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  • UffUff Posts: 3,199
    I hope you didn't give them their deposit back raisingirl.
    SW SCOTLAND but born in Derbyshire
  • B3B3 Posts: 27,505
    It sounds like they must have had mental health issues. Are you going to have to clear it yourself?  Maybe you can give a tenant a reduced rent for a while if they sort it out.
    In London. Keen but lazy.
  • raisingirlraisingirl Posts: 7,093
    Uff said:
    I hope you didn't give them their deposit back raisingirl.
    No well, it's not that easy these days but I think it's unlikely they'll get any of it by the time we've paid a painter and a cleaner and repaired all the broken stuff. I'm just hoping we don't have to replace the kitchen worktop - it's a nice composite stone one and cost a lot
    Gardening on the edge of Exmoor, in Devon

    “It's still magic even if you know how it's done.” 
  • UffUff Posts: 3,199
    Good job they have to pay a deposit but sometimes that nowhere near covers damage they do. Best of luck with your next tenants.
    SW SCOTLAND but born in Derbyshire
  • KT53KT53 Posts: 9,016
    B3 said:
    It sounds like they must have had mental health issues. Are you going to have to clear it yourself?  Maybe you can give a tenant a reduced rent for a while if they sort it out.

    That seems to be the standard excuse for anybody who actually simply has absolutely no respect for the property of others.
  • B3B3 Posts: 27,505
    It's not normal behaviour, though. Is it?
    In London. Keen but lazy.
  • raisingirlraisingirl Posts: 7,093
    B3 said:
    Are you going to have to clear it yourself?  Maybe you can give a tenant a reduced rent for a while if they sort it out.
    Experience is that if the house is well presented, the chances of getting a tenant who will look after it are better. No guarantees, as this lot show. So yes, we'll clear it out, fix everything, get it redecorated, hopefully the carpets will come up OK but if not, we'll replace them and then we'll put it back to rent. We may decide to insist on independent references this time, so no tenants who haven't rented before. We have a lovely young couple in the house next door who moved from their parents' houses so no references. We took a chance on them, and they've been great for 3 years now. This lot have maybe scuppered the chances for anyone else in that situation, because we can't afford to spend 3 months' rent cleaning up every time.
    Gardening on the edge of Exmoor, in Devon

    “It's still magic even if you know how it's done.” 
  • raisingirlraisingirl Posts: 7,093
    B3 said:
    It's not normal behaviour, though. Is it?
    No. Most people don't live like that. People take less care of a rental home, typically, although I think that is changing a bit as renting becomes more a lifetime thing and less a stopgap. But this was extreme. As far as we can tell they haven't washed themselves or their children in more than 2 years - that's not normal.
    Gardening on the edge of Exmoor, in Devon

    “It's still magic even if you know how it's done.” 
  • LynLyn Posts: 23,190
    @raisingirl. Are there any clauses in the contract that give you the right to go in check every so often, giving notice of course? 
    Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor. 

  • raisingirlraisingirl Posts: 7,093
    We always have the right to go in, yes and the houses have sprinklers which have to be tested annually, so we go in once a year anyway. We did know they were messy, but you can't tell how much stuff they're going to leave behind until they go, or if they'll clear up behind themselves. Certainly, the damage wasn't apparent last time we were there in the Spring, so seems to have happened in the last 6 months, although things like the oven door we wouldn't have noticed, probably, from a brief scan. The question though is what do you do about it if you see they are not keeping the house well? As a landlord, the only sanction you have is eviction and we didn't want to do that, given the difficulties people here have in finding decent accommodation at the sort of rent we're asking.
    Gardening on the edge of Exmoor, in Devon

    “It's still magic even if you know how it's done.” 
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