My Tenant Left With Unpaid Rent (And A Filthy House)

Nice one mate! Well done.
A bit disappointed the amusement has finished so soon.
(I trust you've changed all the locks already.)

I believe you have a moral duty to pursue them for the unpaid rent and for cleaning charges.

Even if you don't do it for your fellow landlords, do it for yourself;

1. If you don't, this will keep pissing you off at 4 o'clock every morning for the next 40 years.

2. The £1.25 every month reminds you that you've won. -Think of it as a little ego tickler every month for the next 20+ years.

3. Even if you f*ck it up, it's money spent on your education in preparation for the next time (and it's tax deductable).

4. It would make your blog enjoyable to read and you'll re-coup the money spent on the increased advertising revenue. Lets face it, youre blog is shite unless youre feeling the pain and having real world experiences. Every man and his dog has a blog about section 21 dates, deposits, inventories blah, blah, blah.

5. It would keep me amused.

Re No.4 in my previous comment.

I've just skim read your advertisers and seen "Tenany agreements- £4.99 -created by award winning legal professionals"

WTF is a Tenany?
What did they win, Dyslexic Lawyer Of The Year award?

I am so glad its not just me who seems to attract lazy arsed pigs of tenants.

I think my lowest point was having to pick up USED femine towels from the garden along with its child sh*tty nappies (it looked as if they opened the bathroom window and just hussed them out).
Lifting the lid on the toilet and seeing the remenants of an alcohol fueled session followed by kebab and chips welded under the toilet seat came a close second.
The dog p*ss and sh*t embedded in the carpet, possibly third.
However, on every occassion when a tenant vacates, I have had to deal with grease, grime and mould - how the hell do people live like this???

I agree with Benji...

But only on point 5 as it would be trés amusing.

I'm laughing at the 'Tenany' comment - but whats also funny is Benji wrote...'Lets face it, youre blog is shite unless youre feeling the pain...'

Its your, not you're

LOL

But onto serious matters...what sort of people live with a toilet and bathroom like that - YUK.

I reckon Benji is right, chase the gits down !!!

I have had problems like this before and after a wile you just take it on the chin.
I personally feel that some people don't deserve good quality housing and should be in government squats that can be washed with a hose pipe (and the tenant).
I also feel that there should be a database of people who damage good quality housing stock, with the details of there damage and the cost to put it right.
To ensure equality two lists can be made to praise the good tenants when this is deserved.
This list can be used by the landlord to ensure he only gets people that deserve quality housing.
I think that there should be a facility to ensure that a tenant can pay for the damage in full and get themselves off the list thus teaching an important lesson.
This would lower rental costs increase housing supply and lower risk.

Its your, not you're

Guilty as charged.

All I can say in mitigation for my crap spelling is that I wasn't purporting to offer professional services at the time, unlike the advertisers.

I notice the spelling in the original ad has now been corrected, hopefully they'll get a bit more interest.

Maybe with the increased revenue, The Landlord can buy some testosterone tablets, grow a pair and take out a small claims against his scumbag ex tenants and discourage them from shafting anyone else.

Here's how to do it-
https://www.gov.uk/make-court-claim-for-money/overview

Only £35 online for a £500 claim.

Added to the claim if you win, tax deductable if you lose.

Go on! You know you want to ;)

If anyone remembers HIPS - why not implement a similar method via a Landlord Report Referencing form. Rules are, you can't be unfair or emotionally biased. You must show the tenants rent payments went in on time, and then have a scoring section on the tenants performance so the tenant can collect good/bad score over time.

That way, if they're a crap tenant, nobody will let them in - shape up or ship out.

But the downside is....more homeless and more problems for the council.

Ah yes, that toilet bowl looks familiar! Method of cleaning......drain all water out and spray TC10 (contact P.O. box 2151 Beacon Bay South Africa 5205 for supplies.
Wait 5 minutes rub dissolved gunk off with Scotch Brite pad or similar. Rinse and repeat.
Remember to wear gloves, protective goggles and solvent breathing mask. It works every time, on ceramics, fibreglass and vitreous enamel...removes ALL stains including rust, I don't work for them but this product needs to be in every landlords armoury as it is always easier to rent a clean and bright place than otherwise.

