A landlord lets in a ‘hippie’ type family as he is anxious to have tenants in his empty property and the family say that they are desperate for accommodation. He is not entirely happy about them but feels that letting them in will be better than leaving the property empty.
Once in, they proceed to redecorate the property, painting the walls black and all the radiators dark mauve. Numerous complaints are received from neighbours about their behaviour and loud music at night. There are several incidents when the Police are called out and it is suspected that they are taking drugs.
They pay one month’s rent in advance but fail to pay any further rent, and the landlord has to issue proceedings for possession to evict them. This takes four months by which time the rent arrears have risen to several thousand pounds.
The night before the bailiff is due to come to evict them, they have a party, during the course of which several windows are broken, and other damage is done to the property. It is left in a filthy state with rubbish in all the rooms. Much of the furniture has been either broken or stolen.
The landlord is left with a property which needs several thousand pounds work (including re-decoration throughout and replacement of almost all the furniture) to make it fit for re-letting, a bill from his solicitors for the eviction proceedings, and no chance of recovery from the tenants who have disappeared without trace.
Imagine this wide awake nightmare. Acting as an independent landlord is never easy, but no one wants to waste the money which having a Lettings Agency involves. All those pointless fees and for a group of people who are simply glorified middlemen. They may give you the security of their legal teams, but the situations where you need one are a rarity rather than the norm.
Why not simply ask a solicitor for the appropriate assistance? They can help you with everything from contract law, right up to the advice necessary for taking inventories and legal rights about terms of notice. Being a Land Lord doesn’t need to be a complicated nightmare. It can be a simple and enjoyable revenue stream. It is just important to make sure you have the best possible legal advice on hand.
