A little tale that might help tenants see the other side of the coin and LL wake up a bit:
We rented to a woman who I thought was my friend (at considerably less than value) with the condition that she not have animals and keep it clean. A fortnight before she was due to move in she bought a kitten! Alarm bells should've gone off there and then but we let it go. The old house she lived in had been nice when she moved in but after 6 months, was black with mould. Alarm bells did go off but she said that the previous tenants had had a problem that the old LL had just cleaned up temporarily instead of fixing the damp.
I'd already told her that she needed a venting hose for her tumble dryer but she insisted it was a condenser (it wasn't) and also asked her not to dry clothes on rads as it's an old house and would be prone to damp (we'd lived in it for 12 years without a problem).
6 months into tenancy she rang me (I live next door) complaining the house was black and she was going to the doctor to get a letter so I could put her up in a hotel while it was being fixed. Alarm bells should've been going off when she no longer invited me for coffee, but always came into my house. DH went round and was shocked at state of place. He took photos with his phone at her clothes drying on the rads, so wet that they'd rotted the laminate underneath. He took a pic of her tumble dryer and we looked the model up - vented. He went round with a spare hose, connected it and asked her to put it out of the door/window when she uses it. We found the hose rotted in the shed (had obviously been there a long time) when she moved out.
Not long after, she bought a dog. Then she dog sat for her father's dog who had constant diarrhoea. We had to rip the destroyed laminate up as it stunk of shit and we could not let it again smelling like that. Asides the damage, how on earthg do people live like that.
During the last year she moved the boyfriend in. He has to be the stupidest man I've ever met. Had no interest in anything except playing his guitar (badly and loudly all hours) and playing computer games. He refused to pay anything to his 4 kids from 2 previous marriages, was still married when he moved in and asked her to marry him and have kids with him within a month. The film, 40 year-old virgin? He's obviously the 40 year-old child!
The shower started leaking but the 40 year-old child decided he had the DIY skills to fix it. We ended up having a plumber look at it (on Boxing Day - you don't want to know what THAT cost!) because they knocked on door freaked out that they couldn't use the shower (refused to use the separate bath while it was being fixed). Plumber told us that it had started a simple leak that 40 yr-old child had hacked into with God knows what, destroying shower tray, tiles and plaster in room underneath.
A few months later, 40 yr-old child/world's biggest idiot came home in his car which was making hell of a racket. I told him it sounded like the exhaust had gone but he insisted on dragging friend's father out to "fix the plug leads" (was not amused when I laughed). Father turns up 40 minutes later, listened for a nano-second and told him his exhaust had gone. I was still outside so I just mentioned that it was indeed the exhaust and he went nuts! Alarm bells well and truly going off now!
After that, every time I was in the garden and my friend wasn't around, he'd come out and get nasty with me. I rang her one morning and he picked up. I had a call at the same time from a techie-minded friend who was sharp enough to tape what he started saying to me (very abusive) while he was on other phone. I thought that was such a good idea I started carrying a small tape recorder when I was out in garden and have him being abusive another twice.
In the meantime, friend's brother has moved house and offered friend to move into old flat. Our relief was enormous as we'd decided that we were going to ask them to leave - we were dreading it. It's also worked out great for 40 yr-old child/world's biggest idiot/utter prick(!) as he now pays even less rent in HIS name with the rent book saying he's paying 2.5 times what 3-bed houses around here go for, not 2-bed flats - very convenient for him as he now pays a lot less to CSA (who finally caught up with him).
Despite our annoyance with her, we both actually feel sorry for her. She's clueless at the kind of bloke she's involved with (but we have a feeling she'll find out in a year or two).
Maybe Karma will teach her a lesson in humility - I was admittedly sucked off with the patronising "I've got a degree" shite she's forever spouting. I think my "degree" from the School of Hard Knocks has served me better than her psych one ever has/will. I'm more than happy to admit I learn something new every day (especially when it comes to choosing friends better in the future!), but she knows it all. She also no longer bothers with me - I will eventually send her the sound files, just so she can finally see what her partner is like. No point until the rose-tinted glasses come off, though. (Hmm, might forward them to our mutual friend, too!)
So, for all LL do your checks carefully and never let things slide and tenants, if you have a good LL who keeps your home in good nick and doesn't bother you very often, please don't take advantage. A lot of LL, like us, are "accidental" LL and for those of us still emotionally attached to our old properties, it's very hard to see them run into the ground.