I really enjoyed this post. May I say this and don't take it the wrong way... renting to any combination of just men is a potential disaster unless they have cleaning OCD like my dad... in which case your bath will be missing some enamel.
My husband shared a flat with two other guys. They moved into a brand spanking new flat, all new. They are all professional designers with Masters degree. When he met me and I stayed the night I was horrified when I saw the flat. Seemingly very neat...if had a cooker which has not been cleaned in 3 years, pond scum in toilets (that is what it is) which I bleached for days as it bugged me like hell and enough men leg hair on the floor to knit a small jumper. I am quite untidy but like stuff clean. Not saying every woman is the same but women notice stuff like that like men notice whether there is a wifi socket in the bedroom.

I agree with you on the fact I could just not live like that anywhere and treat our rented flat the same as I would my own if not a bit nicer as it is not mine, but not everyone is the same. The thing is, they would probably be exactly like that in their own flat judging by the look of some properties I have seen while hunting to buy :(

Could you not make it part of the agreement to have inspections every 3 months and if the standards have fallen, the tenants are to take out a profesional clean?
As a tenant I would not mind that at all and most normal tenants would not. You seem like a conscientious landlord and it is a shame people do this to your properties.

Hmmm, the place I'm renting looked pretty similar when I moved IN.

Landlord claims he had it professionally cleaned, although I have yet to see the bill for the cleaning. Lights in the Kitchen and Dining room were so dirty we bought and hung new ones rather than clean them, I didn't want to touch them while I was taking them down.

Admittedly, it may have been the prior tenants who left it in that state but what right does that give the landlord to pass it on to me while still maintaining it was clean?

Paul
Yes this is true your Landlord shouldn't have passed it on to you without it been cleaned.
But you have a choice most Landlords don't,you obviously still took the property on and you made that choice no one else forced it upon you.
I suppose we all have to compromise,the property must have ticked enough boxes for you to choose that one over others.
If you compare with buying a house,my house had a carpet that stank and filthy oven,moldy bathroom,they took the fire.But it was in the right area at the right price so I bought it,I wasn't forced into it I just made that choice to accept it and clean it up myself.
In the majority of cases the Landlord doesn't make the mess but ends up cleaning it up with no choice.

Wish I did have a choice, we're stuck here because of our individual situation

We chose the property because
a) They would take us (we have pets)
b) the location was ok, not great but ok
c) We couldn't inspect the property personally as we were out of the country.
d) Being out of the country made referencing very difficult, if not impossible. These agents managed somehow. We thought that was good, now we're not so sure.

A friend did inspect and was assured that all the issues would be dealt with. When we came to move in, none had been touched and there were a large number of issues that had not been detected at inspection.
We had a 50! page inventory of defects for an unfurnished property to go through and this was not supplied to us until they had our deposit and a signed rental agreement.
We weren't supplied EPC certificates until 3 weeks after moving in (being out of the country we were not aware this was a legal requirement).
No we are stuck in the property because the combination of the referencing and pet issues means it is proving almost impossible to find an alternative property unless I can find 5-7K to put down AND if we do leave we have the problem of where we stand regarding
a) return of our deposit because of the broken promises
b) the possibility of the landlord taking us to court for the remainder of the rent

The "contractor" the landlord insisted on doing some work was a hopeless bodger, I do better quality work myself and it's not my profession.
Yes, we could get or do the work ourselves but that means ME having to pay out to fix issues that shouldn't exist anyway and what hope do I have of getting that back, I'm only improving the property for the landlords benefit. It's already in a better state than when we moved in because your hands don't stick to the work surfaces in the kitchen.
*Breathes* After my rant, The point I'm trying to make is that there are always at least 2 sides to the story and sometimes Landlords (as well as tenants) can be real arses as well. Throw an agent into the mix who has no clue and things get even more complicated.

