first time landlord - problem i hadnt enviseged!

libbyc3

hi,
i know, i know I'm a first timer and wet behind the ears!
we had a tenant move in to our property 3 weeks ago, found by the agent, all refs checked out from previous landlord and agent and fine.
however - we have had several phone calls from the neighbours that our tenant has loads of visitors day and night and one of her visitors knocked down the wall of the communal parking area in his car and neither he nor he will clear it up and it is dangerous for the kids who play out the front (its a end of terrace house with a green outside and the communal parking in frount of that).
now i realise the tenant is not responsible for communal areas - the inventory only covers the house, and we are arranging to go round tomorrow and try to sort out what we can with the wall (it was unstable anyway).
has anyone had a situation where a tenants behaviour and lifestyle has caused problems? not sure what i can do really, bar obviously pay our share for the damage her guest has caused (the wall is the responsibility of all the houses in the terrace).
think our main regret is going to be becomming freindly with the neighbours when we were doing the house up to the point we swapped numbers!

BitterAndTwisted

You are not responsible for your tenants' lifestyles. If your ex-neighbours object to your tenants' behaviour it's up to them to deal with it in whatever way they feel appropriate.

As you're the owner I would say that it's up to you to make whatever contribution towards that wall is necessary and propose to make a deduction from the tenants' deposit if they won't cough up for it now IF it can be proven that one of their visitors was at fault.

taxsaver

Hmmm... what might be worse is that she could be running a 'business' from there! :eek:

Moneybagsss

taxsaver wrote: »

Hmmm... what might be worse is that she could be running a 'business' from there! :eek:

French teacher or dance instructor?

pinkshoes

Phonecalls from neighbours? So more than one neighbour has called you to complain on more than one occasion? Are these trustworthy neighbours?

If you trust what the neighbours are saying is correct, then I would write to the tenant letting them know that several people witnessed one of their visitors driving into the wall and knocking it down, and a deduction will be made from their deposit at the end of their tenancy to cover the cost of the repair.

By all means go round and sort the wall out, but DO NOT call round to see the tenants in person, as this is harassment.

You did protect their deposit in one of the schemes didn't you? And there is a signed inventory isn't there?

DVardysShadow

I think you would be on a very sticky wicket making a deduction from a tenant's deposit for damage done by someone else to a wall which is not part of the rental property.

bris

BitterAndTwisted wrote: »

You are not responsible for your tenants' lifestyles. If your ex-neighbours object to your tenants' behaviour it's up to them to deal with it in whatever way they feel appropriate.

Not in Scotland it's not, if your tenant is causing anti social behavior then the LL must address the problem when
they are made aware of it.
They must ask the tenats to stop, if needs be by getting an ASBO or going to court for an intedict to stop the tenants behaviour.
If this fails they can ask the council for help.
If the LL does nothing the council can ask a court to make the LL stop collecting the rent. They can even ask the court to award them the right to manage the property.
I would think England and wales will also have some similar procedures.

Yorkie1

DVardysShadow wrote: »

I think you would be on a very sticky wicket making a deduction from a tenant's deposit for damage done by someone else to a wall which is not part of the rental property.

Must say that's what I was thinking.

The car driver's insurance should pay for the damage, so you could make enquiries along those lines if you felt like it.

That being said, thinking laterally about the wider issues and not the damage, is it implied into a tenancy agreement that a person must not act in an anti-social manner or cause disturbance to neighbours? Is that a route to a letter to the tenant - if there is evidence that the frequent visitors are causing a nuisance to the neighbours or even evidence of running a business from home (also in the tenancy agreement)?

beecher2

BitterAndTwisted wrote: »

You are not responsible for your tenants' lifestyles. If your ex-neighbours object to your tenants' behaviour it's up to them to deal with it in whatever way they feel appropriate.
.

I don't think much of that attitude - if a tenant is causing a nuisance then surely it is the landlord's responsibility to deal with it? I've certainly expected landords to deal with issues I've had with neighbours in the past.

Eton_Rifle

beecher2 wrote: »

I don't think much of that attitude - if a tenant is causing a nuisance then surely it is the landlord's responsibility to deal with it? I've certainly expected landords to deal with issues I've had with neighbours in the past.

If you were a tenant, would you really want a landlord to have the power to control your private actions and behaviour?

Who would you complain to if the occupant owned his house? His mum?

Hump

This 'clash' of expectations when a new tenant moves in is quite common. There is virtually nothing you can do except screen your calls or change your number. You can't be responsible for the behaviour of your tenant - you've acted reasonably by 'referencing' the new tenant.

If the neighbours are suffering anti-social behaviour from your tenants then it's the statutory authorities i.e. police or local council's ASB team who need to be involved - not you. However if the police/ council come to you with evidence that the property is being used for illegal purposes i.e. drugs/ prostitution etc - then it's wise in virtually every circumstance to co-operate with them i.e. serving s8 notice etc.