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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

AIBU to think this is a really shitty way to behave?

309 replies

ballinacup · 22/01/2014 19:24

An acquaintance was talking very proudly today about how she has evicted her tenants. She's done it completely illegally by sneaking in whilst they were out and changing the locks.

Yes, they were shitty tenants, but I still think making someone homeless without notice is a bit off. However, it gets worse.

She will not give the tenants their possessions. She finds it hilarious that the couple have called her on several occasions in tears, begging for their five month old's clothes/bottles/cot. Acquaintance's sister is expecting so she's given all of their stuff to her.

She stormed into the office fuming today as the tenants are taking legal action against her. Aibu to hope she gets into serious trouble for, essentially, stealing from a baby?

OP posts:
MadAsFish · 24/01/2014 07:56

They are responsible for the child, nobody else. If they dont pay the rent and become homeless then SS should be involved for failure to provide the basics for a child.

Even when their utterly evil landlord locks them out and steals their things? You must be joking.
And yes, I've had far, far more bad landlords than good, in 30 years of renting. The good really are rare and memorable.

heartisaspade · 24/01/2014 07:59

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

JazzAnnNonMouse · 24/01/2014 08:00

She is a cunt.

anothernumberone · 24/01/2014 08:13

Well in Ireland, now I appreciate things are not the same, we have a whole generation of 'accidental' landlords. The house prices have dropped by 50% and people have had to become landlords because they are in serious negative equity when they have outgrown their apartments, changed work locations or emigrated in their droves. People can barely fund their mortgages as things are and if a tenant were to stop paying rent a lot of people would go under completely. Due process sounds the same as the UK 4 mths minimum with a sizeable amount of judges ruling in favour of tenants and delaying evictions. I would not be quite as bad as the OP's friend but I definitely would not be hanging around for the law to sort out my tenant problems.

loveisagirlnameddaisy · 24/01/2014 12:19

Completely agree with Tomverlaine about the council system. DP has been in this situation many times where tenants are told to remain until the bitter end so they are eligible for council accommodation. How on earth does that foster good relations between LLs and future tenants?

There is deep mistrust on both sides in many cases; from this thread alone that's abundantly clear.

LessMissAbs · 24/01/2014 18:54

And entirely in keeping with the thread title, I would like to congratulate the poster who sent me my first abusive pm on mumsnet. I am sure that the landlords out there must be queuing round the block to have you as their tenant.

Hissy · 24/01/2014 19:29

LessMiss, report that PM love!

How dare they! Big enough to be mean and nasty, not big and mean enough to do it in public eh?

I'd flaming well repost that message to make sure everyone saw who they were and what they'd said.

Disgraceful!

You ok?

Wibblypiglikesbananas · 24/01/2014 19:42

Gosh, it's one thing to disagree on here, quite another to start sending abusive messages. Hope you're ok Less.

MrsDavidBowie · 24/01/2014 20:16

SHocking behaviour.

Wonder which poster that was Hmm

BrianTheMole · 24/01/2014 20:16

Very cowardly of them less. Obviously not brave enough to post their filth here for everyone to see. I'd repost it and name / shame myself.

LessMissAbs · 24/01/2014 20:23

tbh I don't think I should, I will probably get banned from mumsnet myself. But on the basis I think its probably bullying and I don't really want to be on a site where I get pms like this anyway, here is the second and much lengthier abusive pm I've received from this poster. For the sake of not identifying them which I think is against mumsnet t&cs I have removed one sentence.

*You paid your rent the week your father died. Well done. Why you would think that this equates to not being a prick and demonstrates how conscientious you are is beyond me. You sound terribly confused. Have you been drinking? But the fact that you equate having money to being a superior person gives me a good idea of your values and only serves to justify my original opinion of you.

Why do you think you are compelled to tell me about the real world and being an adult? I usually find that people who harp on about being 'grown ups' are actually insecure about their own maturity and grasp of 'real life'. If this is how you feel, take it from me, YADNBU [GRIN]

I get an impression that you think that I should/would be ashamed to hold such a poor opinion of you, and this is why I didn't write it on the thread. I didn't write it on the thread because I didn't want to derail it with a personal argument between us. But if you want to do that, I don't mind having a bash at disposing your vile notions of superiority for everyone to see. To be honest, it wouldn't be much of a challenge, you're doing a good job of it already, and I've not even started*

MrsDavidBowie · 24/01/2014 20:34

What a cowardly cunt.

BrianTheMole · 24/01/2014 20:34

I get an impression that you think that I should/would be ashamed to hold such a poor opinion of you, and this is why I didn't write it on the thread. I didn't write it on the thread because I didn't want to derail it with a personal argument between us.

No, you didn't write it on the thread because you are a COWARD. And your cowardly pm says far more about you then it does about Less

Less You're probably right not to name and shame. Someone like that really isn't worth the energy thinking about their vileness. Hope you are ok.

