AIBU to raise the rent!? Long sorry.......

[Fizzielove]

A few years ago we decided to move house to be closer to elderly family, no point in selling our house (in my name) as the market had dropped and we’d just break even. So we decided to rent it out. A family member was offered the house and eventually decided that yes they would like it – we are currently giving them mates rates at a discounted rate of £150 off the rent – this was on the understanding that they would look after and maintain the house as if it were their own and we would be responsible for major issues. They insisted on moving in a week early and didn’t pay rent for that early week as they were still paying rent on their old place!! This was supposed to be a week for us to clear the house, paint a few things that needed doing like the newly plastered kitchen ceiling – they said don’t worry – we’ll do it cos we know we’re moving in early – fair enough! It’s some years later and it still isn’t painted!! Family member was our childminder and didn’t give us mates rates and was actually more expensive to use than other local nurseries / childminders, etc. in the end we couldn’t afford to continue using this person. So the annoyance – it may seem like a little thing but it’s annoying! The bathroom paint in one of the bathrooms is peeling – family member had agreed a weekend for DH to come and ‘help’ strip it back so that it can be sealed again - family member decided ‘nah’ – and pissed off out and left my DH to work at it himself – it took all day. When DH asked about both of them working at it in the evening he was told that family member was too busy to be doing it during the week – when asked what it was he was told ‘life stuff’ – now this family member has no kids and no real responsibilities – my DH has a disabled wife and 2 small children – and he was prepared to ‘help’ – I am nothing short of tearing my hair out!! It seems so selfish!! Family member told me he had already repainted the area – but I checked it and there’s no way it has had anything done!!

WIBU to raise their rent to cover the cost of getting someone in fix issues in the house?

As your agreement was oral it is the same as a written agreement. However you still need to give them the 2 months notice for any changes. If they agree to the rent increase then get a tenancy agreement signed which you can buy from WH Smith or similar. They sign for 6 months, no need to resign after that as the contract rolls over automatically from month to month. They give 1 month notice to move out and you have to give 2 months notice for any changes before the date rent is paid.

www.adviceguide.org.uk/england/housing_e/housing_renting_a_home_e/tenancy_agreements.htm

"this was on the understanding that they would look after and maintain the house as if it were their own and we would be responsible for major issues"
Sounds like you both had a different interpretation of that "understanding".
EA's in to appraise current market value for both sale and rental, a proper tenancy agreement and 2 months notice of rent increase would be my advice.
If you have a sale valuation you can always tell your tenant that you are running the house at a loss and have to either raise the rent or sell it. That might give you some leverage if they'd rather pay a bit more than have the hassle of moving. That said, they clearly don't appreciate the good deal that they have now, so I'd personally get rid.

If you were in Scotland you would have created simply by taking rent a secure Assured Tenancy instead of a Short Assured Tenancy which means they can stay there as long as they like.

I'm not sure if messing up the English assured shorthold tenancy is so catastrophic but frankly putting the rent up may be the least of your worries.

The problem with a verbal agreement is that one person's "look after and maintain the house as if it were their own" is different to another.

As a LL myself, I'd repaint the bathroom if the paint was peeling. It's been 3 years. I'd also look into fitting an extractor fan.

If your family member didn't do mates rates when they were your childminder, then more fool you for doing mates rates for them.

You need to formalise this arrangement and charge them accordingly.

I find that amateurish landlords aren't very good for tenants' interests, and it seems, from your story, that amateurish landlords aren't very good for their own interests, either!

You can save their face by saying you can't afford not to sell, so give notice, tart it up renovate properly then be "talked into" letting it again, on a sustainable and emotionally detatched basis. Then you snd DH won't actually mind doing the DIY without tenant involvement (which is actually the way it should work).

(Did I understand correctly that your DC were minded there?)

Give them two months' notice, say you're increasing the rent at that point and you want to put an AST agreement in place.

If they don't like it, they can move and you can get someone in who will actually pay market rate.

It baffles me why you'd be willing to run this at a loss. You should at least charge enough rent to cover your mortgage.

I meant to add that there already is a fan!

The rent covers the mortgage - but not the insurance, ground rent, rates or maintenance fees. I was brought up with a very small family and we all dote on each other and treated each other very well. So I extended my soft spot for family to DH family and now I see that not everyone behaves like that :-( BTW - for those who mentioned protecting a deposit - all very well but - I didn't take a deposit from them!!

The DC are no longer minded there - in fact we are in very little contact apart from if there are issues with the house - unless I go out of my way to call and visit socially!

Don't get me wrong - I know they are good tenants! I will not cut off my nose despite my face - I'm just pissed that I know it's condensation damage and we are gonna foot the bill.

I've arranged to Environmental Health to visit to check that it's not damp just in case there are other issues underlying the peeling paint problem - hopefully not.

Outcome: -
We will get it fixed.
I am am joining a Landlords association.
I am sorting out the tenancy agreement.
And I will be upping their rent.

If they don't like it they can move - or buy it!

don't forget that legal insurance. If there's no deposit then of course there's nothing to protect - but you are vulnerable.

lots of people have ridiculously lengthy showers and a fan may not cope - or some people disable/block them. Learnt that one the hard way...

Would an option be to get the house valued and then put it on the market? If they want to buy it fine if not and your happy to continue renting then tell them you need a tenancy agreement and this is what the new rent will be (check out fair local rents)

Sort out the HMRC thing, by declaring things like the council tax, insurance etc you may owe them very little. Could always use the tax bill as an excuse re the sale etc.

This is so simple, I'm afraid. This is your asset. Time to reboot this situation. Take the house back, pay someone to do the running repairs, place the while thing in the hands of an agent, get a tenant who is checked and a proper deposit. The increased rent will more than cover the agent fees - which are generally 12 to 15%. You cannot have a property with "no responsibility". You need to step up and take control of this situation. Otherwise you're going to be asking whether YABU about a lot more than a bathroom ceiling. Btw I don't think your relative is "at fault" because the situation that you have set up makes such behaviour pretty inevitable at some point. What I mean is, you don't need to do this in a spirit of blame or accusation. Just that this current set-up has reached the end of its useful life and it's time to put this whole thing on a proper footing - for all of you. Otherwise you can wave goodbye to good family relationships because this is going nowhere. So yes - YABU - you need to take control of this situation.