Perfect tenants

[Crystalclear]

But for dealing with utilitiy companies/broadband providers e-mail/texts are a much better option in my opinion. I've had vital conversations before which have later been denied, if it's in print it can't be denied, it's there word for word, dated and timed. Try speaking to EDF energy or some such **** and awful energy provider without a paper trail, it's absolute hell on earth

Talking of which, I'd have the gas meter changed to a pay as you go system.

I learnt the hard way, luckily for me, I wasn't responsible, as I wasn't a joint signee on the supply contract. Boy was there letter after letter from debt collectors. Had to ring each one, 12 in total, giving them the new residential address of the tenants. I found out even after they'd moved out, they'd got on a train as a couple, and not paid for tickets, and decided to give their former address to the conductor, and karma being so kind to me, I found the young lads 'prison ID CARD' in the bathroom, which I photocopied and posted to Brit trans Police, along with their demand for payment letter.

 

[gigz]

Mate of my wife had a problem like this. Instead of going down the legal route she employed the services of the local hard case (every neighbourhood has one). Had her house back within a week. Cost her two hundred quid.

 

[EFLImpudence]

Tell tenant new windows are being fitted.

Remove old windows. Leave.


I know - but I'd love to do it to some tenants.

 

[Belboz]

Tell tenant new windows are being fitted.

Remove old windows. Leave.


I know - but I'd love to do it to some tenants.

Shame that you would be the one ending up in court though...

 

[Crystalclear]

Tell tenant new windows are being fitted.

Remove old windows. Leave.


I know - but I'd love to do it to some tenants.

If I had Michael Keaton's character from Pacific Heights as a tenant, then I'd do just that, but come back after 5 hrs saying I got stuck in traffic. Eye for an eye kinda thing?

 

[longdogs]

People resent paying someone else's mortgage and giving them tax relief at the same time. They spent so much of their wages on rent that they'll never afford to buy - so the BTL Landlord buys another house and so it goes on. Dunno how its going to end - but all bubbles burst eventually, and the bigger they grow - the bigger the bust. That's why they won't pay and trash the place instead. We are the lucky generation that owns the property and give our kids generation the debts.

I have to agree. Although I realise there are good and bad landlords and good and bad tenants, the whole thing seems to be geared towards making a huge profit. I really don't understand how some people can afford to pay some of the extortionate rents. They could probably be paying less for a mortgage of their own but can't get one or can't save for the huge deposit.

Programmes like Homes under the hammer don't help either. I find it a bit distasteful when someone can buy a s**thole at a knock-down price, bodge it up in ten minutes then charge a huge rent to some family with little choice. The programme is basically about how quickly you can double your money and not about providing homes.

 

[JBR]

I can appreciate that many people can't afford the deposit for a mortgage and are obliged to rent, and many then find they are paying 'rip off landlords'.

Renting a home is very commonplace on the continent, so I've heard, and I wonder whether they also suffer from bad landlords. You never hear of such a problem, though.

If that's true, then why here and not there? Are we a particularly greedy nation?

 

[HawkEye244]

[/QUOTE]Bad practise I have to say. It's one thing to help the less fortunate, but it's another when some tenants take advantage and 'expect' your kindness.[/QUOTE]

I hard-wired CAT5e throughout the house so that tenants could have broadband in the lounge and each bedroom and this feeds back to the hub which is in the lounge. Seems excessive but I wanted the option there for students and people who want a decent connection. A lot of people now don't have a television and get everything from the internet, so it's important. I also found it odd that a lot of properties in the area didn't seem to have decent broadband (or at least not advertised), it's one of the most important things in my opinion.

Given that I had to re-run electrical cables and the co-axial anyway I did the lot at the same time saving me the hassle later on. Only problem is, as I said, the damm service providers. Virgin media didn't allow for my tenant to take over the payments for my contract and change it to his name, they wanted him to sign a new 'transfer of responsibility'. So had to go through the arduous task of cancelling my one before they will speak to him, it's such a drag. He offered to pay me the monthly fee and keep it in my name but as it's my name on the paperwork they could misuse it and I'd be in a whole heep of ****. It's entirely virgin medias fault for making it so difficult as I see it

But for dealing with utilitiy companies/broadband providers e-mail/texts are a much better option in my opinion. I've had vital conversations before which have later been denied, if it's in print it can't be denied, it's there word for word, dated and timed. Try speaking to EDF energy or some such **** and awful energy provider without a paper trail, it's absolute hell on earth

Talking of which, I'd have the gas meter changed to a pay as you go system.

