Would not bother being a landlord again...

kinger101

jjlandlord wrote: »

but there is nothing wrong at all with 'popping round unannounced' when the circumstances call for it.

This gets rather subjective though. In my view, other than an emergency, there are no circumstances which call for it.

Blackpool_Saver

It is a bit intimidating though, and many would feel obliged to let the LL in (not me) I have learned the hard way. However many would out of politeness feel they had to.

If I was a landlord/lady I would never go round unannounced, I would always make plans and give notice.

Guest101

martin1959 wrote: »

Please do not make derogatory assumptions.


There is no law that says I cannot 'pop around uninvited', it is up to the tenant whether they chose to let me in.


I visited to tell them personally, to offer them the opportunity to leave early, should they wish to do so, breaking the AST early, as they will wish to stay in the same school catchment area and properties do not come up regularly in this area.


I could have just had the agent send them a letter, and insist they paid up to the 31st March, but I am trying to assist them.


We have the property fully managed and 6 monthly inspections have been carried out. We did not expect the property to be immaculate and expect 'fair wear and tear'.


We have had children of this age, and would never have kept our property in the state this was in. However, we have to accept that some have different values to others.


Provided they are served with a section 21 notice by the agent before the 31st Jan there should be no problem.

Lol.

Do it again and it's harassment

If they want they'll be there well into June/ July.

martin1959

Pixie5740 wrote: »

Yes there are laws that say you can't pop round whenever you like and serving a Section 21 doesn't end the tenancy, only the tenant or a court can do that.

You have to accept that right now this property is the tenants' home and they can live however they damn well choose. As long as the property is returned to you in the same condition minus any fair wear and tear is doesn't matter what's gone on in between. You will have course taken a detailed and accurate inventory at the start of the tenancy, protected the deposit and issued the PI correctly each time a new tenancy started.

Your comments just further confirm that you have much to learn grasshopper.

Edit: To save you from any further confusion about how to end an AST please read this handy guide by G_M.

Would you like some steps to assist you in getting down from your high horse?


Show me the law that says I cannot call round and knock on the front door and speak to the tenant, if they are happy to speak to me. I did not demand or force access, or even ask for it. She invited me in.


They cannot live in it in ANY way they choose. It has to be in line with the contract. They cannot smoke in the property as we have a clause in the contract (I appreciate this does not stop them physically smoking but they would lose their deposit), and they cannot keep their caravan on the front (we asked them to move it). These are a just a couple of examples.


The tenants cannot just end the tenancy. They have to give notice and wait until the end of an AST.

martin1959

Guest101 wrote: »

Lol.

Do it again and it's harassment

If they want they'll be there well into June/ July.

Whether something is harassment or not, is to a degree, subjective. I doubt one visit in 24 months constitutes harassment...lol


they will not be there until June/July if they want a reference....they have rented for the past 6 years and have a history of excellent references, hence we chose them. I doubt they will want to ruin that.

45002

martin1959 wrote:

Whether something is harassment or not, is to a degree, subjective. I doubt one visit in 24 months constitutes harassment...lol


they will not be there until June/July if they want a reference....they have rented for the past 6 years and have a history of excellent references, hence we chose them. I doubt they will want to ruin that.

martin1959 wrote:

Would you like some steps to assist you in getting down from your high horse?


Show me the law that says I cannot call round and knock on the front door and speak to the tenant, if they are happy to speak to me. I did not demand or force access, or even ask for it. She invited me in.


They cannot live in it in ANY way they choose. It has to be in line with the contract. They cannot smoke in the property as we have a clause in the contract (I appreciate this does not stop them physically smoking but they would lose their deposit), and they cannot keep their caravan on the front (we asked them to move it). These are a just a couple of examples.


The tenants cannot just end the tenancy. They have to give notice and wait until the end of an AST.

May I ask what are you going to do if your tenants Do not leave of there own free will !

duchy

Oh dear

End of March you say ?


Good luck

Here's a scenario for you
The wife tells her husband that the landlord came around unannounced and *expected* to be let in - and she felt too intimidated not to let him in.

Although no paperwork was forthcoming (and I have noticed you didn't answer the question as to whether the deposit is in a scheme or not) and their feeling is the LL can be "difficult" -like making a fuss over them parking their caravan on the drive although there was no mention of this prior to moving in - they have sought advice.

They were informed that as a family with children they have a good chance of social housing - which as well as likely more affordable rent will give them the security of knowing they won't have to move again at the whim of a landlord (important to many families with children settled in good schools locally). The council will inform them that if they move out at the end of their AST then they will have intentionally made themselves homeless and they need to sit tight and wait for the LL to take them to court and gain an eviction order. The council/housing association won't care about a vindictive landlord who give "a lovely couple" who have always paid their rent on time a bad reference simply because they did as the housing dept told them and waited for an eviction order to gain access to social housing .

You may not agree with how councils make applicants for housing "play the game" but this is how it works.
You may be fortunate and they choose to move to another private rental - but it isn't a certainty

Pixie5740

martin1959 wrote: »

Would you like some steps to assist you in getting down from your high horse?


Show me the law that says I cannot call round and knock on the front door and speak to the tenant, if they are happy to speak to me. I did not demand or force access, or even ask for it. She invited me in.


They cannot live in it in ANY way they choose. It has to be in line with the contract. They cannot smoke in the property as we have a clause in the contract (I appreciate this does not stop them physically smoking but they would lose their deposit), and they cannot keep their caravan on the front (we asked them to move it). These are a just a couple of examples.


The tenants cannot just end the tenancy. They have to give notice and wait until the end of an AST.

My high horse? That's a bit rich. You're the one who started a thread about why you'll never be a landlord again (thank god) and started complaining about your tenants. These would be the tenants who have been paying your mortgage because it wasn't convenient for you to move into straightaway. How did you manage to get consent to let so quickly?

Turning up uninvited to your tenant's home could be classed as harassment which is a criminal offence.

I never said that tenants can end a tenancy whenever they want. What I said was that a tenancy can only be ended by the tenant or a court, not by you popping round or issuing a Section 21. I even gave you a link to a guide explaining how to end an AST to keep you right.

Yes, tenants can live how they choose. You are the landlord, not their mother. You provide a service and the tenants pay you for that service. That service does not include dictating how they live their lives.

Pixie5740

martin1959 wrote: »

Whether something is harassment or not, is to a degree, subjective. I doubt one visit in 24 months constitutes harassment...lol


they will not be there until June/July if they want a reference....they have rented for the past 6 years and have a history of excellent references, hence we chose them. I doubt they will want to ruin that.

You seem to be under the delusion that your reference holds more power than it actually does. Are you really saying that you would jeopardise your tenants moving out by providing a bad reference. That would be cutting off your nose to spite your face. Besides its quite easy to get someone you know to give a fake reference and not get caught.

jjlandlord

This thread starts to stink so much of an anti-landlord witch-hunt that I feel harassed.
I may report you all for criminal offences.

Pixie5740 wrote: »

Turning up uninvited to your tenant's home could be classed as harassment which is a criminal offence.

Could we stop with this, please?