So at what point were you FORCED to take a tenancy at the property????

As a landlord, I HAVE to clean all my properties as they have been left in such a shit hole state. If you are moaning about grubbing light shades, you should come and see some of my houses when people move out!

You should be grateful you have a house where you can keep your pets and in a nice area. If you have to do a spot of DIY to make it more homely for you and your family, then whats the problem? You live there!! You benefit!!

In future may I recommend that you inspect a property before you sign the tenancy

@Emma - Did you read my post?

1. It's *difficult* to inspect a property when thousands of miles away (as in another country, abroad, over the sea), If we had inspected personally we would have run a mile.
2. We were assured those problems spotted would be dealt with, they weren't before we moved in, then the landlord forced on us a bodger, I can do a better job.
3. As for DIY, yes I benefit WHILE I am resident there. LANDLORD benefits from my expense/effort when I leave.
4. The Inventory was not supplied to us until AFTER contracts had been signed, flights booked, transport organised.
5. Once we arrived at the property and saw it, where could we go? No alternative accomodation existed and my circumstances are making it impossible to find alternatives.

The complaint about the lampshades was because we were told the place had been cleaned AND it is in our contract that we are liable for costs of professional cleaning when we leave, for reference
they were dirty, greasy, covered in cobwebs and the cobwebs were full of dead flies.
Windows were covered in dead flies,
cobwebs everywhere,
sticky greasy works surfaces,
manky oven (which was then condemned by an inspector),
disgusting greasy/cobwebby extractor hood that can only be switched on/off at the plug which is situated ABOVE the eyelevel units,
fire doors that didn't close properly,
front door that couldn't be locked (wasp nest),
laminate floor with massive gaps,
mould on walls in 2 bedrooms,
flies infesting 3rd bedroom,
unfinished laminate floor in 3rd bedroom,
taps that don't work,
broken toilet seats,
and the list goes on, all in a property advertised by the agent as "well presented"

In the interest of fairness the carpets were clean and the bathrooms were ok too.

In future may I recommend you
a) read the post properly before commenting
b) try to consider the other side of the coin

Now I'm not going to be back again as a tenant I'm obviously casting seeds on fallow ground here but it's also fairly obvious that as landlords you've been burnt by crappy tenants, the point I have tried to make is that as a tenant I (and others) have been burnt by crappy landlords

Oh, I did read it properly (some of us do do things properly). Like I said - Do not sign a tenancy until you have viewed a property and satisfied yourself that it is what you want to live in.
If you chose not to do this then you cannot moan afterwards about the state of it.
You signed on that dotted line, no one forced you to - it is your responsibility - end of!!! The fact that you didn't inspect the property before you signed that agreement is your fault.

Emma I find your comment very ignorant and perhaps based on what you know. I agree that in ideal world you would sign the agreement upon seeing the property in a condition you deem fit but I have viewed flats with tenants still inhabiting and one was dusty everywhere and pretty manky. Nothing that a good clean would not sort but nowhere in the tenancy agreement did it specify the flat will be clean but it did specify I must clean the flat upon leaving. The agent stressed that without paying a deposit and signing, the flat stays on the market. So if all else fits, at times you just have to pray that the landlord is decent. When we moved in our rented property, it was just decorated. The landlord specified the inventory as new everything but did not check what state the builders left it in. I saw it while it was still being renovated and presumed clean would ensue. It was dusty everywhere, rotten milk left in one of the cupboards, all the cupboards needed a good clean as there was thick building dust everywhere. You ignorantly presume that tenants have the upper hand, if you ask too many questions or complain, agent just doesn't ring you back as there is always another fool that will take the flat. This is made all the more harder if you have pets. I have been in my flat for over 2 months and still see flats that were advertised when I was looking 3+ months ago not being taken yet the same agents never rang me back. I am a very desirable tenant and was offering all sorts of assurances for my cats to be allowed, more deposit, to pay an insurance etc... I wonder how many agents bother to ring the landlord to discuss the case, after all they don't lose months' payments either way if there is a fixed fee being paid.

