Former tenant

Claudiab251274

Hopefully someone can help?
Tenant left our house 13th oct and read the Meters (although her contract didn't end til 31 oct)
We changed the locks as she had left the property. She is now claiming we denied her access. Surely we were right in doing that as she had read the Meters and said she'd gone? Also there is a has bottle that belongs to her former husband in the garage which she's stating we won't let her have back (the garage has been left open off her to come back and get it, which she hasn't)
She has now gone to the police claiming we are holding her property and denied her access. The property isn't even hers it's her ex husbands who didn't even live at the property. Where do we stand on that? She also says she'll take us to small claims....but what for?

This all started after we contacted her to tell let the house was disgusting and that she hadn't removed the carpets she was supposed to and we'd do it ourselves.
We've checked our contracts and my partner didn't even have the WH Smith contract witnessed so I'm assuming it means jack !!!! anyway? If that's the case does anything mean anything anyway ?
She also had a dog living there which she never asked us about but we can't do anything as the contract wasn't witnessed....this must mean she can't either? Sorry for the waffle!

theartfullodger

You have illegally evicted. Criminal offence. Don't bend over for the soap.

What notices did you serve how & when, please?

Cheers!

Claudiab251274

She left we didn't evict her. She texted to say shed left and had read the meters. So if she'd have decided to come back in and use all our utilities that would have been fine? Wouldn't she have stolen our utilities? Also when we changed the locks we swapped the front door onto the back and put in a new front lock. The key she had would have fitted the back door yet she turned up with a key that she claims she's always used but which fits none of our locks

Kimlock

You say her contract didn't end until Oct 31. Had your tenant paid rent up to this date?

ACG

Why are you bothered about utilities?
You/your new tenants would have given them a meter reading at the end of the tenancy agreement/start of the new one.

Give her the things that were in HER house, why are you even arguing over them?

It sounds like she had moved out but hadnt finished moving everything out. Give her her stuff and I imagine that will be the end of it.

Claudiab251274

She had taken her stuff from the house she had left her gas bottle in the open garage. She had no need to re enter the house. The garage has been constantly left open for her to come and get this bottle but she won't. We can't put anyone else in the house due to the state she left it in. We thought that giving final meter readings meant that was it.

Claudiab251274

We have texts from her stating that everything was gone from the house and the only thing she needed was in the garage. She's only started kicking off because we told her "her" house was a disgrace and a child should not have been living in such dirty conditions. She had a dog living there we never agreed to and we've since found she's had a water meter put in without asking

G_M

Before you get your next tenant in, please

a) join a Landlord's Association (see links in this post)

b) go on a landlord's training course.

anselld

Claudiab251274 wrote: »

we can't do anything as the contract wasn't witnessed....this must mean she can't either?

A tenancy does not need to be witnessed. That is for deeds.

fairy_lights

Had the tenant paid rent up to the 31st?
Did you protect her deposit correctly?

Annisele

I'm a bit confused about what you want to happen here.

Are you looking for her to drop her court action? For her to take her gas bottle back? For her to pay for the damage to the property / carpets? Something else?

I don't think you'll get anywhere with a claim for damage, and I think you'd be extremely foolish to try. Tenants are allowed to live in utter pigstys if they want to; their obligation is to return the property to the landlord at the end of the tenancy in the same condition in which they received it.

If you make a claim for damage, I suspect her defence will be that she was planning to clean the house, but couldn't because you didn't allow her access. If she had left the property dirty at the end of her tenancy, that would be a civil matter - at worst, a court would order her to pay you some money. If you illegally evicted her, that's criminal - which can attract a prison sentence. I think it's exceptionally unlikely that you'd be sent to prison even if you did illegally evict her, but unless you are certain you did everything correctly I think you should be wary of doing anything that gets her looking into her legal rights.

I'm also confused about why she had to get rid of carpets - it's pretty unusual for tenants to agree to that. Were they her carpets?