When a woman complained on Twitter that she was charged £150 by her landlord for ‘dust on a lampshade’ on vacating a property, hundreds of other aggrieved tenants sent in their tales of woe.
They moaned about deposits withheld, black mould, filthy bathrooms, broken showers, faulty appliances and sky-high rents.
On reading their endless grumbles, you might think the country consists of horrible, uncaring landlords who exploit their poor tenants at every turn.
In fact, from my experience, it is just as likely to be the other way round. While there are undoubtedly some bad landlords, there are plenty of bad tenants, as these days at least, most of the rights are on the tenant’s side.
Testing tenants: While the Government has just announced plans to give landlords power to evict rowdy renters in two weeks, the majority of rights belong to the tenants
And while the Government has just announced plans to give landlords power to evict rowdy renters in two weeks, the majority of rights belong to the tenants.
As a landlord of more than 25 years, I have mainly been lucky with my tenants but even so, I have had my fair share of disasters.
One managed to break all the appliances including the toilet and the shower. Although I retained the deposit, it hardly covered the £7,000 cost of renovation.
On another occasion I was called by the management company of a building to say there was a terrible smell coming from my rental flat and the corridor was full of rubbish.
Theoretically, tenants can be evicted for unpaid rent, for breaking the tenancy agreement or anti-social behaviour, however that may be defined.
But then try getting them out. You can’t just chuck their belongings into the street and change the locks. Well, you can, but then you will be committing a criminal offence.
Instead, you have to observe a strict procedure by serving a Section 8 notice seeking possession or a Section 21 notice to quit.
If they have not vacated by the due date, court proceedings have to be arranged, and as a final resort, bailiffs will be instructed to remove the occupiers and their belongings.
I could not believe my eyes — or nose. The place was filthy, full of rubbish and the smell was indescribable
While this takes place, the tenants might be sitting pretty for months not paying rent. Or they may just disappear, having trashed the place.
Landlords must have all sorts of up-to-date certificates in place such as a Gas Safety Certificate, Electrical Certificate and Energy Performance Certificate.
Plus, there have to be smoke alarms in every room and any furniture must comply with Fire Safety Regulations.
In every way, the landlord has far more to lose than the tenant, who may only be there for six months.
Now let me get back to the flat where the management company complained about the smell.
As a conscientious landlord, I gave my tenant the statutory 24 hours written notice that I was coming to inspect, and could not believe my eyes — or nose. The place was filthy, full of rubbish and the smell was indescribable.
I used the due legal process to evict him and then had the flat fumigated. He vanished without paying council tax or other bills, and left a couple of months of unpaid rent as well.
In every way he was a bad lot and yet he had passed the letting agents’ referencing procedures.
Other tenants have sneaked in a cat or a dog in direct contradiction to the terms on the tenancy agreement, and some have even sneaked in an extra human being.
Often, if you are an absentee landlord, as most of us are, you don’t know about these contraventions until other residents alert you.
The outgoing tenants of my London flat emailed to ask if they could stay on for an extra four days after their agreed departure date.
I said yes but that I would have to charge them four days’ rent to which they pleaded: ‘Unfortunately we can’t manage the extra rent. Can you just be kind?’
I pointed out that although I tried to be fair, I was not in business to be kind. Some tenants seem to think that you are part of social services.
And even when it comes to returning the deposit, the law is on the tenants’ side. It has to be held in an accredited scheme, for which the landlord pays, and any deductions must be supported by written bills. These can be challenged by tenants using the deposit resolution scheme.
As to the ‘sky-high’ rents, there are two sides to this issue.
For one thing we can only charge what the market will stand, and for another, it costs a lot to be a landlord.
The rent received is by no means all profit. We may have a mortgage and service charges to pay, we have to pay letting agents and also, maintain the property in good order.
If a washing machine breaks, it’s up to the landlord, not the tenant, to replace it. A flood which happened in a neighbour’s rental flat can wipe out a whole year’s rent.
We landlords are not asking for sympathy, just some balance, please.
This post first appeared on Dailymail.co.uk
