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

[ballinacup]

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?

I agree. What an unpleasant thread filled with hate, spite and divisiveness.

Yes, well that seems to go both ways.

I almost hit the bottle myself Brian with the stress it caused me

If they were paying persistently late then I read that as they were still paying rent.

Surely in this case the tenant still had rights to the property (and obviously their own possessions) regardless of the changed locks.

The tenant has rights to the property until a court says that they don't, regardless of whether the rent is paid or not.

I almost hit the bottle myself Brian with the stress it caused me

Well, I don't suppose you had any spare money to hit the bottle that month anyway

People would be outraged if banks just turned up and changed the locks if mortgage payments were late, why are tenants somehow viewed as subhuman and entitled to less security of the roof over their head than homeowners?

^This!

And somewhere upthread or elsewhere on MN (I forget which) I have seen people say 'they are only tenants'. Why are tenants treated as second class citizens in this country? An awful lot of people rent. Most are not scum. Quite a few people own houses. Most are not scum. Home ownership does not reflect moral standing. (disclaimer: I am a home owner. I am also a tenant [complicated home/work situation]. I have never been a LL. I don't think that I am scum).

so what did the tenants do wrong?

She's broken the law. Tenants have rights, even where there is non-payment of rent over a long period of time. There are procedures to follow. Your colleague is going to get bitten on her arse on this.

I'm both a landlord and a tenant. You get good and bad in each camp.

OP - we probably don't know the full story here but with my tenant hat on, I'd expect my landlady to make a fuss if I didn't pay rent each month. Equally, as a landlord, as soon as anyone starts defaulting on rent, I'll serve them notice (and I do have insurance to cover such defaults but it doesn't kick in immediately, only after so many months' rent have been missed).

Randomaxe - I'm sorry, but it's people like you who give tenants a bad name. I agree with everything Brian has said re your posts.

What a depressing thread. Who would want to be a tenant in this country?

Thankfully the law will deal with this vile woman.

Okay so generally, it's agreed that this woman is a twat.

So, in light of that, WIBU to call the council and let them know she hasn't had a house clearance company in, she's given the stuff away and could get it back? Or should I keep my nose out?

I only say call the council as they were the people she was conducting a loud conversation with at her desk about the whole situation.

How vile, kicking people out illegally for late payment and keeping their things. I hope she is done for theft.

Even if they hadnt bern paying the rent what sort of person would give away someone elses baby things.

That's awful, I can sympathise with having bad tenants but to turf them out in the middle of winter with no notice, a baby and none of their possessions is downright despicable (and surely illegal)

Sh

Is there an estate agent not involved- private rent im guessing?

She's a test for being so.gleeful and malicious about selling the baby's things and she did v illegal to do do.it this way. She's unreasonable and a shit landlord.

They were shitty.tennants as well qnd also acted illegally as far as I.know from.my own tendency agreement you cannot just change the.locks if you are q tennant either with I thought.I saw op mention along with no rent pay. The ll had no right to enter and change back and take but I do.wonder how much they shot themselves.in the foot changing locks first. I.know on our agreement we are in breech of contract if we do that and can.be (legally.of course not like this) evicted.

They all sound shitty.all around. The ll just sounds the worse out of the bunch. I wonder if their lock.changing was to stop paying all rent though. I know that happened in the case of the house next door. Ll is the biggest shit for actions and glee but I wonder if the tennants were really shitty and gleeful themselves at late payments poss even considering not paying.

Op di'd you say anything to ll?

They were shitty.tennants as well qnd also acted illegally as far as I.know from.my own tendency agreement you cannot just change the.locks if you are q tennant either with I thought.I saw op mention along with no rent pay. The ll had no right to enter and change back and take but I do.wonder how much they shot themselves.in the foot changing locks first. I.know on our agreement we are in breech of contract if we do that and can.be (legally.of course not like this) evicted.

Paying the rent late is not illegal, ie you cannot be arrested for it, it is breach of contract though. Paying the mortgage late is not a crime so why would or should renting be any different?

Changing the locks is actually a good idea for security reasons for a lot of tenants especially those with dubious landlords. It may or may not be an enforceable contract term but unless you tell the landlord, how would they know anyway unless they tried to illegally enter your home? Landlords cannot enter the property without permission except in an emergency so there is no reason for them to be trying to open the door. As long as the original locks are replaced before the tenant leaves what is the issue?

So, in light of that, WIBU to call the council and let them know she hasn't had a house clearance company in, she's given the stuff away and could get it back? Or should I keep my nose out?

Doesn't sound unreasonable to me, she only has herself to blame if she gets into trouble for an illegal eviction and going round telling lies to the council.

So although they were paying late, they were actually paying.
They have done no damage to the property.
They changed the locks fearing that they would be illegally evicted?

She has illegally evicted them over a ridiculous reason.
Kept their belonging and denying them their babies things, to the point that she will give them away.

Makes you wonder what else the ll has done to them. Makes you wonder if she wasn't the ll from hell.

Clearly the issue is that the tenants are stealing the landlords service.

It amazes me that so many people think this is excusable.

And then wonder why landlords don't want to take HB tenants!

Unless I'm mistaken the OP has never once said anything about HB. But don't feel like you have to keep your prejudices bottled up.

I'm glad we rent through an agent. We paid our rent "persistently late" for months, as DH's boss was a cock and his pay was never quite right or on time. By persistently late, I mean within the 2 weeks after rent day before accruing interest as per our tenancy agreement. It was a struggle, but our agent understood and we were never more than two weeks late.

Either way, late rent or not, theft is theft and is illegal. I'm surprised the ex tenants haven't contacted the police.

It may be a good idea tingly etoo but did you miss the.part about being in breech of contract? Because the last three agreements I have had states that you cannot change without written permission and if you do then you are in breech and can be evicted.

So good idea or not it may well have breached there contract. Having had my ll just let herself in when I was vomiting with Boro I was fuming and in no state to argue. I would have loved to change locks but it was in breech of contract. Instead I gave notice and gave her noro.

Because the last three agreements I have had states that you cannot change without written permission and if you do then you are in breech and can be evicted.

That is a common term found in an AST but your typical AST is full of all sorts of legally unenforceable rubbish anyway, such as demanding the tenant professionally cleans the property before they leave. I wouldn't be at all surprised if saying you can't change the locks is unenforceable too.

And saying "if you do this you can be evicted" makes no real sense anyway as private tenants have little security of tenure and the landlord can evict them at relatively short notice without any reason at all.

A friend of mine had their rented property burgled by a previous tenant who used a copied key to let themselves in - not only did they have all their stuff taken but they had a nightmare claiming from the insurance because there was no forced entry. Again changing the locks is something a new homeowner typically does, so it's not unreasonable for a tenant to do it either (as long as they put the original locks back before they leave).

It's not excusable that they are stealing the landlords service. But there are legal measures in place to deal with it, and that is the road the landlord should take. Just like m&s would pursue you through the courts if you stole from them, rather than arranging for you to be mugged in the street. Or you would go to the police if you were assaulted, and not arrange for two big blokes to go round with a baseball bat. Etc.

Some posters seem to think we should return to Wild West law. Although only as far as tenants go. Obviously proper people should get proper legal rights.

I don't think I'd chance it especially if I wasnt paying rent late or not at all. If anyone on the thread ever has I'd be interested to know whether it was enforced or not.

Make that 'tenants on housing benefit' fruitSalad. They're the only one's who "steal" a landlords service, aren't they WooWooOwl?