Tenant damage during COVID times - Advice please

AdrianC

FBaby said:

Dog smell after carpet is changed and a day of opening windows? I don't think so.

I once moved into a property that had two large dogs. It stank. Because of it,  so got a very good deal on the rent. It took months for the smell to go and at times I did think I'd made a mistake.

Did you change the carpet and the underlay and the curtains and all soft materials?

letsbetfair

AdrianC said:

FBaby said:

Dog smell after carpet is changed and a day of opening windows? I don't think so.

I once moved into a property that had two large dogs. It stank. Because of it,  so got a very good deal on the rent. It took months for the smell to go and at times I did think I'd made a mistake.

Did you change the carpet and the underlay and the curtains and all soft materials?

How hard it is to remove dog smell will vary a lot. Worst-case scenario is that dog pee soaks right through into the floorboards. Best case scenario is that it's just the dogs themselves smelling a bit, and getting carpets cleaned and a day with the windows open fixes the issue.
I'd probably want another inspection if not giving notice - to reassure me it was closer to the best case scenario than the worst case.

FBaby

AdrianC said:

FBaby said:

Dog smell after carpet is changed and a day of opening windows? I don't think so.

I once moved into a property that had two large dogs. It stank. Because of it,  so got a very good deal on the rent. It took months for the smell to go and at times I did think I'd made a mistake.

Did you change the carpet and the underlay and the curtains and all soft materials?

The owner had changed the carpets but the smell remained, very strongly at first. 

AdrianC

FBaby said:

AdrianC said:

FBaby said:

Dog smell after carpet is changed and a day of opening windows? I don't think so.

I once moved into a property that had two large dogs. It stank. Because of it,  so got a very good deal on the rent. It took months for the smell to go and at times I did think I'd made a mistake.

Did you change the carpet and the underlay and the curtains and all soft materials?

The owner had changed the carpets but the smell remained, very strongly at first. 

And the underlay and curtains and all soft materials...?

deannagone

If there is a dog pee smell, there are cheap and very effective ways to eliminate it if you look on google (remove dog pee smell from carpets etc).  You can use the same stuff to remove the smell from floorboards if you let it soak in. As a hint, you need an enzyme which is in all good biological washing powders and maybe some white vinegar and bicarbonate of soda.

Even if hinges are ripped off  in kitchen cupboards, you can repair that (again, google).  If other damage, I'd suspect a fairly old kitchen.  

Totally agree that dogs could have been left in garden while inspection was taking place.  I've come across people who were so terrified just at the sound of a dog barking, they can't think, totally unsuitable to do an inspection in a house with dogs.  But complaints about dogs barking does hint the tenant was leaving them alone for too long, but not a lot you can do about that now.  
In  future, more investigations of the tenant, if possible visit them for a chat in the rental they are in now so you can get an idea how they look after properties they are renting.

Grumpy_chap

deannagone said:

In  future, more investigations of the tenant, if possible visit them for a chat in the rental they are in now so you can get an idea how they look after properties they are renting.

That is just not possible and most intrusive.

Letting a rental property is a business arrangement and I cannot think of any other business arrangement where the supplier gets to "interview" prospective customers.

The level of check that a LL can undertake are credit referencing, employer reference and past LL reference - the latter being most like the "interview" suggested.

BikingBud

Grumpy_chap said:

deannagone said:

In  future, more investigations of the tenant, if possible visit them for a chat in the rental they are in now so you can get an idea how they look after properties they are renting.

That is just not possible and most intrusive.

Letting a rental property is a business arrangement and I cannot think of any other business arrangement where the supplier gets to "interview" prospective customers.

The level of check that a LL can undertake are credit referencing, employer reference and past LL reference - the latter being most like the "interview" suggested.

So no "Shallow Grave" interview moments then?

• "I'd like to ask you about your hobbies... Now when you sacrifice a goat and you rip its heart out with your bare hands, do you then summon hellfire? Or do you just send out for a pizza?"

• "So tell me, Cameron, just tell me because I'd like to know, what on earth could make you think that we would want to share a flat like this with someone like you? I mean, my first impression, and they're rarely wrong, is that you have none of the qualities that we normally seek in a prospective flatmate. I'm talking here about things like presence, charisma, style and charm, and I don't think we're asking too much, I don't think we're being unreasonable. Take David here, for instance: a chartered accountant he may be, but at least he tries hard. The point is I don't think you're trying."

Grumpy_chap

BikingBud said:

Grumpy_chap said:

deannagone said:

In  future, more investigations of the tenant, if possible visit them for a chat in the rental they are in now so you can get an idea how they look after properties they are renting.

That is just not possible and most intrusive.

Letting a rental property is a business arrangement and I cannot think of any other business arrangement where the supplier gets to "interview" prospective customers.

The level of check that a LL can undertake are credit referencing, employer reference and past LL reference - the latter being most like the "interview" suggested.

So no "Shallow Grave" interview moments then?

• "I'd like to ask you about your hobbies... Now when you sacrifice a goat and you rip its heart out with your bare hands, do you then summon hellfire? Or do you just send out for a pizza?"

• "So tell me, Cameron, just tell me because I'd like to know, what on earth could make you think that we would want to share a flat like this with someone like you? I mean, my first impression, and they're rarely wrong, is that you have none of the qualities that we normally seek in a prospective flatmate. I'm talking here about things like presence, charisma, style and charm, and I don't think we're asking too much, I don't think we're being unreasonable. Take David here, for instance: a chartered accountant he may be, but at least he tries hard. The point is I don't think you're trying."

Flatshare is different to letting the whole property.