BrianTheMole · 24/01/2014 20:36

What a cowardly cunt.

Yes, far more to the point than I was Grin

MadIsTheNewNormal · 24/01/2014 20:39

She is very unreasonable to give away their possessions. I would have dumped them in the back garden and told them where they could find them.

The rest? Well I will reserve judgement until I've heard exactly what kind of 'shitty tenants' they were.

Alisvolatpropiis · 24/01/2014 20:44

Some of you make me externally grateful my tenants are close friends of mine.

Anyone can have an off month or two and get the rent in late, fine. Routinely paying late is taking the piss and completely selfish. The LL might need your rent on time, mind blowing isn't it.

But as long as it's paid eventually right?

notundermyfoof · 24/01/2014 20:44

This place has gone mental just lately! LessMissAbs Flowers

Alisvolatpropiis · 24/01/2014 20:51

That's appalling LessMiss

CoolaSchmoola · 24/01/2014 21:07

Brian -Random didn't stop talking to the LL - she didn't answer the phone for three days, after repeatedly telling him, twice a day, for weeks exactly what they situation was, that they fully intended to pay the ONE MONTH they had missed because one of their children had DIED and another was in intensive care.

Yes of course the ll had the right to expect the rent to be paid, but that doesn't give them the right to phone twice a day, every day for weeks on end when the tenant has repeatedly explained, apologised and promised to pay as soon as hb came in.

Three DAYS of not answering the phone. It's hardly ignoring all contact after weeks of answering two calls a day. Two calls a day IS harassment though, and certainly impinges on the tenants legal right to enjoy their (rented) property.

Of course Random should have paid the rent once the hb came in, but had the ll not been so unreasonable I'm sure she would have paid the ONE month arrears as soon as she could, and then carried on paying ON TIME as she had for the previous 18 months.

Instead the LL lost hundreds and had to go down the eviction route because he decided that it was reasonable to harrass a previously good tenant over the non payment of one months rent, which she had promised to pay asap because one of her children DIED and the other was in NICU.

That ll, in that individual scenario was a bastard. And it bit him back.

BrianTheMole · 24/01/2014 21:18

Right, yep, I am aware her baby died, and yes I am still sorry her baby died, not sure why you are shouting it out in capitals. And I've already given my thoughts on random and her landlords situation, back there ^ so no need to repeat myself to you. Nothings changed, I still think the same. Just go back and read and apply it to this post if you like, instead of shouting Smile

FruitSaladIsNotPudding · 25/01/2014 12:43

Feelings are running pretty high here, aren't they. Not surprising really.

I stand by what I said earlier. Housing shouldn't be provided by private individuals in this way - it allows far too much emotion to get involved and time and time again you hear about LLs who really aren't in a sound financial position. As far as I'm concerned, if you cannot afford to legally evict non paying tenants, then you have absolutely no business being a LL. And before anyone jumps on me, no, I don't think it's ok to not pay rent/pay late. But LLs are, like it or not, in the position of responsibility.

I agree HB should be able to go straight to LLs, with the provision that if it has been unfairly awarded, the debt stays with the claimant, and not the LL.

We rented for a while, and it was ok, I had decent ish LLs (although one who was completely skint, which was a pain when the boiler went!), but there's no getting away from the fact that tenants are second class citizens in this country. It's absurd and upsetting for the (hundreds of thousands) of people who are forced to rent through no fault of their own.

Wibblypiglikesbananas · 25/01/2014 13:09

It's chicken and egg though. Hundreds of thousands are forced to rent as they can't afford to buy, but there wouldn't be places for them to rent without all the private landlords, and those private landlords in turn push up prices with their second/multiple properties and buy to lets. Agree with you though Fruit.

And just to illustrate that not all LL are bad, a few months back, my tenant's boiler broke. I got a call from the agent I use on the Thursday afternoon to say so, two engineers went round on the Friday and by the end of the Tuesday, so 5 days later, including a weekend, a new boiler had been installed. I don't think I could have got it any quicker, had I been living there myself. And we offered the tenant a discount on his rent due to the inconvenience...

etoo · 25/01/2014 13:27

The LL might need your rent on time, mind blowing isn't it.

It is indeed, because if that's the case they have no business being a landlord.

RandyRudolf · 25/01/2014 13:37

That's ridiculous, whether the LL is an individual, company or social landlord a contract is involved where the tenant has agreed to pay on time. It is the LL's business on what condition their finances might be in regarding whether or not they can manage being out of pocket due to none payment. They have every right to expect prompt payment regardless of their circumstances.

BrianTheMole · 25/01/2014 14:02

They have every right to expect prompt payment regardless of their circumstances.

Absolutely they have every right to, the same as any other business. Clearly some think that private landlords should operate as a charity.