Tenant Evictions

Tenants causing property damage - advice for landlords.

Whatever your reasons for being a landlord, there is an element of trust involved, trust that your tenants will look after your property as you wish. Despite referencing and checks, there will always be tenants who cause unnecessary damage to your property – by this we mean damage in excess of what could be considered normal wear and tear. It is not realistic to expect private landlords to put up with unnecessary property damage from their tenants, whether it is themselves causing it, or their guest.

The recent collapse of the property market and the difficulties many people now face with obtaining a mortgage has led to a huge rise in the number of people entering the rental market. This is great news for landlords, many of whom are buy-to-let investors, or who have inherited the property and wish to rent it out for extra money.

As a landlord your options are either to foot the bill of repairing such damage which in many cases exceeds the value of the bond held, or you don’t fix it, meaning that future tenants find the property unattractive and potentially affecting your income. Of course if the damage makes the property unsafe or uninhabitable then as a landlord you have no option but to repair the damage.

If your tenants are causing property damage there is help available.

Tenant Evictions UK can help you deal with this problem, efficiently and cost effectively using the legal court process. We will typically:-

• Seek costs for damages from the tenant(s).
• If the tenant refuses to pay (or cannot pay) we can apply for a money order via the courts.
• If the tenant fails to repair the damage of pay costs we will start the eviction process.

Property damage - who pays for what, landlord or tenant?

Tenants expect a clean, tidy and maintained house, but in turn, as a landlord, you have the right to have tenants who keep your property in good order.
So what do you do if your tenant doesn’t respect your property?

• Try and speak to the tenant first, this can often be all it takes to put things right.
• If not, of the most effective ways of covering the cost of tenant damage is through the retention of the tenant’s deposit, when they leave the property. You are allowed to do this under the law; under Section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985. This sets out the reciprocal rights and responsibilities of both parties. Landlords have to maintain the property, but tenants are expected to keep your property clean, free from damage and smoke.
• Basic maintenance is the tenant’s responsibility, for example changing light bulbs and making sure the heating is on in cold weather.
• The act also covers you if your tenant made changes to the property without your permission. You would be able to charge them to put right any changes, or take it from the deposit.
• The act also covers any furniture that came with the property, it covers anything which would not be normal wear and tear for the rental period. You can either keep all, or a portion, of the deposit, depending on the damage. 
• There are also options if the damage exceeds the deposit.
• A main option is eviction for large amounts of damage, even if rent is up to date. Here at Tenantevictions.co.uk, we know that evictions can be complex and distressing. That is why we complete all the paperwork for you, meaning that there are no delays in securing eviction.
• We secure eviction through serving a Section 8 notice, which is a 14 day notice seeking possession, and a Section 21 notice, which is a two-month notice to terminate a tenancy contract and then possess the property.

This is often enough to make the tenant pay up, but if not we can guide you through the next stage. We can ask for a money order, from the court on your behalf, which means that the tenant will have to pay the damages. This is applicable even if the tenant has moved out and can impact on their credit rating.

The money order could be paid immediately, in instalments or by a date, you can decide which is best. If the tenant fails to pay after this, you could return to the court and have the money order enforced. This could be done by instructing a bailiff, an attachments of earnings order or a third party debt order (which involves freezing money in the defendant’s bank account).

It rarely gets to this stage, but Tenant-Evictions.co.uk can deal with any situation on your behalf. We are able to help you enforce your legal rights, if you find that you have to deal with problem tenants. We look at the case objectively and see if there is a case for eviction, and work out which would be the most cost effective route ensuring the best possible outcome. This means that the situation can be resolved rapidly and with the least stress for you.