can take 4-5-6- months.

My best advice is to give them the £900, and get them out now, change the locks, lick your wounds, find a professional Letting Agent (see 2-3-4- before making a choice) and let a professional do this for you. You may not like this advice, but, it will save you a lot of money in the long run. If you give them £900 once they are on the pavement and smile, and have a new lock in your handbag, there is no reason why they should have the chance to trash your house.

i am sorry you have had such a stressful time

best wishes

BobProperty

nicola1982 wrote:

Ring immigration immediately and find a better letting agent. My letting agent has completely screwed me over (I'm a tennant) in favour of a dodgy landlady and in most cases agents do work in favour of the landlord/lady rather than tennant (which sucks for me!!)

That'll be because they are business, not an arbitration service, and get paid more by the landlady than they make out of you.

BobProperty

One further general point, it's up to the OP for their own case, but you need some evidence that they have given up the tenancy. One of the Landlord courses I went on said there had been a case where the tenant took the landlord to court for taking possession of the property and re-letting it without going through the proper procedures to get possession. The court found for the tenant as his absence was deemed to be temporary. The tenant's temporary absence was several years in jail. So be warned. I would perhaps consider that in the OP's situation, they aren't likely to see the tenant ever again, particularly if they are being deported as an illegal immigrant.

clumsycloggs0305

Thanks to all that responded...So on Saturday morning we turned up at the flat and the tenants had removed their possessions. There was no sign of the interpreter that had given the abuse over the lastr few days. Instead, the lady had another lady-friend who spoken english and we had wished she'd dealt with this from the beginning. She explained on Fri that we had the money and we had left it in the safe at the LA's office, in front of their eyes,so there was no doubt that we didn't intend to give her deposit back. We completed an inventry and went back to the LA's office so she could hand over the keys and Agent could giv back the cash. It all went well in the end, except we lost out on the 3 months fees paid in advance. The LA acted as mediator so we felt we could write off that amount. There was no way the tenant was going to accept any less, they may have done so if we had had the different interpreter who seemed to understand the situation and could possible have talked her round.
That LA did not find a replacement tenant so we had advertised it elsewhere a week before all of this. Another LA found a set of tenants who moved in the same afternoon. We have been tied into 1 year contract so the LA has taken the fees up front, but there was not much we could negotiate as he wouldn't move at all. He thinks he has done us a huge favour by reducing the fees by 1%. We are not entirely happy that he has let 2 couples, one with one kid and another due soon, so there will be 6 people in a 2 bed flat. There is no lounge as that is now a bedroom. The LA blames us for saying at the outset we wanted one family only. He said there was not going back as the tenancy agreement was signed and if we breached it on or one day before he could take us to court...we just have to pray that the year goes quick and we can serve 2 months notice at month 10, to get them out. I checked them all in on Saturday and the place looked so crowded even without their belongings, not sure how they'll live like that but apprentaly they lived the same way at their previous place...

Tassotti

oh dear...this agent has just created a whole world of trouble for you...who on earth are they??!!!

By moving these two families in, your property is now an HMO, and will need to comply with all the safety regulations. Be prepared to be spending a lot of money in the near future.

Are all the tenants on one AST?

If I was you, I would issue the section 21s now. You don't have top wait until month ten.

I think you are going to be a regular poster with all sorts of problems.