To be pissed off at having just seen my tenants spending a load of cash whilst they're behind on rent?

[JennylovesRosie]

I am fed up to the back teeth.

This is the third month now where they're falling behind.

(I know them by their appearance and we have a mutual friend on a social networking site)

I have just seen them paying for a spa and no doubt it'll be up on social media next week (they like to brag and display all their newly acquired gains in Instagrammed glory.)

Next month my kids won't have the birthday parties they wanted because I'm subsidising these idiots living expenses and incurring charges as for their late/part payments.

Has anyone managed to get tenants out despite then not being 2 months late on rent. The Lettings agency have told me I'm stuck with them . Can I fine them?

They got a 12 fixed contract in January and surprise-surprise they started to default from day one of it.

I'm so upset.

There you go again with the it's so simple.

Might have been for you, but I imagine you can't see past your massive fuck off head ego.

Yes, please do & save us the pain of your ignorance & lack of empathy.

If you begrudge paying your landlord rent for the home that you don't own, a home that you don't maintain

Well i dont, for starters. Like i said upthread i have a fantastic landlord and what i get for my money wrt the house/location/LL/maintenance is worth it IMO. I have paid less in other houses and gotten far less in terms of value for money. I do not begrudge paying for my home and FYI the money I pay in rent, maintains the house. So yes. I maintain it.

Fine get go and get a mortgage and buy your own home. Its simple.

Its really not. You know this but pride or whatever is stopping you from acknowledging it.

its the old "do as i say not as i do"

Not nosey at all Handsoff,

I'm in council housing at the moment and I live in a beautiful house, it's actually a housing association not the council so it's a little different.
My plan is to save up (we are, extremely slowly though money is so tight at the moment) and hopefully buy with DH before we hit 35. It's a goal, we may not make it but the saving grace is HA/council houses will always be there for us.

I believe the HA we are renting from do some brilliant shared equity schemes so that is something we will look into, we won't be able to buy as any normal person would we'll need some kind of scheme/help. We really don't make enough money & have no parental help for deposits etc!

"Want to stop renting? Just save up and buy. Its easy. And in the meantime rent. Or, i mean, dont rent... Ummm sacrifices, umm never mind. I'll go now"

Close enough?

Wow Lamu, your lack of empathy general unpleasantness on this threadis fucking stunning.

So ownership is just a question of making sacrifices and working hard, right?

And then we find that you have been helped out in this totally level playing field by an inheritance, a brother as guarantor, reasonable income, no dependents to support while saving.

Yep, if you can do it, anyone can bunch of lazy, freewheeling bastards.

This: www.independent.co.uk/voices/chasing-the-home-ownership-dream-is-harming-britain-we-need-to-learn-to-rent-like-the-europeans-a6827981.html

Wow this thread got interesting last night! Like that bit in a western where they're all sitting happily playing cards and drinking whisky in the saloon, then suddenly the piano player strikes up and a massive punch up breaks out. Definitely some chairs being broken over heads and people leaving via the window

Fwiw I think you have to admit that luck and timing are the crucial elements of getting some one onto the BTL ladder. Luck in the sense of being in a position to be able to make sacrifices and timing with regards to the market.

Sorry toddler crying I'll be back

It's never been easy. What we can do for our children is ensure they work really hard as teenagers, get very high exam results even if that means few parties! Then that they pick a career which has high pay rather than the becoming an actor kind of careers where you know they'll end up earning very little. Then buy as early as they can and always before they have chidlren even if it's a studio flat hovel an hour from work. Those things can improve your luck in the area of property buying by quite some margin. It is always worth as an adult looking at what choices you made when younger in terms of career and how many hours you work etc and whom you married so see how you can ensure your children don't make a similar mistake which has meant you weren't able to buy a flat.

You have my full sympathy. My husband and I are reluctant landlords. We bought our house 8 years ago but then I fell pregnant and my husband was posted hundreds of miles away, armed forces. At the time selling wasn't even an option because the housing market was dreadful, so we had to rent whilst we moved into military accommodation. We have a savings account to cover emergencies for the house but it's amazing how quickly this gets drained; a new fence, a new outhouse roof, a new dishwasher, tree surgery - there's always something and we aren't tycoons, it takes time to replenish the funds!
We have had difficulties with our current tenant, including late payment of rent but our tenancy agreement is very strict about these things and late payment is grounds for a written warning and then eviction if we wished to go down that route. Our tenant has already been reluctantly served which a long, detailed written warning (after months of problems, not just the rent) and things are much better at the moment, communication has improved and that was our main problem.
I agree that you need to get some proper advice Jenny, go through the fine print on your contract too because it does sound like you've been lumped with tenants who know exactly how to scam you. I also agree that the headache is not worth it! I hate being a landlord but my husband insists we persevere until he come out and we are in a position to settle and buy - then we can finally sell this millstone of a house!

our tenancy agreement is very strict about these things and late payment is grounds for a written warning and then eviction if we wished to go down that route

Do you understand that the law supersedes your tenancy agreement? Do you understand that you can't evict tenants without going to court, and that the judge will consider the law and the circumstances,not what is in the tenancy agreement?
No tenancy agreement supersedes tenancy law. Another inaccurate belief held by accidental landlords.

OP I feel for you. This is your old home and you've had someone trash it and then these chancers. There's nothing wrong with what you're doing - you're having a landlord manage it, you have insurances in place. You just want your bloody rent.

OP, I'd be chasing up your agent to do their job & liaise with your tenants, then follow the correct processes.

Bad tenants are always tricky. With my last one, it was all I could do to grit my teeth & be pleasant despite his fuckwittery.

And then have a close look at your agent & the contract they use. Personally, I only offer 6 month contracts initially, and more importantly the agency I (very carefully) selected offer a rent guarantee if tenants don't pay. Also check if your LL insurance covers legal expenses.

Unfortunate shit tenants are just part of the deal when you're a LL, despite the best of background checks.

And perhaps consider posting in Property/DIY for more measured advice rather than AIBU it's not for the faint-hearted

My husband and I are reluctant landlords
no you are people who didn't want to sell at the market value, of course selling was an option, you just weren't prepared to accept a fair price for the property at the time.

If you'd sold a family could be living there, with their hard earned income invested into their secure future

Of course you would prefer to keep the house and use it to funnel someone else's hard earned income into your pockets

Not read the full thread but I wonder if anyone knows the actual reasons why HB started being paid direct to the tenant rather than the landlord. It used to always go straight to the landlord. I remember reading that the government wanted people to manage their own finances and be more prepared for when they came off benefits. Surely they wouldn't be that naive. It seems to be a massive problem now, tenants with children safe in the knowledge that the council will rehouse them when they eventually get evicted ( at massive cost to the landlord). It's now a lifestyle choice for many, just don't pay the rent. It's madness, HB should go direct to the landlord.

Handsoff you know pagen didn't mean that.

Actually I did read the clause as a couple of other people did. It wasn't clear to me either.