Landlord Guide On Protection Against Bad Tenants
27 Aug 2010In this crazy world someone decided to make a profession out of being a “bad tenant”, and like all crazy ideas, it caught on. These “professional bad tenants” are ruthless as they are ugly. They go from property to property without paying any rent, and they successfully do it for a living, leaving behind a trial of innocent (granted, and some times not-so innocent) landlords in debt.
Unfortunately, this is becoming common practice, and these professionals seem to be getting away with it. How do they do it? These professionals have become all too familiar with the legal system and know every trick in the book. Every time a landlord attempts to evict them, they appeal with various excuses E.g. I didn’t pay rent because the property was in bad condition.
The problem is, every time a tenant appeals eviction, the process of eviction is lengthened because the court needs to look into the issue before being able to dismiss it. The claims usually get dismissed because they’re fictional, but by the time each appeal goes to court, months and months pass, leaving the landlord severely out of pocket while the tenant still remains. The system definitely isn’t perfect, but it is what it is, unfortunately.
Here are a few ways to avoid professional bad tenants:
1) Take into consideration your tenants employment and social status
I don’t care what anyone says, but as a landlord you have to believe in the stereotypes- you have to believe that young unemployed tenants on benefits will be more problematic than middle-aged working professionals. Of course, that won’t always be the case, but it’s safer to stick with the better odds.
Resources
The best and worst tenants
2) Get References
Professional bad tenants have a track record; otherwise they wouldn’t be “professionals”. ALWAYS ask for references of previous landlords and current/previous employers. And don’t just relax contently once you have the references, actually follow them up and get feedback.
Be wary, professionals may use friends and families to provide references- make sure the references are legit.
3) Credit checks
There are crap loads of companies out there that will perform credit checks on people for you. It costs about £15, and you’ll get to find out if they’ve been blacklisted or have CCJ’s against them.
Resources
List Of Tenant Credit Check Services For Landlords
4) Be wary of cash payers
Tenants may offer to pay rent upfront for a large period e.g. 6 months. While it may seem appealing and an ideal situation for a landlord, it may often be an evil ploy to disguise sinister activities.
It’s not unheard of for tenants to pay cash upfront for a few reasons, but the 2 most common I’ve heard about are:
- The tenant doesn’t want to be disturbed and wants the landlord to stay away from the property because they’re harbouring illegal activity in the property e.g. growing drugs
- The tenants have AWFUL rental history, so the offering of large some of cash is a diversion
Of course, this may not always be the case, but it’s something to be wary about.
5) Employment records
Check the tenants employment records e.g. 3 months worth of payslips. Don’t just assume the tenant is employment because he/she says so.
6) Be Wary of DSS tenants
Rightly or wrongly so, DSS Tenants are becoming more and more associated with the term “bad tenants”
DSS tenants receive Housing Benefit from the government to help with living expenses i.e. rent. A lot of DSS tenants are becoming notoriously known for pocketing their allowance, consequently failing to pass it onto their landlord.
I’m not saying every DSS tenant is guilty of this crime, because they’re not. I’m just saying, make sure you know the complications of DSS tenants before accepting one.
7) Don’t accept the first tenant that comes along to avoid costs
It’s true, the longer a property remains vacant, the more expensive it becomes for the landlord. Consequently, landlords are often inclined to accept the first tenant that comes along. While that may seem like the financially safe solution, it can often have the opposite affect. The fact is, finding a bad tenant quickly will cost you more than finding a good tenant slowly.
It’s important to take time over vetting your prospective tenants and making sure they’re right for both you and the property.
Minimising damage in case you get a bad tenant
Unfortunately, even if you follow each tip above, there’s still always a chance that a bad tenant will slip through the net. That’s what they’re trained to do. In a worst case scenario, there are certain steps a landlord can take in order to minimise the damage when they’ve mistakenly harboured a bad tenant.
1) Always have a Tenancy Agreement in place
Ensure a valid tenancy agreement is signed before any keys are handed over to the tenant.
2) Start with a 6 month agreement
It’s always good to start with a short term agreement so you can serve notice sooner rather than later if shit hits the fan.
If the tenant proves to be well behaved after the initial 6 months, then you can easily create a new tenancy agreement and extend the terms. Alternatively, just allow the agreement roll into a Periodic Tenancy.
3) Insist on a Guarantor
Don’t agree to take on a tenant unless they can organise a guarantor. A guarantor is someone that is willing to accept responsibility for any rental payments the tenant may miss. If the tenant can’t get a guarantor, then obviously they’re not trusted…or they have no friends and family. In either case, both scenarios are repelling.
Resources
Tenant Guarantor Form
4) Landlord Insurance
If you’re a landlord that’s allowing complete strangers rent your property, I highly recommend getting rent guarantee and legal expenses insurance. The policies are relatively inexpensive, and could potentially save you a heap of money.
Landlord Insurance can cover loss in rent and legal charges. If after the initial terms of the agreement expire and your tenant proves to be well behaved, then you can terminate the policy.
5) Regular Property Inspections
Landlords are entitled to perform routine inspections of the property. Typically, a Landlord Property Inspection should be done every quarter (3 months). It’s extremely important to do this so you can get a good idea of how your tenants are treating your properly. The sooner you pick up on any suspicious behavior, the better.
There’s usually a clause in a tenancy agreement mentioning the right . Look out for that, and make sure your agreement has that clause.
Be wary though, the landlord must give their tenant 24 hours notice which the tenant must agree to before entering the property.
Seeking professional advice
One of the biggest mistakes a landlord can make when dealing with a problematic tenant is trying to take the situation into their own hands.
The thought of getting professional help to evict your troublesome tenants may sound expensive, and may even feel uneasy on your pride, but that’s nonsense. Stop being a stubborn mule. It’s often cheaper to get professional help than trying to handle it by yourself.
Professionals will know exactly what to do, and they’ll do it efficiently and legally.
Leave your baby cousin’s Superman cape in his draw, and leave it the Tenant Eviction Professionals.
Anyone got anymore tips?
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Talk / 9 Comments left so far
And I don't steal.
And you clearly know nothing about deposits. They're handled by protection schemes.
And I'm not a "property developer"
Wow, that's 0 out of 3. Good job.
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Of course you don't think you steal...landlords used to consider it their right to steal an entire deposit and do no works...(landlord bonus scheme!)now they need to falsify documents to pretend the works have been carried out, or charge themselves out at £200 per hour (well worth it for an ill educated, self rightous, cretinous, negative equity drowned rat of a human!).
I pay my rents on time, look after my rabbit hutch and try to respect my landlord (very hard!)...he returns the favour by fucking me at every turn...excellent fellow.
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It has left a sour taste in my mouth, don't spend too much money just incase you get a nasty tenant and it discourages refurbishing properties.
This tenant destroyed the kitchen units, I could not get matching ones, so I just painted them and had to get the builder to polyfilla the cabinet and this is on a kitchen that had been fitted 3 years ago!
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Don't worry about Dr Nogood. He's been harping on for ages - something to do with his care in the community programme and everyone thinks he is a twat anyway! He likes to bitch and moan about how bad Landlords are when he hasn't got the bottle to try running his own business!
Nice to be able to coment from the cheap seats..........
TB
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I initially started this website because I wanted to document my every step from property idiot to property landlord,
in hope that people would find my site and help me along the way. I literally didn't have a clue about being a landlord
when I started this website.
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