Property I let has been sub-let and I'm upset!

silvercar

There is an arguement that regular inspections contradict a tenants right to "quiet enjoyment" of the property.

Gabriel-Ernest

Do you have any landlord insurance on the property which covers legal advice?

Scooby_Man

Loretta wrote:

I am not a landlord or a tenant and I have never been involved in anyway with this situation but I hope I have reached an age where I have learnt about life and perhaps he will too

I think the above line says a lot about the replies in this thread and not quite understanding the position I am in. I also believe that the Agent has some responsibility in finding potentially decent tenants and then doing something about it if they are not - Especially if a sales pitch is used to convice a Landlord to undertake them.

Also, age has nothing to do with learning. As an employer, with all other things being equal, I would rather hire someone who had done 5 different things over 5 years and had been on a learning curve rather than someone who had done the same thing for 25 years on a flat curve.

But thanks to those who have been helpful.

I am drafting a letter to my Agent and I will post it on here shortly...

Scooby_Man

Dear X

I am writing to notify you of the problems I have had with tenants that you found me and after repeated attempts to enlist your help, nothing has been done and matters have become worse as we near the end of their tenancy.

This case involves initially letting the property to 4 Polish gents you found, who then sub-let the property to an unknown, but seemingly unbelievable number of people; observations would suggest over 11 people. I would imagine that this is not the first time you have come across a situation like this.

Back in March 2006, I was looking to let my then-pristine property to good tenants. In order to help find decent tenants who had undergone the relevant background checks, I contacted reputable local agents. Of the four agents selected, I decided to go with [the EA] because:

• The assurance from your representative, [rep], was overwhelmingly positive about these tenants. As a customer of your services, I must place some reliance on what your staff advise me: I am purchasing a service from you.
• Your advertising and discussions with other staff revealed that you had won an ‘Estate Agency of the Year’ Award.
• Your affiliation with a number of professional bodies.

Having decided to go ahead with meeting these tenants, [rep] arranged for a Polish speaker from your [other branch] branch to be present during the visit as none of the tenants could speak English. Having met the tenants, I somewhat reluctantly (due to the language barrier) agreed to their tenancy as [rep] further reassured me that they were known to [the EA] and were ‘good guys’. In retrospect, [rep] was very persuasive that I undertake these tenants. I now wonder whether [rep] was speaking factually or just trying to ‘sell’ me these tenants to make some commission? As a customer I expect some level of integrity and advice in my best interests from your business.

Once the tenants had moved in, I conducted my first regular inspection when I noticed that all the rooms, including living and reception rooms, had been fitted with locks. I also noticed the presence of people who were not the original tenants. I contacted [rep] immediately in person to explain the situation. [rep] tried to contact the tenants by phone but to no avail. I tried to speak to the people living in the property to ask what had happened to the original tenants and why locks had been fitted. The tenants did not understand, as it seemed, a word of English. I tried many times to contact the original tenants but could not. Again I approached [the EA] who finally, after exceeding pressure, agreed to write a letter to the tenants to find out what has been going on. Obviously the original tenants were not at the property so the letter got ignored.

Following this incident, I was left with no option and I tried my best to visit the property frequently to check up. Unfortunately the doors were often locked so I could not perform a proper inspection. I could not ascertain who was living in the house and how many people. I did notice that all rooms in the house contained at least 2 beds, most contained 3. I again contacted [the EA] and my query never got dealt with. In a phone conversation with your lettings manager recalled being told that this is my problem and [the EA] would not do anything.

Recently, on a visit to the property I noticed one of the original tenants, [original tenant], standing outside the house. He also had a lady with him who could translate Polish. Our conversation was brief but he told me that he would vacate the property on the day of tenancy expiry and that he wanted his deposit back. I asked about who had been living in the property and why locks had been added to the doors. My questions were ignored and I felt intimidated by the presence of a number of males in the house at the time.

