Tenant breaching tenancy agreement

mumlady1

I'm a newish landlord and would appreciate some advice/comments from those of you with more experience please.
I have a tenant who is obviously smoking in my property despite there being a no smoking clause in her tenancy agreement which I pointed out to her & despite my reminding her on at least 2 other occasions!
I was in the flat yesterday to do some maintenance & it absolutely stinks of cigarette smoke. I'm aware that some of it may be coming from her clothes & personal belongings but I strongly suspect she is smoking in the flat.
Her tenancy is due to expire in June but is there anything I can do before then?
The flat is in Scotland so this may be subject to slightly different legislation.

Blackpool_Saver

I would want them out to be honest

sharpy2010

If she's paying the rent I'd probably ignore it. If this is the worst you have to worry about, then its not worth worrying about.

Werdnal

Depends what you want to achieve - if she is a good tenant in other ways, then evicting might land you with a bad one. Does she pay regularly and in full, does she keep property otherwise in good repair, or is she causing you other issues?

Not sure of the rules and regs in Scotland, but fairly sure that if there is additional damage at the end of tenancy, and you need to redecorate and deep-clean to remove smoking smell/damage, you can deduct cost from deposit and/or sue for further damages, if you can prove she has specifically broken the non-smoking clause, and you are financially disadvantaged as a result.

However, any such damage costs would obviously have to be adjusted to account for the length of tenancy and how much "residual" value is in the decor, furnishings and carpets, before you would need to replace them anyway.

G_M

mumlady1 wrote: »

....Her tenancy is due to expire in June but is there anything I can do before then?
The flat is in Scotland so this may be subject to slightly different legislation.

Artful is the Scottish expert, but I doubt it.

And anyway, is it worth it? The place will already be 'smokey' and need freshening/painting whenever she leaves, so probobly easier to wait till June and evict then via whatever the Scottish system is.

And claim damages via however the Scots do it.

lollipopsarah

just make sure they leave the flat as found - jolly good clean up.
xx

Better_Days

Be aware that the smell of cigarette smoke can be a devil to get rid of from soft furnishings and carpets especially. It depends on how long the T has been smoking in the property, how heavily and what she has been smoking.

It will be all the more noticible after the property has been shut up for a couple of days. I would explore a professional 'deodourising' service so you can get a quick turnaround on your rental. You will need to check but I would think you could deduct this from the deposit as the need for the service has arisen from the T breaking the TA.

Bear in mind that the smell of cigarette smoke may put off future tenants, especially those whose health is poor or those with young children.

Make sure you compy with whatever the Scottish rules are so that your tenant knows that you wish to end the tenancy in June.

G_M

Onions!

Work in my car - don't know if they'd work for a whole house.

mumlady1

Thanks to everyone for your replies :-)
Made me laugh G_M:rotfl:Am I supposed to cook her a meal with the onions or just throw them at her :rotfl:
Artful Dodger - yes, deposit is protected. Her tenancy agreement is from 19th March - 19th June so shorter than the normal 6 months.

As a couple of people have suggested, I had thought about letting her agreement run until June & then get the place professionally cleaned & obviously this would come off her deposit.

As much as I would like her to leave now, it's probably not worth the hassle & the expense and by the time the paperwork is sorted & notice given etc her tenancy will be up anyway.

marliepanda

Is she definitely leaving in June?

If not I don't think you can start eviction proceedings til 6 months have gone by.

G_M

mumlady1 wrote: »

Thanks to everyone for your replies :-)
Made me laugh G_M:rotfl:Am I supposed to cook her a meal with the onions or just throw them at her :rotfl:

Cut onion in half and leave in car (resting in open clingfilm or whatever) It absorbs the smoke and leaves the car smelling... well... temporarily of onion, but then sweet as ever.

I find if I carry a smoker, the smell from their clothes lingers for ages in the car, but this sorts the problem.

Whether it would work in a house, and where the smoking actually took place in the house, and how many onions you'd need, I have no idea!