Trying to get damage money from tenant arrrrrrrrr

Polypops

Hi everyone

I've once again come here for you vast knowledge.

I have just had my house back from renting I have a management company e-den lettings of Blackburn........don't use them they are rubbish.

The house was a total mess so the cleaners had to be sent which is covered by the deposit. Now the deposit has run out But there is also a load of damage.
- back door booted in
- smiley face carved into the fire place, making it unsafe to put on.
- fag burns in the bath
- half the windows do not open.

All of this was done over a 14 month period, but the management company don't know who to pin it on and are trying to say that it's wear and tear.

They are just fibbing me off, I cannot claim on the insurance as they say it is the tenants responsibility to pay up.

How can I get my letting agency to get working!!

All help would be appreciated

Cheers

P xx

BitterAndTwisted

The agents don't know who to pin it on? How many tenants have you had in there over that 14 month period? Were inventories done at the start and end of the tenancy to prove this damage was done by the tenants?

Where have the tenants gone and what references did the agents take up? There must be a way of finding them via their employers or something so you can take them to court

PasturesNew

Provide and compare the ingoing inventory with the outgoing inventory, then assign costs to the difference. Then take the tenant to court.

clutton_2

you cant claim on the insurance ? Thats odd..... have you read your policy ? aren't you covered for tenant damage ? if not ... change insurers next time....

sounds like you need to join national landlords association - pretty darn quick.... you get good insurance and discounts on it if you are a member

dacouch

Even if it was covered by a landlords policy it would not be worth claiming for all of those incidents of damage

sequence

How much was the deposit ?

Cleaning can't cost that much surely ?

You do have an inbound inventory right ?

tbs624

Polypops wrote: »

I have just had my house back from renting I have a management company xxxx lettings of Blackburn........don't use them they are rubbish.

You may want to edit the LA's details from your post if you are publicly commenting on what they may, or may not, be .

_Polypops wrote: »

The house was a total mess so the cleaners had to be sent which is covered by the deposit. Now the deposit has run out But there is also a load of damage.
- back door booted in
- smiley face carved into the fire place, making it unsafe to put on.
- fag burns in the bath
- half the windows do not open

All of this was done over a 14 month period, but the management company don't know who to pin it on and are trying to say that it's wear and tear. .

Fair wear and tear does not include dirt/damage etc - the first 3 on your list most definitely do not come under FW&T.

If windows don’t open then that is down to you as the LL because under your s11 repairing obligations (LL&T Act 1985) you are responsible for maintaining the exterior of the property, which includes the windows. That said, if the Ts had an issue with the windows not being open-able then they should have notified you during the tenancy.

Was a signed inventory in place from the start and did you/the LA properly check the T out?

Did you or the LA undertake “inspections” of the property during the tenancy?

Have you asked the T about the back door? It may be possible that there was a burglary attempt and the T may have a related crime number.

What you need to be aware of is that letting agents do not need to have any qualifications, training or expertise before setting up in business: if you don’t want to be ripped off by either your T or your LA you need to be fully up to date with your own obligations as a LL and to have read up on matters relating to dilapidations and tenancy deposits.

If this property is in Eng/Wales have you scheme registered the tenancy deposit?

Have you or the LA given the tenant a written confirmation of all proposed deductions from the tenancy deposit?

Have you notified the deposit scheme ( if any ) that there is a dispute?

For the cleaning costs to have “consumed” all of the Ts tenancy deposit it sounds as though you have been overcharged. Did the LA arrange the cleaning by any chance?

You may want to consider signing up to Tessa Shepperson’s excellent LLLaw site - tax deductible membership fee, clear advice for LLs and a subsequent deduction on your LL insurance premiums.

For now get the damage photographed and dealt with so that you can get the property back on the market. However, note that the costs levied against the T have to be “reasonable” for the amount of work involved.

Trawl through your own contract with the LA - if you are not happy with them then use a different LA and tell them how you want things done - they operate under your instruction , not the other way around.

Can you confirm on the tenancy deposit scheme issue? (because that determines how you go about dealing with any funds still owed to you by the former T)

namratasnv

Tenants are very irresponsible in giving money for the damage they had made and it is very important for us to get it in straight way. I think it is better to include in a form that is provided to the tenants first time.

theartfullodger

Sue the agent for the money, negligence, failing to work to contract (you do have a contract between you & agents don't you..- no, not the tenancy agreement, that's between you & tenant).

clutton_2

""Even if it was covered by a landlords policy it would not be worth claiming for all of those incidents of damage "

why not ? it would depend on the £size of the claim and on the £size of the policy excess......

""Cleaning can't cost that much surely ?"" You dont know the size of the deposit.. nor the size of the house... so you dont know this.....

didn't you see the Tenants from hell programme with Jonathan Maitland a couple of nights ago.. when "cleaning" involves hiring skip after skip to clear out rubbish.. costs can mount up .....

even if skips aren't needed.. ovens and carpet cleaning take a long time in addition to cleaning all the rest of the house...

olly300

Polypops wrote: »

How can I get my letting agency to get working!!

To put it bluntly you can't.

That's why lots of landlords use estate agents or letting agents to advertise their properties but manage them themselves.

Even if you end up taking the letting agency to court to recoup your losses you will end up losing more money as there are lots of legal loopholes to ensure they can avoid paying you.

I suggest you change all the locks on the property, tell the current letting agent in writing that you no longer wish to use their services and change letting agents.

If the letting agent you are currently with decides to be difficult then write them a letter threatening court action due to breach of contract.

Finally take the information already given this thread about knowing your duties as a landlord as if anything goes wrong i.e. your gas safety isn't up to date and your tenants end up in hospital or worse, it will be you the law will come after.