A Blackpool landlord has taken his tale of tenants from hell to the local newspaper.
Sean Feeney rented out a property in Westmorland Avenue, Blackpool, to a mother and her three children. However he told the Blackpool Gazette he believes many more people could have been staying there.
Feeney faced a £2,000 cleaning bill when the family moved out after finding the property strewn with rubbish, dirt and graffiti.
Other Blackpool landlords have reported similar stories of being left to pick up repair bills stretching into thousands of pounds.
Feeney told the Gazette: “I spent £5,000 before re-renting it and they have vandalised it and left it in a sorry state, but the council have given these people a brand new council flat.
“The whole house is pretty much ruined. It will have to be gutted, and the last time this happened it cost £1,000 to take everything to the tip. I don’t know how people can treat a property like this then get a new one.
“The council should have had a look at my property, then told them they weren’t entitled to another one. I will easily have to spend another four or five thousand pounds on it. I don’t know how the carpet has got into that state – it looks like they have had cattle in there.”
.png)
Comments
I hope this landlord joins landlordreferencing.co.uk the lifestyle referencing network for all landlords & Agents and then none of us need take them in the future.
If we all join together they do not get away with this sort of behavior because if they do this to one of us they have done it to all of us and don't get a new home with any of us.
Thanks for allowing my post
Paul R
We landlords need to get our associations to campaign very strongly so that the council officers are actually educated to the point that they accept that they are failing in their duty of care to allow people to live like that, and then to move into taxpayers property when they cannot get a genuine landlords reference. Yes they should be making sure that the property is being well kept before they allow them to move into the taxpayers property, just like we can only get insured if we have all our paperwork right.
Secondly if you start up a local landlords association you can have your own bad tenant list. Southend on Sea has done this and avoided renting to some very nasty people. We are called SEAL and we have a ready made set of paperwork to help you( we do make a small charge). Nothing is perfect, but we now work a lot better with the Council, if we are members they know we are probably trying our best. If we are expected to stick to the contract, why is it that the tenant is not, and then lazy officers allow them to move on to the next disaster. Failure in their duty of care...council officers were speechless when I accused them of this, and realised I was actually right...think about how good are the officers actions for the tenant and find as many bad effects as you can like making it likely that the bad tenant will lose everything because they cannot fit their possessions into the next place!!
I consider you luck as my experience with tenants in Blackpool is appalling. I had tenants destroying my flat then complaining to the council that I am a rogue landlord, while the useless officers form council penalized me more than ones and handed me a repairs list that costs over £4000 to be carried out within 21 day or face the court. I also had tenants selling my items (cooker, fridge, TV ..etc) and pocketing the money.
No one should consider investing in Blackpool for letting purpose. Its a continuous nightmare.
Council should take actions. I have had few an identical experience with a tenant. Had to bear huge bill. When I informed the Council they did not take actions. I have had few tenants on HB who have left without pay rent for 2 months. Again when informed the council, they did nothing. The new thing I am hearing and experiencing is is tenant asking for eviction and council supporting them? I have come to a point where I just want to sell the property.
Doesn't this strengthen the case for Landlords to have access to a Bad Tenant list.
If the Councils joined it as well - just think how much tax payers money they could save.
In 1997 I dealt with a property in Basingstoke that was in an unbelievable state partly because the previous quarterly visit had been missed so it was 6 months since last visit. The tenants were being given a brand new housing association property and the entire house had to be professionally cleared and fumigated. They had kept rabbits in the lounge (running free) and had all but imprisoned a 3 year old in a bedroom - I won't describe what that room was like in case anyone reading this is eating.
We advised the HA and sent them photos, know what. They accused us of inappropriate action against the ex tenants and possible harassment of them.
I would say unbelievable but am too long in the tooth.
The trouble is the landlord is left in a cleft stick situation. He will have been asked for a reference and if he does not give one then chances are he is lumbered with these idiots. The system needs to be re-aligned. However two questions come to mind - why were not regular maintenance inspections carried out as this would have come to light much earlier and maybe would not have got to such great levels of damage.
The council have re-housed these people and presumably, as usual, these councils don't give a stuff for tax payers money - they chuck it around like water -so presumably we will be paying for the clean up when they leave here! great!!
Too common sadly, the Council's favour the scumbags as well.