heebs Posted September 11, 2006 Report Share Posted September 11, 2006 Hello All I have rented out a room in my home to a lodger who wanted a one year contract. She insisted she wanted a years contract although i offer 6 months. After a week she disappeared leaving a note saying she will be in ireland and will see me when she returnsafter 4-5 weeks. Now over a month later...although we asked her to set up a standing order from her bank for the rent..the rent didnt come through..and when i try to contact her she pretends she cant hear me and cuts the mobile.. I rang at work and she doesnt pick up..puts it on voicemail...her manager told me she has been at work in London all this time and not in ireland and is in the office..however i have never been able to get in touch. All i want is for her to talk to me to let me know her intentions as I feel i cant re let her room while she holds the keys and a contract and hasnt signed off the inventory.. I am without rent and a tenant who refuses to answer my calls. What can I do in this situation..if i take her to court..will i have a right to the full years rent . please advise...anyone...any help very welcome. thanks a worried landlady Heebs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melboy Posted September 11, 2006 Report Share Posted September 11, 2006 Face Facts.........She has done a Runner! Forget Courts etc. Change the locks and re-let the room. If you are being messed about like this you have no hope of reaching a satisfactory conclusion. If She turns up on your doorstep tell Her the way it is .........no rent or communication and downright lies in stating where She says She is means no accommodation! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Linda Posted September 11, 2006 Report Share Posted September 11, 2006 Heebs, Has she left any items of hers in the room like clothing or anything else with a monetary value attached to it ? L Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2bletting Posted September 11, 2006 Report Share Posted September 11, 2006 It COULD also be that she wanted an address to use as part of a fraud or other action. A year contract might be more useful as 'proof of residence'. Have you seen any mail from the post office? She may have redirected her post onto somewhere else and be getting credit card accounts etc set up. Not trying to worry you, just being inventive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heebs Posted September 12, 2006 Author Report Share Posted September 12, 2006 Hello Linda.// I rang her office again today..again a woman with a voice just like hers answered and said she was still on sick leave. I rang her manager and she told me she spoke to her just 2 mins ago and was very much in the office. Armed with a letter detailing the amount of times i have tried to contact her and to get in touch with me to get a resolve..i went to her office..and she was there I spoke to her and she lied and lied. she said she only just arrived to the office and that her mobile had been stolen etc and that she didnt want to pay rent as she was now staying with friends. she has left her duvet and 2 pillows..one change of clothes and some toiletries...nothing else. she has no intention of returning or paying rent. she handed back the keys and told me to feel free to take her to court. What should I do...I have told her i would rather settle out of court as i am expecting a baby in the next 3 months and dont want extra stress..i asked her to find a suitable replacement and pay 3 months rent for breech of contract.. If i take her to court...do i have any chance of recovering my rent for the duration of the term until 29 july 2007...or can the tenant make some cock and bull story as she had fed me many many of them and get out scot free. It took me 5 months to find this tenant and i really cant afford to spend another few months looking for a tenant without any rent coming in. any advice?/..anyone please Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Linda Posted September 12, 2006 Report Share Posted September 12, 2006 Hi Heebs, What an awful lodger! Okay there is a silver lining to this though it may be difficult to see. At least she left and did not trash nor steal anything. At least you have your keys back and know you can rent the room out. At least she is out of your life!! As she has returned the keys and says she has no intention of coming back (good bloody riddance!) then you can dispose of her items as she has forgone the opportunity to reclaim her property. Before you do this however, I would get legal advise just in case she comes back and tries to claim compensation. Just make sure there is no legal loop hole for her to manipulate. I believe the contract is null and void as she has returned your keys. Look, as a fellow Landlady who has a lodger you're better off letting this nasty character go and look for a reliable and caring lodger. You don't want the added stress particularly as you have a baby on the way. I mean is it really worth the agro of going through the courts as you 'only' lost one month's rent. It could have been far worse... Why not look at the whole experience and think are there lessons to be learned? For example, should I have done better credit and reference screening? You can never avoid bad tenants/lodgers but you can take extra measures to reduce the risk. Sadly, you're not the first landlady/landlord to come across ghastly characters so you can take some consolation. I really don't recommend this gal looking for a new lodger for you as firstly