Whats ignorant about it??? Its common sense!!
What, do you lot want a show home to move into!! Are you all that scared of a bit of cleaning.
Tinny, in your case you viewed the property and despite seeing the mess, signed the contract. So it obviously wasn't that bad or caused you no concern. There is nothing in a tenancy agreement which specifies the level of cleansiness. A bit of dust, grubby oven, cobwebs.......?? Seriously, whats the issue, welcome to housework!!!!! Put it in writing to the landlord and state that the house will be left in the same condition on vacation and then get the hoover out.
The problem with you lot is you want us landlords to wipe your arses for you. We provide the houses to rent, you have a choice to rent them. If they are not up to your high expectations then look elsewhere.

The flat was being renovated. Sometimes flats are being shown with tenants still in and you as a future tenant are being asked to make up your mind about the flat in that state but your contract states you must leave it professionally cleaned. Not all contracts are the same. I cleaned the flat and did not complain. When we realised the flat was old and condensation was a problem I purchased an expensive dehumidifier. My landlord was on holiday when we moved in and there was no one to contact when we realised the fridge was not working so we bought a new one and did not ask for money back. I think that proves 'us lot' are sometimes OK. My gripe is the agents that often have rules of their own. I wish I could have seen flats that were empty and presented for moving in but in 80% of the cases, they still had tenants in, and given the example above, tenants can leave flats in horrid condition. If the agent tells you the landlord will sort it out before you move in, do you assume this is a lie and ignore the flat? I guess so, if the logic in your comment is to be deduced from. To be honest, having also seen quite a lot of places to buy, which were rented out, I am now also not viewing anything that was an investment, due to the issues above. But I still don't view landlords as you do do tenants. I wish there were ways of directly communicating with the landlord at times (often agents stop this) and the two times in my life I rented, I had great landlords. But having to find somewhere to rent recently, I realised how difficult it is to not get screwed. Some agents did not even allow me to see the rental agreement before I paid a deposit. What is that all about? But the point is that although you may have a lax view of how rental properties are left, when agencies are concerned, it is very clear you have to get a professional clean after you leave the property so it is only fair, if one was promised, that you shouldn't clean flies.

First you should never buy or sign for anything unless you have seen it yourself,I would compare it with buying a car without seen it (in the case of Paul I would suggest a stay in a travel lodge until you have seen a property you are happy with.)
If there are jobs outstanding and agreed to be done before you move in I would suggest that you add the jobs to the tenancy agreement i.e I am signing this tenancy agreement on the understanding that this list of jobs is done to a satisfactory standard before I move in (pre request) I have done this with car purchases to.You can give a small deposit and say I will give you the rest when the jobs are done.
I would view Landlords like car dealers some are honest and good and some are not (the same with tenants).
If it isn't within the 4 corners of the tenancy agreement then it doesn't exist.
If you insist on increasing your risk profile (pets) then you will probably get a less desirable/clean property to rent.
If you want to buy you need to be debt free if you want to rent you need to be pet free!
If not you will have less choice.
With no references and pets you will be lucky to get any property,the trouble is materials and getting jobs done is so much more expensive now than 5 years ago I would say double (a boiler 5 years ago would be £300 now £600) same with labour.
The risk a Landlord takes on now because of this is so much more,a bad tenant can soon cost you 12 months rent and so can the pets,so if you get rid of one of these you have halved your risk.
It's not the Landlords fault there aren't many properties to let,if been a Landlord was so profitable then all the builders would build to let and saturate the market,
The fact is when property prices go down you make no money at all you just tread water and hope property prices go up again.6% yield - 5% drop in prices less any outstanding debt interest = loss.
I can easily find better investments yielding more on the stock market.
The high property prices are a result of government/banks interfering with the property market and if house prices were allowed to plummet naturally Renting and buying would be cheaper with more money left to get jobs done.

