I’m losing a tenant every 6 months, please help!

A dreadful situation. Cannot say I like the idea of a housing benefit tenant being offered the property just because they would have less ability to leave, though they may be more inclined to discuss with the Council before leaving.
Speak to the Council, probably the Environmental Department - they will have set procedures in place to deal with this issue. Discuss fully with the next tenant you take - make sure they are aware there is a problem and that you are aware of it and taking it seriously. They must report all incidents to the Police, if possible without arguments with the bad neighbours. My own authority like incident logs to be kept which provides part of the necessary evidence for Court action.
I would not give business to the bad agent who is not taking any action - they should be contacting the Council themselves in order to ascertain the actions they should and could take.
Another option may be a mediation service, though to be honest, unlikely to do much good from the sound of it as they are not acknowledging that they are bad tenants.

MAY I MAKE IT ABUNDANTLY CLEAR TO EVERYONE THAT IT IS NOT MARK HALTERN'S OWN AGENT THAT IS DOING NOTHING, BUT THE ITALIAN TENANTS AGENT.

Mark Lintern if you could confirm this to the P118 Community I would be grateful

Why not just sell the property and buy else where. It's a rising market...am sure you made a tidy profit.

I can't imagine your neigbhour changing his tune any time soon!

Part of the problem is that the Italian tenant may be a good tenant as far as his landlord and agent is concerned. So why should the landlord/agent of the problem tenant do anything if he is paying his rent on time and not damaging the property?

Reply to the comment left by "Industry Observer " at "30/10/2013 - 11:17":

Hi Industry observer,

Yes you are correct, whilst I wouldn't say that my agent is pulling out all the stops on my behalf, they are helping a great deal, I have had a meeting with the MD previously and he is forwarding emails to the Problem tenants Agent as well as myself illustrating where the problem clearly lies with a call to action. It is the Problem tenants Agent (not mine) that is refusing to recognise their tenant as a problem.

Reply to the comment left by "James Tallis" at "30/10/2013 - 11:24":

Hi James,

Yes this is one of the options I am considering and I am hoping, grateful to the help you all have provided, that I will come to a decision by Friday.

It really goes against the grain, but an incentive could be a sum of money which may assist them getting somewhere else. But how much they would need or want to move out, is questionable. Obviously, you don't want to give more than necessary.

Ok I have an update:
In previous correspondance I have made noise to the effect that I may intend to sue the landlord and agent for loss of income. My agent re-iterated this point to their Agent yesterday. I followed this up with a polite but firm email giving no inclination of my intentions just a suggestion that I am interested in their response in light of the loss of another of my tenants. Their agent has replied having informed the other landlord, who is considering their action, they intend to come to a decision within a week. Which is not acceptable for me as time is money. Any way I have written a draft email that I would like to run by you guys first to see if you think this would be a good solution, with it I offer a little bit of financial help to the other landlord as an incentive, I've considered I may need to lose a battle to win the war. Here is the content of the draft email that I am intending to send to the their Agent:

'Thank you for the quick response. I understand that this is a constant frustrating inconvenience for everyone involved, not least my tenants, and I am encouraged to learn that your client is taking the time to consider their response. I would be very grateful if you could convey to them, as I'm sure they are aware, and for the intention to have it at the forefront of their minds, that for me this is a matter of urgency as time is money. Without wanting to sound pushy or trying to rush them, I do need to make a decision as soon as possible, preferably by friday.

To be clear I am simply interested to know whether they intend to remove the tenant or not. In this instance I would also like to offer an olive branch and propose that I am willing to pay half of any loss of income that your landlady incurs as a result of any delay in finding a new tenant - providing that I have their word that they will start proceedings immediately to remove their tenant and that given this guarantee I can convince my current tenant to stay, and providing that you as the Agent do your up most to ensure a new tenant is moved in at the earliest opportunity. I am willing to do this as I see the removal of your tenant as being the quickest and easiest solution for all parties involved and see no benefit in creating enemies and friction between Agents and Landlords/ladies over what is essentially a bullying trouble maker of a tenant, who will clearly only ever cause you further problems.

I welcome yours and your clients thoughts.'

What does everyone think to this approach? Am I giving too much? I will send it later this afternoon once I've considered your experienced points of view.

Thanks again,
Mark

Reply to the comment left by "Industry Observer " at "30/10/2013 - 08:11":

@ IO,
I think Ian's silicone suggestion was supposed to be a joke to lighten up the discussion and give a chuckle to us readers.....
...it certainly did for me.

These type of tenants/neighbours from hell can really get you down, and anything that brings a laugh might just stop you crying yourself to sleep from the depression it can cause.
These type of people can really do serious mental damage to the people around them and to the landlord that has to try to deal with the situation...I know from personal experience...
I still find it hard to visit my local pubs without looking over my shoulder for people who have had a twisted picture painted of me by my tenants whom I had to evict.....
There's some nasty people out there who will do you serious harm if given half a chance.

Mark

Have you run this by your own agent?

Jeremy

Fair comment beauty is in the eye of the beholder and humour is a very personal thing. And there is a time and aplace too.