Tenant not handing back keys

Reply to the comment left by "Mark Alexander" at "21/03/2015 - 09:41":

I am seriously thinking of taking her to court, I don't expect to get my money, and I think she will just ignore it all. Hopefully she will get a CCJ against her name and will find it harder to do this to anyone else. I have warned her new landlord. The only thing stopping me is will I be opening a can of worms re. changing locks etc. I would gladly pay the court fee just for her to have a CCJ in her name. My letting agent did everything by the book I'm sure, they waited until all the checks came through before she was signed up. I have a good relationship with him and he is helping me sort it out even though I took over management of the property myself.

Reply to the comment left by "Christine Turner" at "21/03/2015 - 10:47":

Hi Christine

The dilemma you have in taking her to Court will no doubt have been the same for her former landlords, which is why she managed to pass referencing and rent your property. It's a vicious cycle where each freshly abused landlord ends up with exactly the dilemma you are now facing.

If you can get the Tenancy Surrender Agreement signed then you can break this viscous cycle and take comfort from knowing that you could be saving another landlord some grief, and of course enjoying the sweet taste of revenge yourself, and you never know, in years to come this tenant may come into some money, you have six years to recover your debt 😉
.

Reply to the comment left by "Mark Alexander" at "21/03/2015 - 11:04":

One part of the Surrender Document that I printed stated that I confirmed that she didn't owe any rent or for any damages though, so surely I can't then take her to court. Is there an alternative Tenancy Surrender Document that I haven't seen?

Reply to the comment left by "Christine Turner" at "21/03/2015 - 11:10":

No, but you can amend it by deleting the parts you have not agreed to 🙂

Just cut and paste the text onto a Word document and then edit as necessary.
.

Reply to the comment left by "Christine Turner" at "21/03/2015 - 11:10":

christine, At this point i would be concentrating solely on getting that document signed and my property relet, when the dust has settled collate all the info you have on her with photos of the subsequent damage and quotes from the tradesmen undertaking repairs to your property etc.then later on should you feel the urge to go after her then so be it.Isee that they have put the County court fees up considerably and also now looking to increase again. i,m sure they are trying to deter landlords from taking people to court .finally if she has a job locally you could then go for an attachment of earning .Its amazing what comes to light after the event , politely tell her new landlord what you know,at least he will be in the position of being forewarned what might be coming to him sooner rather than later.good luck

I am also intrigued as to how she passed referencing. Did you not inform your agent of the state of the house and the way she left?

I ask because, although usually my agent deals with this, I had one tenant who gave my name as a referee. So I was phoned by the referencing company and the twp questions they ask are," was the rent paid on time?" and "what condition was the property left in?"

Did you not feed this back to your agent? Or were not contacted yourself?

Of course, she could have given a false referee (e.g. a friend who said they were you). Maybe you could check with the agent who dealt with the new tenancy who they got their references from, in case of fraud. They may not tell you but you can tell them it wasn't you.

Thank you for all your comments, you are such nice helpful people. She moved into that property before she told me she was leaving. I was not contacted for a reference. I don't know who set it up. I have spoken to the new landlord, the landlord who thought he had moved a lovely family into his house after having evicted another nightmare tenant.

Reply to the comment left by "Mark Alexander" at "21/03/2015 - 11:17":

O ok, thanks. I will look at that again. Sorry to be so naïve about these things. In 10 years of being a landlord, she is the first of my tenants to leave. I have bought properties with the same estate agent/letting agent, they have put tenants in and they haven't left. Really lucky. I do look after my tenants though, I rarely increase their rent and sort out problems quickly. I also haven't bought properties that I would not be happy to live in myself.

Just to update you, I managed to get the Tenancy Surrender Document signed this morning. I spoke to her grandparents, and they have persuaded her to sign the form. Nice family, disgusted at her behaviour. Drains unblocked, electrics sorted (turns out she wasn't replacing the light bulbs, how lazy is that) painters and cleaners in as we speak, who will also remove her stuff to landfill (£700) laminate being fitted next week (another £700). So not as bad as I first thought. Thank you for all your advice.

Reply to the comment left by "Christine Turner" at "23/03/2015 - 14:58":

Christine, really pleased for you that the surrender document has been signed ,now you are in full control of the situation and can decide what course of action to take,I,m sure her deposit has been forfeited to go towards the repairs. I bet her new landlord is seeing her in a different light and hoping he is not the next to one to suffer .