Judge To Look Into Why Tenants Are Not Prosecuted For Criminal Damage & Theft

Judge To Look Into Why Tenants Are Not Prosecuted For Criminal Damage & Theft

10:46 AM, 12th October 2016, About 8 years ago 164

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On my flight from Malta to Heathrow last week I had the pleasure of sitting next to a gentleman who was a Judge and also worked for the Ministry of Justice to review the Court system.

We got talking about criminal damage so I asked him how many tenants he had fined or imprisoned for criminal damage to a landlords property during his career as a Judge.

He went quiet for a while, clearly deep in thought, but then had to admit that such a case had never been brought before him. Being naturally inquisitive I asked him why he thought that might be.

He had no answer.

The point I made was that if I were to smash his doors, windows, garage door etc. I would expect to be prosecuted. He agreed.

He also agreed that criminal damage is criminal damage regardless of whether the person committing the crime is a tenant of a landlord or not. We then went on to discuss theft of property from a landlords property by a tenant.

When I explained to him that Police and CPS regularly brush off theft from a landlord or criminal damage caused by a tenant as a “civil matter” he was clearly concerned and accepted that when tenants do commit such crimes they should be prosecuted. I’m not convinced he appreciates the scale of the problem though so I am asking you to provide some examples in the comments section below. I have the Judge’s contact details and he will be signed up to receive notification emails linking to your comments.

If he is true to his word (I have no reason to doubt that he won’t be) then our chance meeting could well prove to be a very useful one in terms of my quest for justice for landlords.


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Jay James

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17:08 PM, 17th October 2016, About 8 years ago

Reply to the comment left by "KATHY MILLER" at "17/10/2016 - 17:06":

Debt recovery in the UK is a joke and we all know it. Why bother?

Romain Garcin

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17:12 PM, 17th October 2016, About 8 years ago

Reply to the comment left by "KATHY MILLER" at "17/10/2016 - 17:06":

"The tenant had a boyfriend living with her but I could not prove it the Letting agent that they were currently renting from could not provide the info due to DP."

This is utter rubbish, frankly.

You should demand the information in writing and sue for any loss suffered if the agent does not reply.

Ian Ringrose

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17:16 PM, 17th October 2016, About 8 years ago

"Debt recovery in the UK is a joke and we all know it. Why bother?"

It puts a stamp on their head that stops them letting from most agents and landlords, if we all make the effort to stamp the bad tenants in this way, there would be less bad tenants.

MoodyMolls

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17:33 PM, 17th October 2016, About 8 years ago

Reply to the comment left by "Romain Garcin" at "17/10/2016 - 17:12":

I get hit with DP many times especially with the benefits section. I believe the Agent did think this has they were really happy I took her to court. The Boyfriend and the tenant turned up at the Letting Agents going mad because they thought the Letting Agent had said something.

Alan Carey

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18:01 PM, 17th October 2016, About 8 years ago

Reply to the comment left by "Ian Ringrose" at "17/10/2016 - 17:16":

In an ideal world I totally agree with you Ian, but it isn't an ideal world and as we all know, tenants and agents do lie, as we all have bills to pay, I think that what the police officer suggested to me, (i.e. selling the debt) is the best option as we get some money instead of nothing and we get on with our lives, while the tenants get a lot of grief, which might make them think twice about not paying rent etc in the future.

I know it is not ideal but until we as landlords get protected by the government, the police and the system in general, I think it is only reasonable that we look after ourselves.

Alan Carey

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18:05 PM, 17th October 2016, About 8 years ago

Reply to the comment left by "Jay James" at "17/10/2016 - 17:08":

You are so right the system is a joke and a waste of time and money for landlords. As I said before, do as the police officer suggested to me and sell the debt, then you get on with your life and the tenant has the grief.

MoodyMolls

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18:05 PM, 17th October 2016, About 8 years ago

Hi Alan

Who did you sell the debt to? I looked at this many years back but no one was interested if they were on benefits

At what percentage did they buy the debt for?

Maybe this is the answer have a company buy all landlords debts and this company is given the right to deduct from all their benefits.

This information then would be valuable to the government they could see how many rogue tenants there are and how many abuse the money provided for rent

Alan Carey

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18:09 PM, 17th October 2016, About 8 years ago

Reply to the comment left by "KATHY MILLER" at "17/10/2016 - 17:06":

Don't waste your time and money, the system only looks after the wasters, sell the debt and get some money which is normally more tha you will get from the court system.

Alan Carey

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18:12 PM, 17th October 2016, About 8 years ago

Reply to the comment left by "KATHY MILLER" at "17/10/2016 - 18:05":

It isn't a company as such, but as I said people from another country, maybe not a source that I would share online. I'm sure you can find someone if you ask about.

Alan Carey

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18:21 PM, 17th October 2016, About 8 years ago

Reply to the comment left by "Jay James" at "17/10/2016 - 17:02":

Sorry if I hit a nerve Jay, but this article is about the police etc being useless when it comes to helping landlords, so brushing that under the carpet won't get things changed, which I thought was the piint of this site?

The whole system (i,e. the government, the police, the courts, the insolvency service and of course local authorities) need to realise that without private landlords and AST's there would be a massive housing crisis in the UK and they need to help landlords, instead of trying to push them all out of the market, to do this the truth needs to be discussed and faced up to, whether people find it palatable or not.

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