Rogue Landlord Encounters

[davesparks]

Why you address your landlord as “it” but not as a “land-them”??

It is indeed an it for, as with all landlords, it is not human.

 

[Mike Johnson]

Being a Landlord I like to think the tenants in our house's are happy with what they have, EICR every change of tenancy or even every two years, just in case, never know what has gone on in the property over any time period no matter how reasonable the tenants are, in reality I find there are more rouge tenants than landlords.

Case in point: asked recently to check a property for a charity that the tenant complained the RCD kept tripping, new Volvo in the drive, tenant with very long nails and very expensive make up, children on new iPhones (more up to date than mine) and sky television, I made an excuse and left.

 

[davesparks]

Case in point: asked recently to check a property for a charity that the tenant complained the RCD kept tripping, new Volvo in the drive, tenant with very long nails and very expensive make up, children on new iPhones (more up to date than mine) and sky television, I made an excuse and left.

Why leave? How does the tenants material possessions affect you as a contractor for the landlord?

 

[LukeD]

Be careful handing out such advice to tenants unless you are 100% sure of what you are doing.

If after you have spoken to them the tenants start kicking up a fuss they may well get evicted as a result of it.

Like a 9 year tenancy with not one gas check or a EICR .They are 100% leaving UK in october .They had no idea of the laws. My advice to them and the landlord was this ..... YOU dont pay a penny rent to the greedy AH . And dont think about trying to evict them etc etc . You could easily end up in Jail. But the moment they hit the airport , they will report him

 

[davesparks]

My advice to them and the landlord was this ..... YOU dont pay a penny rent to the greedy AH .

So you are on the side of the landlord?

This is very poor advice if you claim to be on the side if the tenant!

Withholding rent just puts the tenant in breach of contract.

If you were truly in support if the tenant you would be advising them to take proper legal action which would result in a court awarding the tenant remuneration from the landlord equal to many months rent.

 

[pirate]

I have many years experience as a landlord and as a landlords' agent. I always kept my rental properties as near to perfect as possible, and I have never had a complaint from a tenant. it's not difficult to be a good landlord, but it can cost a bit, however the cost is not relevant when a tenant's safety is concerned.
My landlord clients (nearly) all were good people and took my advice on safety and improvements. Maybe I was lucky due to the location of most of the properties and the "calibre" of my clients, but the fact that they came to me to manage all the paperwork rather than running off a dodgy "lease" themselves meant that they were keen to stay within the law in all aspects.
On the other hand, when I inspected properties of those "dodgy" and non-registered landlords, the lack of maintenance and care was obvious at a glance. As always, there are those who do care, and those who just take the money and run. My point is simply that it's not really correct to tar all landlords (or tenants) with the same brush.

 

[LukeD]

So you are on the side of the landlord?

This is very poor advice if you claim to be on the side if the tenant!

Withholding rent just puts the tenant in breach of contract.

If you were truly in support if the tenant you would be advising them to take proper legal action which would result in a court awarding the tenant remuneration from the landlord equal to many months rent.

Read it again...they are leaving in October .What could a landlord do ? 2 months notice , then 3-5 months .Thats if its all legal

He really would not want to be going near a court !! He cheated and put their safety at risk. He deserves to lose the rent . And should be reported on the day they leave .he needs sorting out

 

[Rockingit]

Read it again...they are leaving in October .What could a landlord do ? 2 months notice , then 3-5 months .Thats if its all legal

He really would not want to be going near a court !! He cheated and put their safety at risk. He deserves to lose the rent . And should be reported on the day they leave .he needs sorting out

Then what you’ll find is that the LL has a case simply to withhold the deposit! I get that this is an emotive subject but you really need to stick to your field of expertise - we all do in everything - otherwise something will come unstuck.

 

[Rockingit]

Echoing what others have said about this being a two-way street, years ago I had the contract on several postcode areas for a large lettings agent to do all their serviced work. The number of times I’d get called out for the simplest of things that were well within the capabilities and responsibilities of the tenants to resolve was unreal - replacing PP3’s in smoke alarms was such a common thing I kept bulk stock of them in the van. So the LL ends up with a £100 bill for the 30secs to change a £2 battery that requires no skills whatsoever!! The attitude of the tenant was literally ‘screw them, don’t care’.

However, this country has a major problem with housing stock and that has to be realised - it used to be the case that you finished studies/training, got a job, saved up and bought a house. But the gap between income, mortgage ratios and house prices just makes that impossible for so many. Basic maths says a couple each earning £30k gives a combined income of £60, for a four times mortgage (if they can get one….) makes £240k. Which is significantly short of a majority of house prices in a lot of areas. So instead they’re forced to rent a place for £1k+ on which the LL has mortgage repayments of £500 - it’s an ever decreasing circle for the tenant. That’s simplistic, I know, but neatly sums up the problem.

 

[Mike Johnson]

Why leave? How does the tenants material possessions affect you as a contractor for the landlord?

The tenants material possessions affect my perspective with them living in a house owned by a Charity rent free.

 

[pirate]

Echoing what others have said about this being a two-way street, years ago I had the contract on several postcode areas for a large lettings agent to do all their serviced work. The number of times I’d get called out for the simplest of things that were well within the capabilities and responsibilities of the tenants to resolve was unreal - replacing PP3’s in smoke alarms was such a common thing I kept bulk stock of them in the van. So the LL ends up with a £100 bill for the 30secs to change a £2 battery that requires no skills whatsoever!! The attitude of the tenant was literally ‘screw them, don’t care’.

