landlord rights

julieanne13 · 24 July 2010 at 12:47PM

final up date - he went round there and knocked the door and they let him in!! well it is far worse than expected. all door panels kicked in kitchen units riped out carpets trashed holes in walls tiles off bathroom glass broken in many windows. tenents said they wanted to stay sorry for the damage and not paying rent - how dare they! any way i guess he will just have to get in touch with the experts and get them out. so that will give them another couple of months to trash what they have missed so far eh?

lynzpower · 24 July 2010 at 12:56PM

Oh that's great that they let him in !

As long as the AST is legal and no probs there then yes, he needs to issue the notice ( on the right day)

With a bit of luck they will do a flit before completely trashing the place (if this happens come back to us for more advice)

Clutton, he cant claim back damage from the guarantor can he? But he can claim missing rent?

julieanne13 · 24 July 2010 at 1:14PM

i have to pop out but i will check on the board again later thank you every one for your help take care julie

clutton_2 · 24 July 2010 at 2:37PM

deposits are for breaches of the tenancy agreement... I have taken repairs and arrears from the deposit.. but ... it does depend on what is in the tenancy agreement... which is why i never recommend folks find a "free" one....

my AST clearly defines what the deposit is to be used for....

LadyLawyer · 24 July 2010 at 3:36PM

The comment about landlord and tenant legislation is useful. If your friend used an open source tenancy agreement it is likely to include the right to inspect upon reasonable notice i.e. 24 hours in writing. All he needs to do is given written notice. If he does not want to go himself he needs to employ a letting agent to do it on his behalf. Given that inventory clerks charge £100 plus VAT including paperwork this would be worth doing - send an agent in with a copy of an inventory and ask them to inspect. Keep this on a thoroughly business footing. Have a report written and if there are breaches of the tenancy (i.e. they are trashing the place) then put it in writing to the tenant asking for them to fix things; copy whichever public authority is paying their rent, and give them 14 days for example to respond with proposals. If this does not work your friend can try to get them out under Section 8 of the Housing Act by claiming "other breaches" of the tenancy agreement i.e. not just rent arrears. If the signed agreement is valid then great, if it is no good then the tenancy will still be an Assured Shorthold Tenancy and your friend can give two months notice for them to vacate. If that expires and they do not leave then he/she will need to apply for a possession order at the Court which is what costs £150. This can be done online (google possession claim online) via the Courts system which helps you through the necessary forms. The key thing is to have as much information as possible available including things like sending any letters or notices by special delivery so you can prove they have been received.

It's a long road but much the best way to keep your distance and use the systems that are there to help you if you can bear it, the better behaved you are, the more likely a judge is to see in your favour.

Good luck!

clutton_2 · 24 July 2010 at 5:06PM

as a professional landlord i would advocate joining NLA and let them talk you through things.

All the forms and Notices you will need (and guidance as to how to fill them in) are available on NLA website once you join up,

I would immediately send off a 'Section 8 Notice (as well as a simultaneous Section 21) and use as many grounds as you possibly can - this will mean going through the tenancy agreement with a fine tooth comb and presenting evidence to show which of the clauses they have breached eg

late payment of rent on a regular basis.. do a schedule showing how many days in arrears each payment was and what the total arrears are

photos of the damage - photos of the kitchen / bath stuff in the garden... preferably photos of inside

anti social behaviour... have the neighbours been annoyed by their arguments....

You can issue a Section 8 Notice to the tenant at any time, and one part of this notice says that unless all rent arrears are brought up to date in 14 days, the LL will go immediately to court to apply for possession.

Since the tenant has now allowed you in, i would go back to the property on the grounds of doing an Inventory with a camera, be very friendly - but get photos of all this damage.

I would then send them a Section 8 notice ... this may make them decide to move on....

With the greatest of respect to our ladylawyer.. who says ""writing to the tenant asking for them to fix things" - i would Never ask a tenant to fix things.. tenants who do damage like this will either DIY it themselves and bodge it, or get a DIY mate-from-hell who will bodge it even more...

Re sending stuff recorded delivery... i never do that either.. a canny tenant will simply refuse to accept it.. Two copies of the same letter sent first class and posted on different days at different post offices with proof of postage are normally accepted by judges in small claims courts as "proof of service" ..