Insurance companies wont take on pet risk why should landlords.

"The problem with you lot is you want us landlords to wipe your arses for you. We provide the houses to rent, you have a choice to rent them. If they are not up to your high expectations then look elsewhere."
Says all you need to know about the type of person most landlords are.

After reading thro this blog i thought i would share my experience, My landlord is great only took 4.5 YEARS to change a patio door that was hanging off its hinges leaving the rear room freezing all the time. Faulty electrics including putting 8+ spotlights in every room that blow so often im changing bulbs every week in most rooms, A leaking gutter complaint was ignored because the weather at the time "didnt warrant" a fast reaction of course after a massive downpour my baby girls room was soaked by water coming thro the brickwall above the window, Mould in EVERY bloody bedroom and bathroom and top of the stairs (I always have the extractor on and wtf should i have every window open 24/7 at the landlords suggestion just because he refuses to treat his own property....

Now i understand some landlords get shafted but lets not pretend you as landlords are perfect i believe the term is out of sight out of mind

So what do I do in this circumstance?
I am in hospital with the big C ( no sympathy wanted btw) OH has cleaned the house from top to bottom and paid for carpets to be profesionally cleaned and also the curtains. We accept that one carpet is stained (red wine) and have said we will replace. Tenancy has been for 4 years and we have kids and dogs! Landlord has emailed me 12 times since yesterday about the hedge being higher than it was when we took it on - it has been cut regularly and that there is rubbish in he garden Which the OH has agreed to move. The classic is the oven has been "man cleaned" (my OH is a professional valter and detailed) given it was cleaned by her 15 yr old when we took the tenancy on. She is now saying that the OH isnt capable of having cleaned and that we need a deep clean and she has already booked it andthat hse has had our garden items put in a skip which she is also going to charge us for. Now there are marks on the walls from th leatehr soafs but no drawing pins, mould (other than a 3 inch bit under the silicone on the side ofthe bath) picture hooks, blue tack etc
Where do I stand?

Hi.Im looking for advice and help. I didnt know where to post but this seemed the most suitable area.
Took tenant June 2013. Never paid his rent on time but believed his excuses and renewed his tenancy in December 2013. February 2014 stopped paying his rent. In my naivety thought he would vacate in June 2014 at the end of his tenancy. I had informed i would not be renewing. In July 2014, still no rent but letter from Environmental health stating that there was mould in the property and boiler broken from December 2013. I had no knowledge of either. Responded immediately. Mould was caused by cold property and the fact the tenant had blocked up all air vents, around doors etc and put on tumble dryer to increase the mould as he wanted to be rehoused by council. Boiler was repaired. Still no rent, although by then I found out he was claiming housing benefit. Finally got a court date to evict him under Section 8 and Section 21. He informed the court that he wanted to put in a counter claim for his damaged property due to mould etc. Court gave him 2 weeks to do this. No counter claim was submitted. Eventually I got informed by court i could have property back. Tenant did not move out. I applied to high court and eventually got him evicted in November 2014. Two days later we made arrangements for him to collect his personal belongings. He turned up, refused to take some of his furniture and the police were called. He ended up smashing his own wardrobe in temper, slashing his sofa with a chefs knife as he couldnt get it out the door and then kicked in the front door, breaking the new locks I had installed and was promptly arrested. The total cost of rent arrears and court costs were over £4,500. I had no way of contacting him. A few months later I received a letter from bankruptcy stating that he had declared some of the rent on his bankruptcy and actually owed nearly £38,000 to other people, banks and under different names. I was not amused. May 2015 I attended court as a witness to the damage he had caused to my front door, He had pleaded not guilty but admitted guilt on the day and i was awarded the cost of replacing the locks, which he duly paid.
In April 2017 I saw the tenant for the first time in a shop. He approached me and started to laugh, I saw red and called him a scumbag. He then reported me to the police under Section 4 of harassment etc, and I was duly interviewed under caution for over four hours. I have never ever been near cells before or been in any kind of trouble with the police. No action was taken but it was most disturbing.
But, as the rent issue had still grated on my nerves for several years, under advice by the police I issued a small claim for the rent he hadnt put under his bankruptcy and used the policeman as a c/o address. When I applied I didnt realise you couldnt have a c/o address. So I was a little miffed at the wasted court fee.
Two weeks later I get a counter claim in the post for £2,800. Apparently the tenant now wants to put a claim in for his damaged clothing, sofa etc and for a box of personal possessions that I refused to let him have and duly disposed of.
He damaged his furniture, he had not clothes damaged, and the box that he says i had, was the reason that he kicked the door in, in front of the policeman and loaded into his car. I did put outside the food from the freezer that was left and some bags of rubbish. Which I then had to pay for to be removed via the council including his chair as it was still there 2 weeks later.
He also states that i have continuously abused him the street every time I have seen him, in front of his children. I have never ever seen him in the street besides that one time.
Unbelievable.. Has anybody got any comments, advice, hit man.. I can use????