Having gone through this ordeal, I feel that the correct course of resolution is for [the EA] to refund me the fees I had paid to find tenants and also the full deposit I must return to the tenants in fear of reprisals. Please note that:

• Of the 4 background checks that [the EA] conducted, 2 were not approved by the checking agency.
• [the EA] were not interested in helping me with the problems I had with these tenants after making an overwhelming case for me to undertake these tenants.
• [the EA] were quick to utilise a Polish member of staff to ‘sell’ me these tenants, however when problems started [the EA] were most reluctant to use this staff member to help me.
• The property has undergone wear and tear far in excess of what would be expect from 4 tenants.
• The tenants have put furniture and broken electrical equipment on the pavement, which has led to neighbours reporting them for illegal fly-tipping.
• I have been receiving regular rent by bank transfer from the account of the [original tenant].

Please reply to this email with a view for resolution within 5 days.


Yours Sincerely,



Y

Loretta

Scooby_Man wrote:

I think the above line says a lot about the replies in this thread and not quite understanding the position I am in. I also believe that the Agent has some responsibility in finding potentially decent tenants and then doing something about it if they are not - Especially if a sales pitch is used to convice a Landlord to undertake them.

Also, age has nothing to do with learning. As an employer, with all other things being equal, I would rather hire someone who had done 5 different things over 5 years and had been on a learning curve rather than someone who had done the same thing for 25 years on a flat curve.

But thanks to those who have been helpful.

I am drafting a letter to my Agent and I will post it on here shortly...

Ido understand the position you are in, you are saying I am in a mess and it must be SOMEONE'S fault, it is it is your fault.

I did not say I am old I said I have learned from life's experiences, you can be worldly wise at 12 and live to be 100 and have learned nothing other than it must be someone else's fault.

The agent YOU chose found you a tenant, if you were not happy about these tenants you could have asked the agent to find you other tenats. It seems obvious to me that 4 single men from a country where workers are flooding into this country to find work, everyone you meet these days is saying ' how many polish plumbers do we need' so you must have heard it too, must be aware of what could happen, I could have worked it out and so would many other 'aware' people. You chose these tenants. After that it was up to you, the agent had done their job.

At the first sign of trouble you did nothing. When you first thought something was wrong, or that the tenants were subletting, was this prohibited in your tenancy agreement? or the place was looking messy or they would not let you in, that is the time to start doing something. Why did you wait until things have reached this stage. You could have used your key to get in, I pesume that in your tenancy agreement it states that locks were not to be changed, if the locks had been changed you were within your rights to ask a locksmith to gain entry for you, presuming you had given the notice that was stated in your tenancy agreement for inspections. I presume that a detailed inventory was done at the start of the tenancy? If it was and you are happy for the tenancy to continue to the end you attend a check out with your original tenants, go through you original detailed inventory and make a note of any descrepencies, obtain quotes to put any damage or excessive wear and tear back to it's original condition, deduct the cost from the deposit and if any money is left return it to the tenants. If they owe you more than the deposit you decide to chase them for the excess. In other words you act like a professional Landlord. Cutting corner never works out. The way to deal with Landlord/tenant problems is the preperation BEFORE the start of the tenancy so that everyone knows where they stand. If that preperation is not done, this is the sort of trouble that happens. If you felt intimitated by the people living in the house maybe you are not cut out for this type of occupation and perhaps you should think carefully before you do it again. There is never an easy way to earn money, whatever people think.

Nenen

So did you get any response to your email to the letting agents scoobyman?

MJMum

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TokochickUK

we viewed a house in crawley just behind the police station when we were looking to buy, and the house had 8 people in 6 men 2 women, who were not english and could not speak english 2 of the rooms had locks on, and the main gu was reluctant to let dh look in the attic , first impressions really counted... i couldnt get out of there quick enough!

robwend

barnaby-bear wrote:

I bet the neighbours loved having their "slum" landlord allowing this to go on all year...... and very difficult to complain about neighbours because they know where you live.... as you are now worried about.... wonder if the neighbours know who you are - if I'd had some hostel forced upon me and the landlord moved in I could have a lot of fun....:rotfl:

i found the address of the landlord of the house next door that went btl very easily, i threatend that everytime his tenants kicked off i was commin knocking on his door to sort is whatever time of night it was. i do hope your tenants havnt upset the other neighbours and it comes back on your when you have no idea

robwend

Voyager2002 wrote:

The law has changed, and now squatting can actually be a criminal matter.

the laws changed theres no such thing as squatting, its now under tresspassing, so they have no rights