Problem: tenant on short term contract

JennyP

My new tenants moved in a couple of months ago. I was a bit dubious of them as they told one or two untruths. The day before they were due to move in, one of their references came back with bad credit and her supposedly permanent new job was only a three month trial.
The referencing agency said only to take her if she paid 6 months in advance. she agreed to this.
She told me a couple of weeks ago that her contract is now permanent and asked for her advance rent to be returned. However, when I asked her employers to confirm this, it turns out that she is on another 3 month contract. She is still asking for her rent back.
What would you do? I have said no. I don't really appreciate her lack of honesty and think that my insurance would be invalid if I did return it.
Thanks in advance for any helpful thoughts....

clutton_2

what does it say in her tenancy agreement and what did you write on the receipt for the 6 months rent - this is what will govern the conditions under which the rent was paid in advance.

Fishcake_Random

Personally i wouldn`t. i wouldnt hold much trust in her if she lies so often about things that are so easy to catch her out on. as my mum used to say "you have to be very clever to be a liar or very stupid"

just my opinion.

JennyP

Thanks for those very speedy replies!!!
In answer:
1. The contract was already drawn up when the reference came in. I didn't draw up another one. It does say that she is paying the rent on a monthly basis. However, she agreed to pay the six months up front. It was either that, or I wouldn't have let them move in at all. I didn't give any receipt.
2. No, I don't trust her. Gut instinct told me not to let them move in when I got the reference back and it wasn't 100% positive. I wish I hadn't now. There have been other minor problems (e.g. ringing late at night and getting all cross because the washing machine was broken - it turned out that they hadn't plugged it in!!!)

rhubarb_and_custard_3

personally, i only do short hold assured tenancies. but go with your gut instincts. we have had a couple of tenants similar and believe me you get a feeling for the dodgy ones. we had one tenant who left the house absolutely filthy and took me to the small claims court for holding onto the deposit.
which incidentally she didnt get back.

JennyP

Thank you! It's good to know that no-one thinks I am being unreasonable. I am sure my tenant will think that. On a personal level, I hate disputes with people. I can't stand having to argue my side!

Tiger_greeneyes

I've been in a similar (albeit slightly different) situation - I let a couple move in as they were 'desperate' - his credit score came back fine but hers came back just after they moved in and she'd just declared herself bankrupt so she wouldn't have to pay maintenance for her child. They turned out a real nuisance and I terminated their tenancy after 12 months - they mucked around with the electrics and blew the boiler up, demanded a dehumidifier as they used their tumbledryer far too much and rang me 24 hours a day etc.

Personally, if I was in your situation, I wouldn't let your tenant go back on the agreement you already have in place. You're in a good position because of it and that matters more than anything else.

If something is ringing warning bells with you then it's usually for good reason.

Tiger_greeneyes

I've just read your post - I don't like disputes either

If you're paying a letting agent to manage the tenancy then get them to do the hard bit! I doubt the tenant can demand that the terms of the tenancy are altered at random - especially as there's a legal and binding contract signed by everyone involved.

thesaint

Tiger_greeneyes wrote:

I've been in a similar (albeit slightly different) situation - I let a couple move in as they were 'desperate' - his credit score came back fine but hers came back just after they moved in and she'd just declared herself bankrupt so she wouldn't have to pay maintenance for her child. They turned out a real nuisance and I terminated their tenancy after 12 months - they mucked around with the electrics and blew the boiler up, demanded a dehumidifier as they used their tumbledryer far too much and rang me 24 hours a day etc.

Personally, if I was in your situation, I wouldn't let your tenant go back on the agreement you already have in place. You're in a good position because of it and that matters more than anything else.

If something is ringing warning bells with you then it's usually for good reason.

How is it possible to use a tumble dryer too much?

olly300

By the way don't any of you landlords use answering machines? Most of my former landlords had answering machines so if you rang when they were not available for any reason you left a message. The ones you get from shops like argos are very good for call screening.

Tiger_greeneyes

thesaint wrote:

How is it possible to use a tumble dryer too much?

I can see how it sounds but it wasn't a judgement laid down by me!

In their words - "we run the tumble dryer all day, every day"

There was only two of them, the mind boggles as to what they were actually using the tumble dryer for... :rotfl: