Broken Windows

galaxynicole

I'm a landlord and my tenants have only been in my property for the last 5 weeks as it's done through the Council, I have no deposit and they pay in arrears.

On two week, they said that the sink was leaking (even though I had lived in the property and everything was working fine when I left) but we got it sorted.

Now I've just been told that all the windows have been smashed, act of vandalism, front and back. They have reported it to the police and got a crime reference. I have an agent who deals with everything but they didn't contact the agent until they had boarded up the windows but sent the bill for all of this to my address.

They didn't ask for permission from me nor did they tell the agent before they asked the people to come round and board it up. I could have got it a lot cheaper than what they billed me for.

Where do I stand on this? Also where do I stand on the vandalism? Does the tenant pay for it or do I have to claim on my landlords insurance? (If it even covers for that kind of thing)
The contract states



(3.17) Where the Tenant is found to be responsible for any damage to either pay for the repair or reimburse the Landlord for any costs that have been incurred.


(3.20) To replace any broken glass without delay where the breakage has been caused by the Tenant, a member of the Tenant’s family or a guest of the Tenant and to pay for the replacement.

but didn't think of vandalism to the house caused by someone else.

I lived in that house for 6 years and had no problems yet they move in and the property has been smashed up before I've even got one full months rent out of them. I have a feeling that they have done something to annoy someone because yea sure, I can believe that the front window had been done in. Sure bad luck but the three back windows aswell!!! where you have to climb over a very high fence to get at it, it seems a bit fishy to me.

Honestly, I've had no end of bad luck lately and I don't think I should have to pay for my tenants annoying someone in the area.

Any advice please?

PasturesNew

The thing is, until you know who did it/why, you can't apportion blame/cost. So, as the LL, you probably have to suck it up for now and pay to have the windows sorted out (on your insurance).

If at a later stage, it transpires they were at fault/did it/whatever, then you'd have to pursue them for the money.

But windows are kind of a requirement in a house really.

mostlycheerful

Oh dear, I’m sorry to hear about that.

Yes, that’s quite unusual and on the face of it could be quite serious. Or, if you’re lucky, maybe not.

It could be all sorts of things. It could be something as prosaic and daft as just a stupid party that got out of hand and it’s just a one off that they’re very sorry and embarrassed about. Alternatively it could be some serious crime or antisocial behaviour or persecution and could be an ongoing situation with more to come. The fact they’ve called the police suggests that it may be out of their control and possibly serious. If you can get to the bottom of what happened then that may inform your thinking and decision making.

So perhaps go round there with a couple of big blokes for your safety and in case a show of force is useful or reassuring and find out what your tenants are like and what they say happened.

If your tenants appear to be nice people and it’s just a one off that they apologise about or perhaps they’re being victimised unfairly then maybe you’ll want to help and support them and give them some leeway at this difficult time for them.

However if they appear to be bad people and or it appears that they may have done the damage themselves or brought it on themselves, well, maybe it would be safer not to risk enflaming the situation any more than possible and so perhaps just cut your losses about the cost of the boarding up and such like. Unless perhaps you want to try to get them to pay for it, if that looks like maybe being viable. But if they’re poor and or antisocial people then that may not be possible.

So then your position may be to try to get them to go, hopefully without any further damage to the property, if possible.

I wish you good luck with this difficult situation. Hope this helps your thinking and decision making. Let us know how you get on in case perhaps there’s anything more that can be suggested.

dannymccann

Steroetypical maybe, but you wouldnt catch me renting something I am liable for at the end of the day to council tenants. Why do you do it this way, is it not possible to rent to private tenants who are a safer (not safe) bet...

BornAtTheRightTime

I don't agree with the advice to go round there with 2 big mates. Firstly, you must give advance notice of your visit, and secondly, taking big guys along will look like harassment. if they are being victimised, harassment will make it far worse.

Why not phone the tenant and ask if you can have a chat about the window damage? Their reaction will give you a better idea as to how to go forward. If they're decent tenants they'll be polite and concerned; if otherwise at least you'll be safely at the end of a phone.

tbs624

galaxynicole wrote: »

I'm a landlord and my tenants have only been in my property for the last 5 weeks as it's done through the Council, I have no deposit and they pay in arrears.

On two week, they said that the sink was leaking (even though I had lived in the property and everything was working fine when I left) but we got it sorted.

It's good that they notified you of a leaking sink , or further damage to your property may have occurred. These things happen: its irrelevant that it was "working fine" before.

galaxynicole wrote: »

Now I've just been told that all the windows have been smashed, act of vandalism, front and back. They have reported it to the police and got a crime reference. I have an agent who deals with everything but they didn't contact the agent until they had boarded up the windows but sent the bill for all of this to my address.

Have they given you the crime reference number? It may not be the Ts who organised the boarding up - the police often make the call after burglaries etc so that the property is left secure.Again, prevents further damage to your property from the weather or potential burglars

This is what your insurance is for - have you trawled the small print yet? Your insurance company can discuss the exact circumstances with the police

galaxynicole wrote: »

I lived in that house for 6 years and had no problems yet they move in and the property has been smashed up before I've even got one full months rent out of them.

Did you get Consent to Let if you have a mortgage , and is your insurance a LL insurance policy? As you say the T is paying in arrears , they are presumably in receipt of LHA? Some mortgages/insurance policies have specific requirements on which Ts your are able to let to.

Do the Council offer you as the LL a bond guarantee btw?

galaxynicole wrote: »

I have a feeling that they have done something to annoy someone because yea sure, I can believe that the front window had been done in. Sure bad luck but the three back windows aswell!!! where you have to climb over a very high fence to get at it, it seems a bit fishy to me.

So, confirmation needed from the police and the tenants. If you lived there yourself, you presumably know the neighbours either side, the people who live opposite/behind? Can you discreetly ask them if they know what happened?

Unfortunately, when PRS LLs let their properties out via the Council the Ts you get are unlikely to be trouble free.

You need to arrange to have regular property inspections, giving the Ts advance notice, and also to confirm with them in writing what should happen when there are maintenance/emergency repairs issues.

What's that LA doing for his/her money btw?

galaxynicole

Yes, I do have consent to lease the property. I also have LL insurance and yes, I'm allowed to rent to these kind of tenants. At end of the day, I've paid my mortgage on time whether there has been tenants in the property or not.

The fact they informed the agent about the sink yet boarded up the house off their own back is what annoyed me as the agent actually does boarding and would have done it a lot cheaper. They broke the terms of the agreement. Yes, they do have a crime reference number but the police didn't even go round so it was the tenant who called boarding up people.

He seems okay but then again so did my next door neighbours when they got shown round before they moved in and they were a pain (they don't live there anymore).

The reason why I went with the council is because my agent had these tenants previously and they were okay and paid on time except for the fact that it's just the guy on his own now and his ex isn't really happy with him but then again what ex is!

I'm going to claim on the insurance as I've been told that I can but I'm going to make him pay for the excess otherwise he can pay the £200 boarding up bill (which I have to put on the insurance now) as he broke the agreement and I'll pay the excess which is a £100. I know which one I would choose.

C_Mababejive

They sound like scum. Make moves to give them notice to quit or you'll be wiping their backside for years to come.

clutton_2

£100 excess is very little.... are you sure this excess covers tenant damage ?

to have ALL windows broken sounds like a vindictive rampage.... you did say the ex as angry did you ?

galaxynicole

clutton wrote: »

£100 excess is very little.... are you sure this excess covers tenant damage ?

to have ALL windows broken sounds like a vindictive rampage.... you did say the ex as angry did you ?

It's not tenant damage it's vandalism done by someone else.