rental issues with tenants

piglet11

ive been in a postion to take another job in another county so have moved and now renting  so im now renting my own house out though an agency just in case i move back again 
seems like my new tenants are breaching the contract 
we asked for no smoking and neighbours who i still keep in touch with have mesaged me to say that they have seen them smoking 
they are also affecting  my neighbours by parking their cars  in placeds thats arent actual spaces so blocking in garages or through roads
ive spoken to the agency who have set up a meeting with them soon to discuss 
they do pay the rent on time 
where do i stand as heard its hard to get them out on a section 21 if it was to go that route .. any advise is appreciated  thanks 
 

TadleyBaggie

Smoking where? If outside I think that would be OK and not actionable.

swingaloo

How do your neighbours know they are smoking in the house?
Is there a clause included in the tenancy agreement which forbids smoking?

propertyrental

Beyond a friendly chat, there's little you can do. You'll never get an eviction on the smoking basis, nor the parking.

Arguably, this is all none of your business - it's their home now, not yours.

Best you can do is use their deposit to clean up the smoking smell/discoloured paintwork when the tenancy ends.

S21 cannot be used in the first 6 months (served in month 4 to expire at 6 month point is the earliest, unless of course they have a 12 month contract in which case S21 cannot expire before 12 months).

S8 for breach of terms will be discretionary and no judge will use their discretion to evict on the basis of what you've said.

(I assume this is England?)

My advice however is to do a lot of reading so you understand tenant rights, landlord responsibilities, and the law. start here:

Post 7: New landlords (1):advice & information :see links in next post

Post 8: New landlords (2): Essential links for further information

Post 9: Letting agents: how should a landlord select or sack?

Post 4: Ending/renewing an AST: what happens when a fixed term ends? How can a LL or tenant end a tenancy? What is a periodic tenancy?

macman

It's not 'hard to get them out' on an S21 at all, as there is no defence, it being a no-fault claim for possession. But it could take you 9 months or more depending on whether they decide to vacate at the end of the notice period. You haven't said how long their initial AST contractual tenancy is for, or when it commenced, because obviously you cannot give notice earlier than the expiry date of the fixed term.
You are paying the LA a large slice of the rental fee to manage the prperty, so let them do it.

FreeBear

Parking cars that block access & roads is a policing issue (assuming they are doing it on public roads). The neighbours need to report the problem cars, and if the police decide it is a contravention, they can slap a ticket on the offending vehicle. One or two PCNs will soon encourage them to park more responsibly.

theartfullodger

Asking no smoking has no legal status.  Does tenancy state no smoking? (Please quote EXACT wording) - if not forget it.

Impact of smoking we and you don't know yet.  If tenants stay 30 years who cares - you'd redecorate anyway. If they just stay 6 months then yes but probably will be an issue.

How long was initial fixed term? If more than 6 months who wanted that? - if agent I'd be unhappy and wouldn't usually agree 

Even if tenancy states no smoking, whilst you can try to evict for breach of contract (section 8 ground 12) that's only a discretionary ground v v unlikely any judge to evict for just that.

Please tell us against checks (Google "nearly legal section 21" for checklist) if any s21 might be valid please? Many many s21s are invalid, but getting them right ain't that tricky.

What training or education have you done in being a landlord and/or landlord/tenant law please?

Just because there's an agency involved doesn't mean you're not responsible.  You are responsible for all landlord/tenant matters (if things go wrong you might have a legal case against agent, but you're still responsible) and in charge: You tell agent what to do, not the other way round.

Artful: Landlord since 2000 (of course I get things wrong....)

km1500

there is also I suspects an emotional attachment issue

you probably think of it as your house whereas you must start thinking of their house

Grumpy_chap

piglet11 said:

ive been in a postion to take another job in another county so have moved and now renting  so im now renting my own house out though an agency just in case i move back again 
seems like my new tenants are breaching the contract 
we asked for no smoking and neighbours who i still keep in touch with have mesaged me to say that they have seen them smoking 
they are also affecting  my neighbours by parking their cars  in placeds thats arent actual spaces so blocking in garages or through roads
ive spoken to the agency who have set up a meeting with them soon to discuss 
they do pay the rent on time 
where do i stand as heard its hard to get them out on a section 21 if it was to go that route .. any advise is appreciated  thanks 
 

I think, in essence, there is nothing you can do here.
Your priority is that the Tenants are paying the rent and not abusing the property.  Wear and tear is to be expected.

There is very likely nothing to be said or discussed with the Tenants and the risk is that the Agent goes in heavy handed and creates tension (between you and the Tenants) where none needs to exist.  Rather than a "meeting", does the Agent carry out regular inspections of the property?  If so, this could be used to assess the status a bit more as part of general conversation with the T at that visit.

The Tenancy agreement may have a comment about no smoking, but that is very likely not enforceable. 
If the neighbours are aware that the T's are smoking, that may be a good thing if it indicates the T's are respecting the wishes not to smoke inside so therefore stepping out the door. 
If the T's are smoking inside the property, how do the neighbours know?  Either chain-smoking T's or nosy neighbours?
If it is not tobacco but other substances that are being smoked, then the neighbours can report to Police.  The neighbours, not you, as you have only hear-say.

The parking really is not an issue that the neighbours should be raising with yourself.  If you had sold the property and the new owners parked "inconsiderately", would the neighbours expect you to resolve this or deal with at a neighbourly level?
If the parking is illegal, then the neighbours should notify the local parking enforcement team.

I don't think you need to be getting the T's out over this - focus on the fact they are paying the rent properly and keep the T's on your side so they keep paying the rent properly.

Albermarle

I don't think you need to be getting the T's out over this - focus on the fact they are paying the rent properly and keep the T's on your side so they keep paying the rent properly.

Plus if they get turfed out, the next ones may be a whole lot worse !