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TODAY'S OTHER NEWS

Tenant causes thousands of pounds worth of damage

A landlord was almost reduced to tears after discovering a house he rented out ‘in a state of squalor’, with the occupant causing thousands of pounds worth of damage. 

The tenant, which owed up to £6,250 in unpaid rent, intentionally left a fridge freezer unplugged, leading to an infestation of maggots, contributing to a major cleaning and repairs bill for the landlord. 

Despite the disgusting conditions, it took seven months to evict the tenant from the two-bedroom home in Barking, east London. 

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Sim Sekhon, managing director of LegalforLandlords, commented: "We’ve handled many cases where tenants have left properties in a state of squalor, but this is definitely one of the worst we’ve seen.

"Much of the it was deliberate, with the intention of causing as much damage as possible, which made for a very frustrating wait for the landlord until the tenant could be evicted legally.”

 

This case once again sheds light on the scale of the problems caused by rogue tenants. 

Sekhon added: “We regularly hear about rogue landlords and the need to protect tenants, but these incidents aren’t unusual and more should be done to make sure that landlords’ rights are given equal consideration.

"Like many landlords forced to deal with something like this, I expect the owner of this home will go on to sell the property instead of continuing to rent - it can be a very stressful ordeal, particularly with such long delays, all the time knowing the damage is worsening, the repair bill edging upwards.

"It’s extremely unfair that the landlord has been saddled with a hefty bill on top of the arrears, but I’m pleased we have been able to help her to regain control of her property."

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    I guess the majority of landlords have suffered at the hands of 'Rogue' tenants. Doing due diligent checks on potential tenants can help but you can never be 100% sure. That's why landlords hold on to good tenants who respect the property and pay their rent on time. The recent idea that landlords are evicting tenants on a regular basis denying them the opportunity to settle into a community is ludicrous. Responsible landlords only evict the bad tenants, the slum tenants, the nuisance tenants, the non paying tenants. These tenants are their own worse enemy and being protected by a sadly lacking legal system.

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    • S S
    • 28 January 2020 10:24 AM

    So true. Rogue tenants never seem to make headlines compared to rogue landlords. The media seem to take delight in highlighting bad landlords - Good landlords don't make headlines, neither do good letting agents. Good Letting Agents are rarely appreciated. : (

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    This is malicious damage. The rogue tenant should be jailed and made to pay compensation out of the benefits undoubtedly being claimed.

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    Here's the deal Boris, take away s 21 ( the so called ' no fault' eviction) increase minimum tenancy terms, but give us a sure fire way of removing rouge tenants in one month max.

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    • 28 January 2020 22:07 PM

    Unfortunately for us LL the Govt has NO intention of making it easy to get rid of wrongun tenants.
    Most of these default on rent.
    If LL were able to get rid of rent defaulting tenants quickly then they would NOT suffer the average £9 billion of losses caused to the PRS.
    Such losses would be borne by Councils and then some in TA costs.
    As it is Govt facilitates such losses for LL by the dysfunctional eviction process scheduled to become even worse when the AST and S21 is abolished.
    Currently it is the LL private capital that subsidises free accommodation for rent defaulting tenants until EVENTUALLY evicted.
    No way would Govt wish to pay for such TA costs in their £billions.
    Far better to have the proverbial and inevitable GREEDY LL to suffer the losses.
    There of course being no other type of LL apart from a greedy one!!
    LL have to accept that NO Govt will ever assist private LL to attain fast repossession of rental properties from rent defaulting tenants.
    LL need to factor in at least 1 1/2 years to evict rent defaulting tenants when S21 and the AST is abolished.
    Govt refuses to accept that massive losses are caused to private LL because of dysfunctional regulations.
    LL need to accept that things will be getting far worse than they are now.
    As such LL need to seriously consider the viability of taking on any tenant who can't qualify for RGI.
    Without RGI it is the LL that will suffer the personal losses caused by rent defaulting tenants.
    It is this dawning realisation that is causing many LL to appreciate that losses caused by ONE rent defaulting tenant could destroy the personal domestic finances of LL.
    Is the game therefore worth a candle if no RGI is possible!?
    I think NOT which is why I aspire to become an ex-LL in the next few years!!



  • Fredy Jones

    This will happen more and more, every time a tenant gets evicted

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    Thing here Fredy is that we have to make damn sure we don't rent to this kind of scum in the first place, these kind of tenants are best left to the local council to house, I've had properties left in a discussing state, but so far I have never had one wrecked.

     
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