I learnt the hard way, luckily for me, I wasn't responsible, as I wasn't a joint signee on the supply contract. Boy was there letter after letter from debt collectors. Had to ring each one, 12 in total, giving them the new residential address of the tenants. I found out even after they'd moved out, they'd got on a train as a couple, and not paid for tickets, and decided to give their former address to the conductor, and karma being so kind to me, I found the young lads 'prison ID CARD' in the bathroom, which I photocopied and posted to Brit trans Police, along with their demand for payment letter.

Good spot. As long as I'm not responsible for bills I really couldn't care less if they pay or not, if they don't pay and the utility company decides to force entry and fit a pre-pay meter (currently it's a standard digitial one) it would be less stressful for me personally, save me having to make phone call after phone calling trying to get an engineer out to change the meter My experience of energy companies is so traumatic I wouldn't waste my time anymore, customer service is none existant, unless it's british gas and you're asking them for one of those dodgy smart meters that they are trying to force on people now

 

[Nige F]

then why here and not there? Are we a particularly greedy nation?

Nail on the head !

 

[conny]

As I am approaching the big six-Oh I don't really have any option but to rent. Currently renting a 'nice, modern house with all amenities' but the plumbing & heating are a nightmare. Without dragging out a long story, we were told it had gas fire in lounge and whole house GCH with power shower in the en-suite and bath/shower in the main bathroom. After moving in we found;

Gas fire didn't work and had been condemned.
Heating boiler was in need of constant attention just to get hot water system working.
Power shower pump failed after one month. Been replaced twice in 14 months.
Pipework to shower runs all over the house before dropping from loft to shower. In the loft it crosses over other pipes in an arc resulting in constant air-locks. Now to top it all it has developed a leak in the cavity wall between the shower room and bathroom. Both walls are tiled from floor to ceiling so a repair is going to be messy and expensive.
Heating boiler developed a fault last month and was capped off by BG
Engineer came out on the Friday evening, took it apart and put it back together, declared it safe to use.
Gas safe engineer turned up 9.00am Monday morning to do a Landlord safety check and immediately condemned boiler and totally isolated it.

Every time I complain I am told that I must expect a few problems with any house!
There are two physically disabled people living in this house as well as myself, (at the moment I am on crutches because of suspected torn knee ligaments), and I am supposed to accept potential life threatening problems as a matter of course?

When we moved in the back garden was like a ploughed field because the previous tenants had a big dog that had free rein out there. We have cleared the crap, filled the holes, levelled the bumps, tidied the flower beds and made it look lovely. In the front garden we did similar and trimmed all the hedges back nice and neat. We also stripped back the peeling paint off the garage doors, sanded them, primed and undercoated them and gave them two good coats of top quality outdoor paint. When the agents did their annual inspection in April they commented on the changes and murmured the owner may increase the rent when the tenancy was due for renewal.

Yesterday I told them I would be giving 2 months notice to vacate when the agreement is due for renewal. On the surface it looks beautiful. Try living in it with the problems we have had to encounter.

 

[Crystalclear]

Conny??? Don't move!!

Speak to Shelter, or at least to Citizen advice?! They'll send a guy round to make your landlord do all the repairs, and I mean ALL, and not only that, if he doesn't? No more leasing, end of.

If only tenants knew their rights and how to approach the right people in their Local council, life would be sooo better for them!

 

[conny]

I don't think there is any law in the land that can make the landlord re-plumb the entire water system in this house.

There is a water supply, if it doesn't always work correctly it doesn't mean they are breaking any laws.
As it is, we have found another place to move to and, subject to an inspection tomorrow, we will hopefully be very happily moving out shortly before the agreement ends on this one. Losing a months advance rent is a small price to pay for peace of mind.

 

[Dextraneous]

I don't think there is any law in the land that can make the landlord re-plumb the entire water system in this house.

There is a water supply, if it doesn't always work correctly it doesn't mean they are breaking any laws.
As it is, we have found another place to move to and, subject to an inspection tomorrow, we will hopefully be very happily moving out shortly before the agreement ends on this one. Losing a months advance rent is a small price to pay for peace of mind.

Sorry to hear about your tale of woes. Assuming your deposit was put in the DPS, you could make it difficult for the landlord to get his hands on it. Also, the fine print of the tenancy agreement should also include a list of things that he had a legal duty to provide (such as gas checks, EPC, copy of HMO licence,photographic mutually signed inventories etc). If these aren't in place, you could drop him right in it if he wants to play hardball about your departure.

 

[conny]

They did take photographic inventory on the day we were moving in but I followed and took exactly same photo's plus some more of my own.
I noticed cracked floor tiles in the kitchen, scorch marks on the uPVC windows and various other things. I pointed them all out to the guy doing the inventory and made sure he wrote them down which I also signed and got a copy of. Regarding the deposit I have a certificate showing it has been deposited with some National tenants organisation or other so no real worries over that side of things.

 

[JBR]

I don't blame you. You can't trust anyone to be honest these days.
Isn't it a shame?