Minor tenant niggles - anything to be done?

[chickpea]

Our delightful Romanian tenants moved out on Wednesday and had their check out yesterday with the agent.

I've been in to the property today and found several small but annoying niggles:

1/ their rubbish and recycling was left outside on the pavement and clearly indicates they had a cat(s) in the property, despite the tenancy agreement stating no pets.

2/ there is a cat flap in the back door from previous residential use. It is a lockable one and has always been locked...but the tenants have sealed it shut with bathroom sealant.

3/ there are 2 large screws/nails in the newly-painted kitchen wall, despite the AST stating nothing to be fixed to walls.

4/ the new vinyl kitchen floor has a 2 inch v-shaped tear to it.

5/ the oven isn't clean - not filfthy but obvious burnt-on food which has been left.

5/ several bulbs have gone and not been replace.

6/ they have re-sealed around the bathroom sink tap...badly.

7/ they have used some kind of plastic strip sealant around the opening windows, meaning the handle no longer fits neatly into the keeper and has chewed up the plastic as a result.

7/ one window keeper has been removed totally.

8/ they have removed carpet that was being stored in the loft and put it down in the porch.

9/ they have changed electricity supplier without permission - another thing stated in the AST.

10/ the external meter boxes no longer shut - the tenants have taped them shut.

11/ the wood floor in the lounge is quite badly scratched in one large area, as is the dark wood stair rail.

As I said, lots of minor niggles - and, in the absence of this month's rent/ deposit, no headway to do anything about?

[Melboy]

Send your snag list to the LA Tracey? Ask for money to forfeited from their deposit.

Don't let to Romanians again ? !

[chickpea]

Is it all too petty, Mel?

There is technically no deposit, as they refused to pay the last month's rent.

And no, we will NOT be renting to Romanians again - although I suspect this is an issue of personality, NOT nationality ;-)

[Melboy]

Is it all too petty, Mel?

There is technically no deposit, as they refused to pay the last month's rent.

And no, we will NOT be renting to Romanians again - although I suspect this is an issue of personality, NOT nationality ;-)

For me I would be glad to see the back of them for all the reasons you have previously stated.

I would tackle nearly all the issues you have described myself and just move on and get the place rented out again.

Richlists list of who you would want rent to covers it for me and always has. I had experience of a foreigner tenant, provided by an EA, many years ago and that put me off for life as he was nothing but trouble from start to finish.

So it's no foreigners for me I have to say.

[Richlist]

Our delightful Romanian tenants moved out on Wednesday and had their check out yesterday with the agent.

I've been in to the property today and found several small but annoying niggles:

3/ there are 2 large screws/nails in the newly-painted kitchen wall, despite the AST stating nothing to be fixed to walls.

Thats why you should always keep spare paint. That sort of repair is quick & easy.

4/ the new vinyl kitchen floor has a 2 inch v-shaped tear to it.

Vinyl is very prone to tearing and not recommended in unfurnished places. Removal of washing machines is usually the cause.

5/ the oven isn't clean - not filfthy but obvious burnt-on food which has been left.

Get it professionally cleaned and deduct from deposit or claim from guarantor or take small claims court action.

8/ they have removed carpet that was being stored in the loft and put it down in the porch.

You were storing your stuff in their property ?

They obviously assumed you'd left it for them to use. Was it on the inventory ?

9/ they have changed electricity supplier without permission - another thing stated in the AST.

Any AST for 12 months or more means a tenant is legally entitled to change supplier irrespective of what it says in the AST.

Personally I'd claim for repairing most of the items on your list.

Do you have their forwarding address ?

[chickpea]

The carpet was, I assume, an off cut from when the carpet was laid.

There was spare paint left in a cupboard in the property.

The tenancy was for less than a year.

We've spoken to the LA who basically said, "you should see the state a lot of properties are left in - be glad they left without any trouble."

The deposit will pay last month's rent only so I guess we'll write it off as ANOTHER learning curve.

[Richlist]

Have you read my checklist ? there are lots of ideas on how to avoid the situation you find yourself in.

Letting property is really about minimising risk by taking every opportunity available to tip the balance in your favour.

The most important thing that any potential landlord can do is choose their tenants very very carefully.

