GPEL Posted July 4, 2007 Report Share Posted July 4, 2007 Not really thought through fully but I think serious problems we may encounter with tenants should all be brought to the attention of CAB, especially ones related to late/unpaid rents and the hardship it causes, occassions where there is little chance of recovering losses caused by tenants, major breaches of the agreement and so on. CAB are very keen to listen to and represent tenants, leading to things such as the tenant's deposits scheme and considering legislation to revoke Section 21s etc. Let's let them see the other side of the fence and try and get parity of treatment and consideration for landlords as well... All well and good them funding major research in to minority tenant issues, and congratulatory self-praise, what about majority landlord issues... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melboy Posted July 4, 2007 Report Share Posted July 4, 2007 I think you will find GPEL that the CAB have absolutely no interest in what Landlords do or say regarding a Landlords interests or rights. CAB are only interested in looking after the rights of Tenants and advising them on their legal rights should any problems arise between them and their Landlord. CAB would probably advise any Landlord to seek independent private Solicitor help and take the cost of that advice off their yearly tax bill. Mel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Dewsberry Posted July 4, 2007 Report Share Posted July 4, 2007 Hi Guys Thru my other businesses (ebay - and retail w'sale of furniture) I have had many conversations with both trading stds and CAB and found them to be very helpful and co operative even to the point of a tradings stds officer calling out at our request to help us write up t&c's ( NO CHARGE !!! they werent happy after a customer complained -so i asked them to come and point out what needed changing and advise on new wording -!!!) I think that you might be on to something here GPEL as if collectively we start using their services 1. they will get a more accurate picture instead of a "very distorted " one sided BS view 2. They will have to account for the advice and actions taken and we will be able to not so much use it against them , but cetainly set precedents for the future !!! Gold star for that one !! Simon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reb223 Posted August 4, 2007 Report Share Posted August 4, 2007 I volunteer for the CAB and whilst I certainly see more problems from tenants, we do get landlords in now and again about utility bills, deposit disputes, all sorts really. The CAB is impartial and doesn't work solely on the side of the tenant, as suggested above. I agree that landords should take advantage of the CAB - the reason they have been so successful in bringing about new social policies to protect the tenant is that their yearly statistics show there is a demand. A similar push could be made to protect landlords, should there be a sufficient volume of cases to warrant it. Rebecca Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GPEL Posted August 4, 2007 Author Report Share Posted August 4, 2007 How many funded high-level studies have CAB inititated in to landlord related concerns? I would guess at none. CAB only deals with people in difficulty therefore gets a slewed overall picture of events from the minority of cases it encounters. Many landlords have encountered financial difficulty due to tenant induced actions. Why doesn't CAB investigate this further or does it just base things on who shouts loudest or most often... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reb223 Posted August 4, 2007 Report Share Posted August 4, 2007 It is this exactly. If 10,000 landlords came in in one year reporting problems with tenants exploiting the system, it would be clear there is something wrong and would be flagged for social change. If 10 came in, they would be deemed as isolated cases. Nothing could be done unless it was recognised that there is an issue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GPEL Posted August 4, 2007 Author Report Share Posted August 4, 2007 Believe me, there are many issues, the majority of which are just written off but nevertheless of importance. To name just a few: - Eviction through non-payment of rent or other tenant related obligations not being met will invariably lead to the loss not being recovered - It is too easy for tenants to trash a place and walk away from it - Council criteria of only homing the involuntarily homeless resulting in tenants witholding rent to force eviction - No central register of tenants who have defaulted - Not able to perform PNC checks prior to a tenancy - No Gov mandated arbitration authority for resolving tenancy issues directly resulting from tenants not meeting obligations - Housing Act heavily in favour of tenant - Criminal damage caused to the property by the tenant completely ignored by the Police because "there's a tenancy agreement" in place - The helplessness/hopelessness that occurs knowing someone in your property is not paying rent and wrecking the place. The inability of the system to deal with it quickly and recovery of the property quickly to prevent further damage. - Perception of all landlords being held as rogues due to biased tenant deposit legislation. Low cost disputes will probably be written off by landlords as it is more expensive to contest it, witholding of Section 21 power if not registered, penalized 3 times the deposit if don't register, joining fee not paid for by the tenant etc etc - Moves by CAB to change S21 legislation if there are repair issues that would be open to abuse by tenants I'm sure forum members could list many more. Get this, I had one person apply for one of my properties lie about his CCJs on the signed application form because someone from CAB advised him to do so; very honourable. Want to make a name for yourself, get funding for a study in to the problems landlords encounter and propose some balancing legislation. The vast majority of tenancies go smoothly. Unfortunately, over-focus by CAB on the relatively small number of problems affecting tenants, because they're the only ones CAB encounters, results in one-size affects all legislation inappropriate to the majority of tenancies. In my opinion, CAB systematically views landlords either as Rigby, Rackman or as profiteering low-life somewhere in between. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reb223 Posted August 4, 2007 Report Share Posted August 4, 2007 I absolutely agree with all those issues. I am a landlord myself and it makes you ill when you discover you have let a bad tenant slip through the net. If only there were some way landlords could collectively build up their own database of statistics to lobby parliament with... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GPEL Posted August 4, 2007 Author Report Share Posted August 4, 2007 Makes you wonder what the leadership of NLA and similar bodies do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Dewsberry Posted August 5, 2007 Report Share Posted August 5, 2007 AS "citizens" we as Lanlords have the right to use the CAB - the good new is that i do find them very helpful on the occasions that i have used them and have actually found them to come down on "my side" as a retailer - as has Trading Standards ... Suggest you all try using them - it can do no harm - especially if you do not give your true identity away if neccesary !! Simon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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