LordOf TheManor

In this situation, the first thing I would do is check with the Council whether these tenants are collecting housing benefit and not passing it on. I would have done this at the first stage of the tenants getting into arrears.

If that does prove to be the case, apply for it to be paid to you direct.

If they're squandering housing benefit, you're allowing them to continue doing so if you don't check!... Read More

Don't go!

What's the quality of the initial inventory & schedule of condition? If it's basic, then it's basic and might not serve you well.

If it's reasonably comprehensive, you could potentially call an inventory company from the AIIC directory in your area for help with comparisons with the condition at tenancy start and the findings in January. An independent inventory clerk could be accompanied by the best placed person from the letting agency.

Leave the inventory clerk to agree what's wear & tear. If there are areas that are in need of the tenant's attention for cleaning, this could be highlighted to the tenant as a requirement prior to the final check-out. Remember: tenants can live in dirt if they like (up to a point where it doesn't cause property neglect). The hope is that they take their dirt with them when they go!

It just might be useful/less stressful if an independent person could lead on the inspection. Levelling out the expectations on both sides regarding the returned condition should be a bonus, I'd think.

Good luck with however it goes.... Read More

Hmmm!
I'm late to the party on this conversation - following a full day on an urgent unplanned maintenance issue (if you please - and don't mind noting - Mr Starmer).
I'm with Cider Drinker & John Bentley on this. There has to be more to this than meets the eye. That's the crux of it, to me.
1. The tenant is unlikely to have paid in full for the stair lift as tenants don't generally have the means to pay for such an expensive item. It would have been a considered expense long before it was installed. I'm alluding to the high possibility that there is a credit contract to run for years to come relating to a pay-back arrangement. How long is it, I wonder?
2. On that basis, the history of the stair lift purchase is of note. Sellers are known to be east prey to impulse buyers due to people's change in circumstances - and easy credit access facilitates the sales. The property has to be surveyed in advance for the lift to be put in place.
3. I would ask for the sales history of the stair lift installation from the tenant & obtain copies of all documentation. The dates on it would be of some interest.
4. Fire regulations put lifts out of use in the case of fire. You need to know who you'd have to account for in the event of fire evacuation at your property. Overnight visitor (presumed for the stair lift requirement) or a permitted occupier, I would still like to know.
5. What exactly is the 'permanent/semi visitor's' capability & extent of disability? This has to be determined - don't you think? See comment below.
6. Airlines don't work with unknown quantities of immobility on their flights. Airlines categorise mobility as 1, 2 or 3 in terms of need so there is a reference to each of these passengers prior to boarding. In an emergency evacuation, it's known who's where and what their needs are. Obviously not the same as in a tenanted property: but a less-abled tenant is likely to be longer to be in a house than an aircraft!
7. As for ripping out the stair lift after the tenant has gone ..... whose property is it to rip out? It won't belong to the tenant if it's not paid for or if still under a credit agreement. It would therefore help to know now who - actually - is financially responsible for it and for how long? Is it your tenant? Or is it her partner?
Poster: let's hear what happens from here. Thank you.
Lord... Read More

Say you did decide to dig up the floor.....

Is that expected to be while the tenants are in situ?

Or can you legitimately move them on with 2 months notice so as not to fall foul of EPC regulations?... Read More

How do you source a good assessor that you can chat to and work with?... Read More

Crikey, an £800pcm increase?

A sensible agent would have referred back to the original referencing report for the tenants' affordability ceiling back then - and then had a discussion with the tenants related to any salary progression since then.

To assume that tenants in situ can afford an £800pcm jump in rent without verifying the facts already on file.... would be just silly - as well as lazy!

As Graham suggests, ask the agents what they have charged for.... Read More

Sorry for how it's turned out......
Get ready for action and start lining up all your ducks for a mind clearing exercise first and foremost. Then steady your ship by doing the following:
1. Print out your contract with the agency and go through each clause one by one. Use a fluorescent pen to highlight services missed. Put this in a file ready to refer to as you follow the advice given on this site.
2. Print out the deposit evidence trail you were presumably given. Highlight as above. Then do a compare and contrast with the agency contract to see how they have 'justified' their claims from it. Make notes on the result.
3. Revisit the pre-tenancy information. Who holds this? If it's not you, go after it with a calm request to the agency to supply you with the information. Was there an application form? If so, get a copy of it, then check the details contained within. Does it claim 'no CCJs' according to the tenants?
4. Who referenced the prospective tenants before they moved in? Whether it was the agency themselves, or via an outside referencing company, either way - ask for a copy of the report that the agency relied on to let to these tenants. Insist on having a copy, no matter what. Scrutinise, make notes and file - you'll need this information down the track.
5. Start a tenant trace for their current whereabouts on the information you have obtained from the above reports. This might take months if their move is recent. Stay patient til they are located. If this address turns out to be temporary, make a note to retrace them again in 12 months time. Find them!! Then check the ownership of the property they occupy. Keep a printed copy of your notes.....
6. When you finally locate them, do a CCJ multiple check for £8 at Trust Online. If nothing comes up, check again in 12 months time. Keep your file up to date with your findings.
When it comes to presenting your case to those who can advise you from here (to wherever it ends up) you'll have the information at your fingertips to demonstrate the tenancy's initial failure point and consequently highlight any subsequent 'red flags' missed by those charging you to look out for those.
Keep your file in good reference order. Keep notes as you go on any industry advice given, including just the verbal ones. Follow up.... and make notes.
When you have established an audit trail of what went wrong and why it wasn't picked up sooner, the way forward should become clear.
If the Agency is in one of the Ombudsman Schemes, the first port of call should be them. Your evidence trail will prove to be very useful when it comes to making a claim. You'll have the information you require to back up your statements and to upload as evidence to TPO or the alternative one.
Please post again in the future with the outcome. Hope it's a good result for you - but know that it will take time to arrive at it's end point.
Wishing you all the best with it.
Lord... Read More