she won't bother and secondly can you imagine what sort of character she would produce? And would you trust that person? Best thing to do is do it yourself. To help you find someone, I have listed some websites popular with room mates. www.gumtree.com www.flatmateclick.co.uk www.easyroommate.com You can also use your local newspaper. I used these websites and found my lodger in less than 2 weeks. Adding photos and setting the rent at the market rate will increase demand for your ad. Always support your ad with effective tenant screening and this applies to lodgers too. In fact more so as they’re in your home. There are many websites offering this service, such as 'rentchecks.com' at a fee which the lodger pays. By the way, this is an effective way to sort out the bad eggs. A 'dodgy lodger' would not comply to this. So that's one quick way to sort out the guff! Finally, don't despair. You had a crappy lodger whose now out of your life. At least you have your house back ready for your new arrival!! All the best! Linda P.S For security reasons, I would change the locks just in case she made a copy of the keys. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trenners Posted September 12, 2006 Report Share Posted September 12, 2006 Hi Heebs, I would STORE but not DISPOSE of her property for a period of at least 28 days. Formally write to her at her place of work and state that you will dispose of the property if it is not collected, in person, by her within 28 days. It is pointless chasing people (who do not want to rent from you) through the courts. Why cause yourself all the stress ! Move on, change the locks, re-advertise the availability of the room and get a tenant who will be happy lodging with you. Good luck with the future tenant and the baby !! Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heebs Posted September 12, 2006 Author Report Share Posted September 12, 2006 Thanks Trenners and Linda...I dont feel like giving her her duvet back...she owes me money, i have suffered a loss..she should too..but i dont want any hassle either..she told me her boyfriend is a body building tattoed security guard who threatened her previous landlady when she didnt return her stuff...should have had alarm bells ring then..but the tenant put the slant of the story in her favour and made out her previous landlady was unreasonable...now i know..and feel sorry for the previous landlady..i have never come across this situation before..i think she likes living in places for free. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Webb Posted September 12, 2006 Report Share Posted September 12, 2006 This case sounds all too familiar! I entirely agree with the excellent advice given. But how can landlords stop such tenants from repeating their actions? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heebs Posted September 13, 2006 Author Report Share Posted September 13, 2006 This case sounds all too familiar! I entirely agree with the excellent advice given. But how can landlords stop such tenants from repeating their actions? I say...take them to court...once they have a ccj agaianst their name they might think twice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Webb Posted September 13, 2006 Report Share Posted September 13, 2006 That's exactly what I did. I have the CCJ, but sadly I know that it hasn't stopped the tenant from defrauding another landlord since. See thread below "What can a CCJ do?" (page 2) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melboy Posted September 14, 2006 Report Share Posted September 14, 2006 Thanks Trenners and Linda...I dont feel like giving her her duvet back...she owes me money, i have suffered a loss..she should too..but i dont want any hassle either..she told me her boyfriend is a body building tattoed security guard who threatened her previous landlady when she didnt return her stuff...should have had alarm bells ring then..but the tenant put the slant of the story in her favour and made out her previous landlady was unreasonable...now i know..and feel sorry for the previous landlady..i have never come across this situation before..i think she likes living in places for free. Heebs .......Did not cross your mind to obtain a character reference from her previous Landlady? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heebs Posted September 14, 2006 Author Report Share Posted September 14, 2006 Of course ..I asked for the reference thats when she came out with the story of her previous landlady keeping her stuff until her boyfriend went threatening...so she told me she wasnt on talking terms with her so couldnt provide a ref...i didnt pursue it and concentrated on the employers ref. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melboy Posted September 14, 2006 Report Share Posted September 14, 2006 Of course ..I asked for the reference thats when she came out with the story of her previous landlady keeping her stuff until her boyfriend went threatening...so she told me she wasnt on talking terms with her so couldnt provide a ref...i didnt pursue it and concentrated on the employers ref. No Heebs.......remove the prospective applying Tenant from the equation. You would have needed to talk to or at least have face to face contact with the previous Landlady who, without any doubt, would have warned you that this person was to be avoided. Rule No1 in the Letting Game....Always talk to the previous Tenants Landlord/Landlady. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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