Problems with tenants

dimbo61

If they are paying the rent what are you worried about?
IF THEY want to leave fine but do not serve S21 unless they stop paying rent.
A void period with no rent coming in for a few weeks/months will hurt.
They may stay 2/3 years be nice and offer to improve property ( Good Landlord) looking after tenants.
If they complain that the bathroom is 40 years old and you replace the bathroom IT IS TAX deductible from rental profit and makes the property look better ( easier to rent out )

RAS

Amara wrote: »

I went to see them last Saturday ans they were rude to me. They said they wanted to move out , as I charge them too much and they can rent something bigger for that and council will rehouse them, as flat is overcrowded (one bed, couple with 10 years old son).

Does not look like the family intend to be long-term tenants.

Looks more like they are trying to put pressure on the LL to reduce the rent that is charged as it is "too much."

So she needs to educate them:

1. If you can rent somewhere bigger for the same price and wish to leave, you need to give one month's notice tied into rental periods.

2. The size and condition of the property was known to them when they moved in and has not changed since they moved in.

OP

1. Just because they are friends of your sister, you cannot just go round when you want. You need to give 24 hour's notice in writing and they have to agree to the appointment.

2. They may be hoping you will evict because that may given them some leverage with the Council.

Suspect you have professional tenants and you need to join a LL association fast.

AdrianC

Amara wrote: »

They said they wanted to move out , as I charge them too much and they can rent something bigger for that and council will rehouse them, as flat is overcrowded (one bed, couple with 10 years old son).

Total and utter red herring - they're trying to emotionally blackmail you into reducing the rent or extending their rent-free period. They knew exactly what the rent was and how big the flat was when they moved in.

Get 'em out, redecorate whilst the flat's empty, find proper tenants - and learn the lessons.

kinger101

It seems rather foolish to allow three months rent free in exchange for decorating. Especially if they are not professional decorators, and you have no contract specifying what decorating needed doing. Renting a one bed to a couple with a 10 year old is also odd.

My advice would be to initiate eviction, and then sell the house. You don't have any sense of what it takes to be a landlord. Find a passive investment like shares.

Amara

kinger101 wrote: »

It seems rather foolish to allow three months rent free in exchange for decorating. Especially if they are not professional decorators, and you have no contract specifying what decorating needed doing.

My advice would be to initiate eviction, and then sell the house. You don't have any sense of what it takes to be a landlord. Find a passive investment like shares.

Yes, it was written in an agreement.

RAS

Do a formal inspection, preferably using a professional who is not a friend of your sister.

Give them 2 weeks notice of the appointment and say that you assume it is acceptable unless they advise you otherwise in writing within 36 hours of receiving the letter.

The inspector will take a copy of the inventory and the agreement and ask them to confirm what action they have taken to compley with the Agreement.

Then the professional writes to you indicating what they need to do to comply with the agreement and you forward it and ask when this work will be completed?

00ec25

RAS wrote: »

Do a formal inspection, preferably using a professional who is not a friend of your sister.

Give them 2 weeks notice of the appointment and say that you assume it is acceptable unless they advise you otherwise in writing within 36 hours of receiving the letter.

The inspector will take a copy of the inventory and the agreement and ask them to confirm what action they have taken to compley with the Agreement.

Then the professional writes to you indicating what they need to do to comply with the agreement and you forward it and ask when this work will be completed?

I disagree - your advice will cost the OP money to employ said professional. There is no way to force the tenants to do the work (and even if there was goodness knows what the quality of the work would be like) and the written agreement that they do work in return for 3 months rent free is not valid grounds for eviction so the only remedy is to use the report as basis for a breach of contract claim for losses representing the cost of getting a professional decorator in to do the work instead.
such a court case would be independent of any possession action so would cost legal fees and I very much doubt the tenant has the money to pay such a settlement even if you win

i agree with the OP's OH - time to cut and run taking the hit on the chin and learning from the exercise. Tenant wants out , LL has a property whose condition could be / needs to be improved.

Move on and re let to better quality tenants at the market rate for an undecorated or decorated property as the case may be if you determine that a decorated flat will earn a price premium that will pay back the costs of the work within a reasonable timeframe

G_M

You have been naive. The problem is primarily the landlord, the tenant is just taking advantage.

OK, so what to do:

Either

1) do nothing. Let them stay, on the current rent, and ignore the decoration (which you will never force them to do, and if they do do it, the qulaity will be rubbish so you'll have to do it again when they leave.)

They will then either:

a) stay. and continue to live in an undecorated property. Poor them. Or
b) they'll give notice and leave to somewhere cheaper - if they can


2) or get rid of them, lose rent for one or three months, redecorate, and re-let

Amara

Thank you for all your replies. Yes, it was silly of me to agree on this, but hey, learned the lesson. I'll join LL association for sure.
I think I'll wait for their move now. I'll prepare money for decorating, just in case and see if they will tell me they want out on certain date. At least I don't have to pay council tax on my empty property, while they're in.

G_M

Amara wrote: »

Thank you for all your replies. Yes, it was silly of me to agree on this, but hey, learned the lesson. I'll join LL association for sure.
I think I'll wait for their move now. I'll prepare money for decorating, just in case and see if they will tell me they want out on certain date. At least I don't have to pay council tax on my empty property, while they're in.

Just to make sure you know what notice they have to give you (or you them), see

Ending/Renewing an AST (what happens when the Fixed Term ends?)(What is a Periodic Tenancy?)(How can a LL remove a tenant?)(How can a tenant end a tenancy?)

And for tips next time:


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