Of particular note:

If your ex-tenant is self-employed you have no chance at all of reclaiming anything!!... Read More

Quick question....

What events are you trying to insure?... Read More

Another capital gains question.....

A friend's accountant overpaid the CGT for an ex-pat whose house was sold last year. They used the wrong calculation which should have been the straight-line one. The over payment is £25k!

Accountants are no longer acting and have notified HMRC to this effect. I'm sure there's an HMRC form that can be used to correct the calculation....

I just can't find it! Can anyone help, please?

Thank you!... Read More

... Read More

Well said, Northern Landlord!!

Said Vulture Company tried hard to persuade me to part with my well-maintained and picture-perfect house with long life guarantees still in place for roof, damp course, kitchen++ for 30% less than market value - even with blue chip tenants in it!

Scare stories - huh? They weren't going to kid someone like me. I self-managed the house for 23 years and I wouldn't be lying to say the only void I ever had was during the full refurb in 2010.

I therefore politely asked the tenants to leave so that I could sell it unencumbered at a price that rewarded my investment and time spent with the property, albeit minus the huge CGT bill. The house, when vacant, flew off the estate agent's shelf in no time for 40% more than the Vulture Company's offering. Unless you're super desperate, the word is DON'T!

NB: In response to the stats provided by the OP: with 21% of landlords in the NW wanting to off-load their tenanted properties (via the easiest but most costly way) onto another landlord - why is this? What's the real story?... Read More

'We are also interested in hearing from landlords who may be victims of crime in the sense that their property may have been misused by tenants.'

A million thank yous, Dr L'Hoiry!!!... Read More

Could the OP go back to Ben Parker at Battersea and ask the 24% who clearly did encounter pet damage for a schedule of those damages, how much the repairs cost - and, in each case, who got landed with the bill?... Read More

Kevin

Thank you for your honesty & telling it as it is from the front line.

It must be very stressful for the civil servants in public facing roles to know that the situation created by 'our betters' won't help those sitting in front of them.

All the worse knowing that the situation cannot get any better. A quart never did fit into a pint mug, did it?... Read More

Is the tenant claiming or wanting to claim housing benefit?

If so, that could be the reason for the re-creation of the tenancy agreement. As the LHA rate has increased from April, the higher rent used on the replicated agreement could be a way of the tenant claiming more benefit soon.

Only guessing... because I can't think of any other reason for a tenant to issue themselves a fake agreement!... Read More

Quick question: Do you have a hard copy of the original document signed by all parties to the contract?... Read More

I totally disagree!
A CCJ is a CCJ & whatever it was given for is always relevant to a prospective landlord.
It means an instant failure of the tenant referencing process for starters! It's a tenant's responsibility to protect their credit history, no-one else's.
A CCJ will not just refuse the landlord the cover of an RGI policy, it will also invalidate all other aspects of landlord insurance. No dice - I wouldn't take the chance, not ever!

It's therefore not... Read More

Alex .....
Even though you're no longer running a letting agency, please don't lose sight of the business acumen that with that.
It seems the norm is that tenants no longer submit a signed truthful 'tenancy application form' to an agent prior to 'offering' on a proposed tenancy. What???
I find my own tenants via Open rent with pre-screening questions prior to viewings. Of the offers, all have to submit to me a completed NRLA tenancy application form. Based on the signed receipt of that, only then do I accept prospective tenants at their 'face value' & go on to agree to pay to reference them.
If tenants have signed NRLA form to say no CCJs but then are found to have them... that comes out in the wash when the NRLA references are paid for. Results in no tenancy & I keep the holding fee they paid.
NB: My last 2 tenant applicants have both said that when they were contacted direct from NRLA after my pre-approval process, the questions asked of them were considerably less than those on the form I had sent them.
NB: NRLA. Could you please comment on my most recent tenants' feedback?... Read More

Hmmm....
Alex, please establish what was known at the point of referencing. The advice of both Dylan Morris & Chris@PF is great advice so please follow!

If the CCJ was known at the time of the tenant being referenced, then the course of follow up with the responsibility chain falls under: Hale v Blue Sky Properties.... Read More