Tenant left property in bad shape

cgwils

Hi there! Need advice regarding a tenant who moved out of my rented house and left it in a very bad shape: broken furniture, broken window, very dirty, rooms full of rubbish (literally full).

And of course, no rent paid for the last 2 months.

How do I move forward with fixing and cleaning (besides keeping a record of any expenses)?

Thanks!

athtrasna

Take lots of photos, hopefully you have some from before they moved in to compare them to. Then start to clean and repair, keep receipts. Lodge a PRTB case for unpaid rent and damage...and wait.

Hopefully you have landlord insurance to help take some of the pain.

cgwils

Thanks for that!

I wonder how would photos taken by me count as evidence? Does the law require a third party to document the damage?

Is "Landlord insurance" the same as home insurance for a rental property? My feeling though is that any claims made to the insurance company will be revenged from premiums of years to come.

massy086

my advice is move on.you got of lucky tbh .i was in a house in dublin working last week where they had burned a hole in the back pvc door and had broken 3 windows.the poor landlord had not seen rent for 5 months of a 12 month contract.get receipts for any work you have done by tradesmen.and claim it back trough your taxs

aido79

Why is nothing being done about stuff like this? I think there is a need for some sort of tenant insurance which is taken out by the tenant prior to moving into the house in lieu of a deposit. If the tenant has insurance then no deposit is required. If the tenant has a good record then their premiums could be reduced and if they have a bad record then the premiums would be increased similar to car insurance. It would give the landlord peace of mind knowing that any damage would be covered and wouldn't have to worry about the deposit not being enough to cover damage or unpaid rent. This insurance would be optional but I think most landlords would look favourably on a tenant who has it rather than one that is just willing to sacrifice a deposit and thrash a house.

Bob24

massy086 wrote: »

you got of lucky tbh .

Sure it could have been worse, but "lucky"???

wirelessdude01

UK system needed where a 3rd party organisation holds the deposit. Helps deter this kind of rubbish.

borderlinemeath

Bob24 wrote: »

Sure it could have been worse, but "lucky"???

The tenants are gone. The stress of trying to get problem tenants that squat for over a year has been avoided, aside from the monetary loss and the destruction.

aido79

wirelessdude01 wrote: »

UK system needed where a 3rd party organisation holds the deposit. Helps deter this kind of rubbish.

It's a better way of doing however it still doesn't stop a tenant withholding the last month's rent if they think they may not get their deposit back due to damage they've caused. In my opinion the deposit system is ineffective in cases where tenants cause more damage than can be covered by a deposit.

handlemaster

aido79 wrote: »

Why is nothing being done about stuff like this? I think there is a need for some sort of tenant insurance which is taken out by the tenant prior to moving into the house in lieu of a deposit. If the tenant has insurance then no deposit is required. If the tenant has a good record then their premiums could be reduced and if they have a bad record then the premiums would be increased similar to car insurance. It would give the landlord peace of mind knowing that any damage would be covered and wouldn't have to worry about the deposit not being enough to cover damage or unpaid rent. This insurance would be optional but I think most landlords would look favourably on a tenant who has it rather than one that is just willing to sacrifice a deposit and thrash a house.

Tenants like that would not pay insurance. Perhaps show that they are paying it when the move in and after stop paying

handlemaster

cgwils wrote: »

Thanks for that!

I wonder how would photos taken by me count as evidence? Does the law require a third party to document the damage?

Is "Landlord insurance" the same as home insurance for a rental property? My feeling though is that any claims made to the insurance company will be revenged from premiums of years to come.

Landlord insurance will not cover damage by persons law fully on the premises I. E . Tenants and their guests

handlemaster

wirelessdude01 wrote: »

UK system needed where a 3rd party organisation holds the deposit. Helps deter this kind of rubbish.

Wouldnt make any difference . What would help would be a faster eviction process

handlemaster

OP dont expect anything from the prtb. Even if you get a jugement in your favour its not enforceable and you will in all likelyhood not see the colour of that money

aido79

handlemaster wrote: »

Tenants like that would not pay insurance. Perhaps show that they are paying it when the move in and after stop paying

As a landlord I would give preference to someone with the type of insurance suggested.
I don't know how it would be possible to combat people who cancel the policy...these are possibly the type of people who could at some point stop paying rent as well.

Mrs OBumble

aido79 wrote: »

As a landlord I would give preference to someone with the type of insurance suggested.
I don't know how it would be possible to combat people who cancel the policy...these are possibly the type of people who could at some point stop paying rent as well.

