TRying to sell the house with tenants in - undisclosed dog

[Newbrummie]

So had a viewing at the house yesterday and the patio was covered in dog shit, as was the garden. I figured it would take a few months to sell so was happy for them to stay whilst it was on the market. Am now starting to think this is going to be impossible isn't it ?
Can I afl them to remove the dog for the rest of the tenancy ?

Newbrummie What terms have they breached? Even if the have broken some term, you still need to go to court to evict them which is time consuming!

Pominoz1 I'm trying to make it as painless as possible for everyone

I don't appreciate inspections so you know thought they'd be happier without them. OMG!

You see, with inspections you/the clerk could have noted the dog, the dog poo and possibly some of the other breaches you know suspect.

Condition checks/interim inspections are part of the proper scheme of things.

Having been a tenant I always made sure the property was in almost end of tenancy condition for inspections. As a clerk I note clutter, dirt, odour, signs of smoking, pets etc. I never know whether they are allowed or not, I just note them as part of the general condition. This gives agent/landlord chance to plan for end of tenancy etc.

You can't not do them 'just because'! That really doesn't instill much confidence...

OP I can assure you there will be nothing 'quick' about their eviction if they stop paying their rent I can assure you. It is a very long and very expensive process for the LL. buyers are going to be reluctant about a house witj sitting tenants. We've not purchased property for this reason alone before. Dog poo is the least of your worries here

Madison - do you realise most people don't choose to rent? It's because they can't afford to own, not because it's easier. (Although not saying it doesn't suit some).

For most people they have to take what they can afford, they get furniture in to suit the property, decorate, etc and at any point the landlord could pull the plug.

Some have additional difficulties such as having pets, children, or being on housing benefit which means many landlords won't take them, so their choice of properties is very restricted.

My personal situation requires me to have a semi-accessible property. It took two years to find one on the private market (while also waiting for council housing, which just doesn't exist). I've settled here, spent a lot on the property, have much loved pets. If I had to move I would be more than devastated, and likely homeless as there just aren't these kind of properties available.

It is absolutely my home, and I love it as much as I would my own. But anytime the rug could be pulled out with devestating consequences.

Oh dear. It gets worse.

NewBrummie you may not intend to but you come accross as someone who knows very little and who flies of the handle very quickly.

I have been a tenant for many years due to some unfortunate circumstances. Off course when we rent is it " our home" not our landlords (or landlady as this one prefers to be called) it is their property OUR home..

Yes you get attached to a home. We lived in the last one for almost 9 years and did really love it and was sad to go. Despite having always known that we would have to when our then landlord returned from living overseas (Sadly 2 years before we had thought due to his current job)

If your contract doesn't mention pets no they dont need to ask permission.
Our last said no pets. Landlord allowed fish and a rabbit when we asked.

New place says pets to be agreed with landlady. (we no longer have any)

In both cases if we had taken in pets we would have been in breech of contract. If it was not mentioned in the contract we would not have been in breach to get a pet (even if it was a giraffe)

With regards to the deposit. There are strict rules as to what can be taken off and it is not the landlords decision what can and can not be taken off. if you do not get what you expect then no you cant " simply sue the guarantors"

No you do not need to allow viewings. There can be plenty of reasons as to why to say no. Many years ago when dh and I were renting from a friend we said no viewings until after we moved out due to my being very sick and I was not ok with people walking into the house. (it sold a month after we left so he was not out of pocket much)
It does not automatically mean that the tenants are being difficult.

Speak to them and simply ask for them to clean up the dog mess before vieiwings and prior to leaving.

As a tenant I have never cared about inspections APART from when they give me 24 hours notice. That I did care about. My work simply can not accommodate that. Previous estate agents got very arsy with me over this. (however could not do much as I had every right to say I didn't want them in the house without one of us present - we never refused a viewing just said we wanted it at a time one of us could be present) Current agency called and asked when would be a good time. - worked well for us both.

however if you want to sell I suggest you simply speak nicely to them and you likely will find that they will leave quickly and without much of a difficulty for you.

The problems with tenants is the worry that they will refuse to leave on the day they should. Seeing dog poop everywhere will also be a sign that they don't respect the property, and are maybe not trashing it, but at least not maintaining it and the new buyer will have to spend thousands fixing things that have been neglected. Surveys don't cover everything.

Read threads where tenants are happy to dry their clothes on radiators, don't ventilate the house, are a bit careless with plumbing or boilers. Some tenants are amazing, but others are a nightmare. The OP tenants are sending the worst possible signals.

I also forgot to mention that the last time we moved between agency fees, deposit and other costs it cost £3.5k. I'm unable to work, this is not money I have.

I certainly wouldn't respond well to having my cleanliness commented on during an inspection. Probably wouldn't let them in again

I ve lived in a few rentals and have had a landlord visit the property 11 times in 8 weeks! Some of them were unannounced. We only lived there for 8 weeks and we moved out!

Another property was under a letting agent who came every 3 months (i much preferred this out of the other rentals)

We now live in a house that we have been in for nearly 4 years. Its not managed by a letting agent and i have never seen the landlady in all that time! The last time i saw her was when she handed over the keys.

She did no inventory or anything. She takes ages to sort anything out and she sometimes goes abroad without telling us or leaving an emergency contact number! I hate with way of doing things. I really wish she would take an interest in the property.

GlitterNails And neither do I ... all those cheering on my tenants potentially fucking me over makes me laugh, ex and I worked for the past 30 years for that house and it's all that stands between me and my kids spending the rest of our lives in and out of rental accommodation or trying to get social housing and I look after my rented house !

No one is cheering them on, it's just the hard reality of running a business. Why rent to people no one else wanted to rent to? Why reduce the rent from market rent AND accept a guarantor? This was doomed from the day they moved in.

Trainspotting

Perfectly normal to comment on cleanliness. Some tenants don't clean regularly, just for inspections so it's very necessary.

The landlord has no authority to tell me to clean the house or dictate how I live in it. That is not their right.

Even if they are in breach of contact you still have to issue notice in the normal way with notice. You still cannot just chuck them out. You seem to think you have more powers than you have.

Who's cheering your tenants on?

Can you demand that they clean up the patio and pick up after their dog every day. They should be doing that anyway, nothing to do with owning or renting

OP I hope they make your life a misery - you deserve all you get.

Newbrummie You're tenants have done NOTHING wrong! You're the one trying to 'fuck them over' by looking for excuses to try and get them out ASAP instead of just serving notice.

You're obviously a dodgy LL who has not protected their deposit and has no real idea what they're doing.

Trainspotting1984 Theres clauses in our agreement about standards of hygiene.... I think that covers dog shit in most reasonable people's opinion

Trainspotting

They can tell you to keep the house clean by threatening notice and if you don't comply serving notice once the contract is up. The property would probably have to be rank before a ll decided to take such drastic action. Think never cleaning kitchen/sanitary ware/hoovering etc.

Of course she can't demand isadora. You can live how you like in your own home.

LouBlue1507 I've repeatedly said, I'm in no rush to sell and I have done everything I'm supposed to do legally, I just want the shit picking up.

iamavodkadrinker thank you that's so sweet of you 😍