Avoiding 'tenants from hell'

Horror stories include properties being used as drug farms and brothels, pest infestations, rubbish hoarders, rent absconders who flee with everything including the bathroom taps, and tenants doing DIY makeovers to make even Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen wince. And then there was the woman who kept a horse in her bedroom.

Paul Shamplina, co-founder of Landlord Action, recently revealed in SJ how discussions by a government ‘think tank’ will focus on how to best deal with evicting such tenants. The group will include industry professionals who will consider improvements to the current system, which has arguably shifted to give the UK’s estimated 8.3 million tenants an unfair advantage over landlords, as well as look at creating ‘model’ tenancy agreements.

Of course, the best way for landlords to deal with a tenant from hell is to avoid them in the first place. My advice is invest time and resources in ensuring your tenant
is legitimate – or risk months
of hassle.

Vetting tenants thoroughly is essential. It may seem intrusive or feel awkward but it’s worth it. Obtain all of their contact details, carry out a credit check, scrutinise ID, consider a guarantor for rent arrears, obtain a decent deposit and protect it in a government scheme.

Research by insurers AXA, published in September, found
38 per cent of landlords carry out no checks on prospective tenants.

A written tenancy agreement is a must, as is an immigration status check of a tenant due to recent updates. As many landlords have found to their cost, relying on your sixth sense to flush out a potential rogue tenant isn’t a realistic option.

Landlords wanting to evict
a tenant have two options under sections 8 and 21 of the Housing Act 1988, but neither is quick and they can be costly.

Once a bad tenant is in place the landlord is up against it. The system heavily favours tenants. Section 8 deals with possession and rent arrears while section 21, which focuses on possession only, is the so-called ‘accelerated route’, although there is nothing accelerated about it. It can take six months or longer to gain possession.

Court fees for possession claims have recently increased from £175 to £280. There may also be a £110 court bailiff fee and locksmith costs when you finally take possession. Only then may issues
of damage reveal themselves.
Rent arrears may also have to be written off.

There is a strong case for correcting the imbalance by streamlining the procedure and increasing the fixed recoverable costs so landlords are not left out of pocket through no fault of their own. The best advice by far though is to take all reasonable preventative steps before handing over the keys. SJ