Let us know when you find an insurance company willing to offer a product like that.

aido79

Mrs OBumble wrote: »

Let us know when you find an insurance company willing to offer a product like that.

I will but don't expect it to happen anytime soon. It's an absolute disgrace the way someone can damage another person's property without any fear of being held accountablefor it. I'd rather leave my house empty than let someone live in that was going to thrash it.

Mrs OBumble

cgwils wrote: »

Hi there! Need advice regarding a tenant who moved out of my rented house and left it in a very bad shape: broken furniture, broken window, very dirty, rooms full of rubbish (literally full).

And of course, no rent paid for the last 2 months.

How do I move forward with fixing and cleaning (besides keeping a record of any expenses)?

Thanks!

OP, thinking about this, it's not actually clear what advice you need.

Do you realistically think that it will be possible to pursue the tenant to get them to pay for the damage? And that the cost of chasing them will be worth it - given that it's likely that the ex-tenant will be claim poverty. Or maybe you'll get a judgement against they, they even agree to pay - but don't hand over the cash. (It happens).

If so, then you need to start a PRTB case against them, and the photographs etc will be needed as evidence.

But if not, then you'd be better of just focusing on getting it cleaned out, brought back up to scratch and then re-tenanted with people who you've vetted more closely - and then making sure you schedule regular inspections in future (first at one month, then three monthly).

Keep receipts, of course, and at the appropriate time tell your accountant why the costs were incurred (so you can claim as operating or capital appropriately - maybe called different words, but that's the general idea.)

syklops

and then making sure you schedule regular inspections in future (first at one month, then three monthly).

Three-monthly inspections? I know the OP has been stung, and I know its a landlords market but I wouldn't be agreeing to that. My current EA inspects once a year. The first time after about 3 months in, next one is in a couple of weeks, which will be 21 months into the lease.

In the past I've had monthly inspections and three-monthly which were always a pain in the hoop.

Properly vet the tenant. If the rent is a day late find out why on the day its late and schedule an inspection then if you smell a rat.

Lux23

I don't think the 3 month inspection thing would even work, my landlord comes around every week to pick up rent but a couple of the other tenants were chucking their rubbish out in the back garden and although he should have picked up on it he didn't. He eventually had environmental health on to him because there was months worth of rubbish belonging to three of the tenants piled up and rats of course!

aido79

syklops wrote: »

Three-monthly inspections? I know the OP has been stung, and I know its a landlords market but I wouldn't be agreeing to that. My current EA inspects once a year. The first time after about 3 months in, next one is in a couple of weeks, which will be 21 months into the lease.

In the past I've had monthly inspections and three-monthly which were always a pain in the hoop.

Properly vet the tenant. If the rent is a day late find out why on the day its late and schedule an inspection then if you smell a rat.

I think 3 monthly inspections are a good idea for any new tenancy so the landlord/ EA can gauge how the place is being kept. After doing a few of these they will have a fair idea what type of tenant they have and the inspections can be made less frequently. I live in Australia and its the norm here so people just accept it even if it is a slight inconvenience. Tenants need to remember that they are living in someone else's property and it should be treated with respect. Paying rent doesn't give them the right to abuse it.

syklops

aido79 wrote: »

I think 3 monthly inspections are a good idea for any new tenancy so the landlord/ EA can gauge how the place is being kept. After doing a few of these they will have a fair idea what type of tenant they have and the inspections can be made less frequently. I live in Australia and its the norm here so people just accept it even if it is a slight inconvenience. Tenants need to remember that they are living in someone else's property and it should be treated with respect. Paying rent doesn't give them the right to abuse it.

I really don't want to turn this into yet another tenant versus landlord thread, but paying rent doesnt entitle the tenant to abuse the place, anymore than being the landlord doesnt entitle the landlord, in my book at least for monthly or even 3-monthy inspections. A month into the lease or 3 months to see how they are getting on is fine. That should tell you all you need to know.

By the way, my dislike of regular inspections is nothing to do with me thinking I can abuse the place, its because from experience, it often is more than just a slight inconvenience. Arranging a suitable time is the first problem: More than once I've moved date night or skipped a works do to meet the landlord only to get a text at half eight going "Sorry, something came up can we do tomorrow night instead?".

I like to give the place a good clean first before an inspection, or you get some grumbling and so, 24 hours notice is rarely enough because I have this thing I have to do called work.

Its a pity there isnt a linkedin.com for renters and landlords. Like Yelp or tripadvisor for Landlords and Tenants. It wouldnt necessarily show you all the bad tenants or Landlords, but you'd be able to see some sort of history with possibly even contact details for their previous dealings.