However, this country has a major problem with housing stock and that has to be realised - it used to be the case that you finished studies/training, got a job, saved up and bought a house. But the gap between income, mortgage ratios and house prices just makes that impossible for so many. Basic maths says a couple each earning £30k gives a combined income of £60, for a four times mortgage (if they can get one….) makes £240k. Which is significantly short of a majority of house prices in a lot of areas. So instead they’re forced to rent a place for £1k+ on which the LL has mortgage repayments of £500 - it’s an ever decreasing circle for the tenant. That’s simplistic, I know, but neatly sums up the problem.

Some good points there, for sure. However the rental market is going through considerable upheaval with many private sector landlords leaving the sector due to numerous legislative changes, thus the stock of available houses is dwindling. It's fine for the person who inherits a flat and sticks it on AirBnB, collects the cash and lives a happy life. Not so good when the proper landlord has to get through registration, electrical and gas safety, fire and smoke alarms, ISITEE, legionella risk assessment and of course there isn't the same mortgage relief as previously and there is the extra stamp duty too. etc. Many do, of course, but these hurdles are seen as burdensome and expensive for many rogues, so they just don't bother.
It's a huge debate, but I'm just going to --- that AirBnB and their like have skewed and screwed the rental market not just in the UK but in other countries too, and I can't see things getting any better.

 

[LukeD]

Then what you’ll find is that the LL has a case simply to withhold the deposit! I get that this is an emotive subject but you really need to stick to your field of expertise - we all do in everything - otherwise something will come unstuck.

Thats not even protected ...again...stay on the same page . The landlord is going to ROYALLY screwed . And deserves to be .

 

[Rockingit]

Thats not even protected ...again...stay on the same page . The landlord is going to ROYALLY screwed . And deserves to be .

Luke, slightly combative reply here? A) This is new information and B) still doesn’t really change the narrative - I’d suggest that the only advice you should be giving is simply to get advice, otherwise you’re putting yourself in the firing line at the same time as acting as judge and jury based on armchair warrior law. Which isn’t to say that the whole situation doesn’t sound like it stinks from top to toe.

 

[davesparks]

Read it again...they are leaving in October .What could a landlord do ? 2 months notice , then 3-5 months .Thats if its all legal

He can start legal action which can result in them being prevented from leaving the country.

He really would not want to be going near a court !! He cheated and put their safety at risk.

That is a seperate issue, non-payment of rent is an issue that the landlord can take action against the tenant for.
Safety failings are seperate issue that the tenant can take action against the landlord for.

He deserves to lose the rent .

That's not your decision to make.

And should be reported on the day they leave .he needs sorting out

Anything which needs to be reported should be done in a timely manner. Deliberately waiting until the day they leave will again harm the tenants case in this matter.

 

[davesparks]

Thats not even protected ...again...stay on the same page . The landlord is going to ROYALLY screwed . And deserves to be .

There is a clear cut procedure in place for dealing with an unprotected deposit, the tenant simply needs to follow due process and can be awarded up to 3 months rent (possibly more).

Of course if they going in to this with your aggressive and combative attitude it will again harm their case and help the landlord to fight back.

 

[LukeD]

There is a clear cut procedure in place for dealing with an unprotected deposit, the tenant simply needs to follow due process and can be awarded up to 3 months rent (possibly more).

Of course if they going in to this with your aggressive and combative attitude it will again harm their case and help the landlord to fight back.

They walk away with more than £10k.... he expects this as rent from now till they leave . His hard luck . Game set and match . And he can go and get the money from them if he wants ..trouble is where they are going , he wont be coming back in one piece !! And no Dave,... they can leave the country any time .The law is very different when it comes to civil matters

 

[davesparks]

I have never had a complaint from a tenant.

Of course not, tenants don't complain because we know that complaints = eviction.

 

[littlespark]

Of course not, tenants don't complain because we know that complaints = eviction.

Not always.

A good landlord will listen to tenants, or not have complaints in the first place


We’re going round in circles, with half of us saying landlords are evil, and the other half…. Who have real life experience of being a landlord, saying otherwise…..

And refusing to pay rent because something hasn’t been done is the the same misled mentality of turning up with a couple of pals and baseball bats at the door of a customer who hasn’t paid you.
There are official ways to do things, that doesn’t involve breaking the law yourself.

 

[LukeD]

Not always.

A good landlord will listen to tenants, or not have complaints in the first place


We’re going round in circles, with half of us saying landlords are evil, and the other half…. Who have real life experience of being a landlord, saying otherwise…..

And refusing to pay rent because something hasn’t been done is the the same misled mentality of turning up with a couple of pals and baseball bats at the door of a customer who hasn’t paid you.
There are official ways to do things, that doesn’t involve breaking the law yourself.

And those methods take time and money .Life is too short .Sometimes you just have to play dirty .Especially when there is zero they can do abou it . This country is a mess due to the last 25 years housing crisis . Greed and lack of concern from councils

 

[littlespark]

All landlords….. All councils?

I’m not going to ask what you think of all traffic wardens, all MPs or all tv and radio presenters of the 1980’s