This is one end of the spectrum. At the other extreme we have landlords who don't give a damn about their property and hand it to you in a disgusting state. The tenants clean it into an inhabitable place and when the property is returned not only does the landlord show any appreciation for your effort but also gets picky about petty little shit that doesn't even compare to the overall mess you were served to begin with. I hate renting, but I also hate buying. People have absolutely no standards.

The way you talk about people is dispicable, it doesn’t matter what they have done to you... you shouldn’t talk about anyone in that matter. You’re full of hate and evil, after reading your post I bet anything that your tenants were better people than you are. You should work on yourself, Jesus loves you.

I agree that some of the comments made by the landlords are disrespectful.

Emma's comments are denigrating - a house should be cleaned by the landlord after a tenant has left. At the end of the day, the tenant pays towards your 'rent to buy' scheme or mortgage on the house, so the rental needs to be in top condition - if it gets trashed, the deposit covers it. Tenants pay good money for the house to be clean and all issues fixed before they move in. Not all tenants expect a show house, but if it costs a lot of money to rent, then yes it needs to be of high quality. It's a two way agreement - tenant pays rent, landlord fixes issues without any restraint. Ultimately, without the tenant you wouldn't be able to own a property. It's purely a business transaction. The blog comes across as very one sided, megalomaniac,haughty and arrogant. It isn't great that properties end up damaged, but there are two sides to every story. Did all repairs get completed in a timely manner? Did a delay in repairs pose a risk to the tenant's health and safety? Were issues with the property addressed and fixed correctly before a tenant moved in? Have repairs been looked at by a qualified personnel?

Again, people get into financial difficulty. As a landlord, you should ensure that you have adequate insurance. In the real world, people do become unemployed or a partner passes away. You shouldn't be uncompromising about that as an agreement to catch up can be met - it's out of their control. If they have been a good tenant up to that point, then it makes sense to come up with an arrangement.

If you are apprehensive or will lose sleep over damage, sell the house that you are renting.

Tenants do have rights, as people need a roof over their head. They are helping you, when they pay rent as agreed, to build your empire. Could you pay the mortgage on your multiple houses without them?

Probably not, so maybe lose the property mogul tone. Landlords that play at being landlords forget that tenants are the customer. Please bear in mind that I have been a tenant and landlord.

Interesting reading

I keep seeing this all the time, people disrespecting what could otherwise be a lovely comfortable home.
I actually don’t know how anyone could live like that and I do feel for the landlords who have to face this. Considering how hard it is to find somewhere to live in the first place these days I just don’t get why someone would want to ruin it for themselves (and others). All I want to do is find somewhere I can live and make my home! But it’s becoming harder and harder to do that now because lazy, slobs are ruining it for everyone else. I’d give anything to find a place to call home Including taking on one of these unloved properties and scrubbing it from to bottom and turning it around, just to prove that there are decent clean people out there who would be grateful for a place to call home..
I’m sorry to read that you have had your property treated like this. There are people out there with dignity, hygiene, pride and respect. Honestly!