1. Get Referencies.....bank, employer and previous landlord.
2. Take out rent guarantee insurance.....its not expensive.
3. Get a home owning guarantor. Carry out reference checks on the guarantor. Give the guarantor a copy of the AST. Make sure the guarantor document is drawn up as a deed.
4. Don't let to people with pets or children......the risk of them giving you problems are big.
5. Don’t let to anyone under 18 (minors). Draw up your own limits….I prefer nobody under 25.
6. Don't let to smokers........you won't get rid of the smell.
7. Don’t do Company lets.
8. Don’t let to anyone on Housing Benefits.
8a. If you do choose to let to applicants on Housing Benefit CHECK that your mortgage & freeholder (if your property is leasehold) allows it.
9. Don't let to anyone who isn't working full time.
10. Inspect properties every 3 months.
11. Only let initially on a 6 month AST.....that way you can both part company after 6 months if you don't get on.
12. Use a reputable Lettings Agent OR one who has been recommended OR do it yourself (only if you know what to do).
13. Meet your tenants personally. Make sure you ask all the right questions and gauge whether they are right for you.
14. Protect the deposit in one of the official schemes.
14a. If you have a dispute with your tenant(s) over deductions from the deposit remember…..you can either go through the DPS adjudication process OR take the tenant to the Small Claims Court for recovery of your losses where you may have a better chance of success.
15. Issue a section 21 notice as soon as the deposit has been protected.
16. Make sure there is a detailed inventory & schedule of condition……signed by both parties.
17. Remember its a business....so avoid emotion & being overly sympathetic to your tenants.
18. Read as much as you can about renting & letting i.e. educate yourself.
19. Don’t let to anyone who doesn’t speak or understand English.
20. Don’t forget that you will need an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC)…….before you market the property.
21. Don’t forget to get an annual Gas Certificate.
22. You are responsible for ensuring anything electrical in the property is safe so consider getting the electrics checked professionally….and any appliances you provide.
23. Try to avoid having your property classified as an HMO……meeting regulations is expensive and time consuming.
24. Make sure all adults living at the property are on the AST & any other documents.

[Amanda Richie]

Or forget all that............... been there done it...............

Onlet.co.uk............... sorted everything out for me........... Rent guarantee......inventory.......... eviction...........legal advice.........everything...........

Really pretty sick of hearing advice after advice after advice........................ with no chance of any of my workload or stress lessening......

Sorry guys I have read your posts and what I need is someone that's actually listening and not just spouting their knowledge, these people really helped. online, I can do it all myself, free paperwork and help when I need it........every step of the way............ no bull...plain and simple

Perhaps you should check it out

[chickpea]

On that list, there are only 3 things we didn't do - have rent guarantee insurance, have a guarantor (because our tenants have no-one in this country) and meet them before letting.

Until this month, they have been fairly trouble-free tenants. Rent paid on time, house kept clean and tidy during 3 month checks etc.

I'm not sure meeting them would have given us any idea that they would refuse to pay the last month's rent, or suggest that they would be the sort to smuggle a cat in - they happily signed the AST, agreeing to all terms... and then treated it to suit them.

Their new landlord will have had unblemished references and credit checks from this tenancy, due to timing, so he's none the wiser either.

I'd love to believe there's a fool-proof method of only letting to good tenants, and I know Richlist's list goes a long way towards that but you can never plan for the vagaries of human nature - otherwise, there would be no fraud, no cons etc.

Also, on paper as prospective tenants, hubby and I wouldn't score well against that list - both part-time, self-employed, 2 kids, dogs, cats, chickens for starters...but would be exemplary tenants in reality, because that's the sort of people we are - as we are landlords.

Our LA would probably say he wished all tenants were like our last ones!

Maybe my expectations are too high.

[Melboy]

The thing is Tracey some of us on this Forum have been landlord's for many years in my case around 25 years and in the beginning I too used LA's but found that the job was not being done to my satisfaction and decided I could do a better job than they could and for the last 15 years I have found that is the case. I hear sooo many complaints from Landlord's and Tenants on my travels around rented out property about LA's.

True, I have learnt an awful lot going it alone and you will never stop learning in this business.

My property portfolio is there to make me money. It is my business, my livelyhood. food on the table, call it what you like.

I have no problem with anyone using an LA but what I am saying (and other landlord's on this forum) there is an alternative way of doing it..

PS. No one has bought my book yet.

[chickpea]

I hear what you're saying, Mel. :-)

In truth, I am just not in a position to go it alone with our property, for lots of reasons - I have a chronic illness, hubby works away a lot (and isn't the most business-minded or organised person in the world!)...and I get too emotionally involved. If I was meeting prospective tenants, I'd be falling for every sob story and hard-luck case!

Our LA is 100% better than the last one, but I guess no LA is going to bust a gut to recover peanuts for small niggles in return for their 12%.

The harder truth is that the property won't make any money unless we keep it long enough to sell at a profit. It WILL rent out all day, every day - that much we do know - but even with things going well, we take a pittance every month and that's before insurance, gas checks etc.

The advice given here is brilliant and has certainly saved us time, money and hassle, and for that I am extremely grateful. :-)