To think it's fucking shit if a tenant can get away with this???

[NamechangerRanger6]

My parents are landlords. My dad has unfortunately passed away so my mum handles it alone now. The last tenant was in the house for 8yrs. 3yrs ago being in and out of hospital and ill health meant that my mum stopped inspecting. There had been no issues at any inspections so it just didn't enter her head. She did however plan to inspect last year. I know this is heavily naive and if I knew this to be the case at the time I'd have advised her differently and offered to step in for inspections myself.

6 months ago the tenant very suddenly gave notice and moved out, mum went to inspect (I drove her) when the tenant had already left (the tenant wrote a letter and posted the key with it, so there was no time to inspect) What we found was absolute filth. Human and animal shit. Piss up the walls. Rotting food, the original furniture provided with the house was smashed to bits. Parts of the doors smashed in. The patterned red carpet was so dirty it looked a dark brown and you could see no pattern. There was a wet pile of bin bags up against the kitchen door, covered in fruit flies and maggots and god knows what else. I suspect this was the cause of the mold behind the door (the only mold on any fixtures we found - plenty of moody food, clothes and bits of carpet tho) Ashtrays turned up everywhere. The sofa had fag burns all over. Toilet ripped off the wall, bathroom sink smashed on the floor. Light fixtures hanging out by wires. There's more but honestly it would take all day to write it all. I can't think of anything that's been left undamaged.

Since then, the holes in the walls have been filled in and doors replaced. Carpets ripped up. A team of cleaners got the worst of the cleaning done. The total bill for this so far is £8000 (the cleaning alone was 2800, Trust me when I say I don't blame them for that price. It was horrific and I couldn't stand in the house for more than 10 seconds without heaving). Furniture cleared out etc etc.

My mum has sent the bill for all work to the now ex tenant, there was an initial response where they offered a £15 a month payment plan. My mum cried to me about it but accepted (fearing that if she pushed they'd pay nothing) after 2 months they stopped paying. She cannot at this time afford to have further works done. The total to have everything replaced even using the cheapest materials and not replacing like for like is about £35,000. She's looking at selling but has been advised that she'll be looking at maybe £45,000 as a sale price in the state it's in (in decent condition the house would be worth approx £150k).

My mum has been in contact with a solicitor but via some digging we've found out that the tenant has left the country - for Australia. Solicitor advises that if this is the case mum has an extremely slim chance of actually recovering any monies owed and chasing it across the globe would cost thousands upon thousands and likely require an international debt collection agency of some kind and the tenant can easily just ignore it.

Aibu to think this is fucking shit?
I know that my mum should've done things differently but it seems very unfair that you can just book a flight and go to skip out on your financial responsibilities

She was fine with letting the property run into the ground while the money was still coming in and didn't want to part with even some of that money to outsource to someone who would look after the property.

As a PP said if it hadnt ended up trashed her tightness and disregard for her tennants could have resulted in much worse: loss of life.

I would HOPE that she is not the kinda landlord that the law would protect if she pursued it that way

I know that some landlords are awful but so are some Tenants
My mil rented a house to a family and bent over backwards to help them both financially and otherwise. They totally took the piss and ended up owing her thousands in rent and causing £100000 of damage by the time they left

It’s a risk I would take .Can you track them down and shame them . Send photographs to their new employer ? Get in touch with immigration ? This would make my blood boil . I’d find it very difficult to let this go

Anyone who treats someone else's property like that should be done for criminal damage.

Also, can I just repeat that she was able enough to get someone to inspect the property THE NEXT DAY when she heard the money wasn't going to keep coming!!! But was too ill to set foot in it (or ask someone to) for maintenance checks 3 years prior to that

Your Mum is being scammed by the quotations she has received. This may well have been because she told the companies involved that the costs were going to be passed on to the tenant. Some tradesmen would take this as carte blanche to produce the most costly possible estimate.

She needs to get some from local recommended tradesmen - most areas have a local forum online. You can ask there or just walk down the street and ask at any house where work is being done or has clearly been done. It would take 1/2 an hour to do this?

The house sale price also seems incorrect if your online research is correct. 5 minutes to call another two Estate Agents and get another couple of valuations.

Why are you and your Mum wasting your time getting angry at someone who almost certainly had mental health issues? 1 hour at your computer and on the phone and this might all be in a far better place.

lynmilne
It’s a heavy duty odour neutralising agent. I assume they are still used. I’ve never had one used in my properties but I know cleaners use them for stubborn pet smells and the like. Idk what it looks like tbh. I just know they’re used. They are “set” and then the property must be vacated, doors and windows to remain shut for a couple of days.

It doesn't sound like your mum is in a good place. I suggest you take over getting the quotes and work done and selling it.

I like mybuilder because they are local trademen and they have only actual customer reviews on there.

You must get more quotes. 35K sounds frankly ridiculous. As does the 45 to 150 so you need more agents round.

If you can and are willing you need to take this over. It sounds as though your mum is being taken for a ride again.

Mybuilder is excellent. It's where I got mine.

In her mum's favour, though, if she hadn't heard from the tenant that any repairs needed to be done, she might have thought she was being a good landlady by leaving them alone. As posters on here have said, tenants don't like frequent inspections.

Your mum is being scammed.

Using tradespeople through the agent can be risky. The cleaners my agent uses now charge a whopping £40 an hour to landlords, £20 if not. I wanted a light dust and wipe round on my property, which has been completely refurbed and they wouldn’t come out for less than £80 for a half hour job. A really kind woman at the letting agent did it for me.

The agent also charges a fee for arranging certain works.

The other option is to sell it as it is. People DO take on clearance projects if they can pick up the property for a bargain. I know a few people who bought hoarders homes where you couldn't even view because it was the only way they could afford a property that size/area so they were willing to do the work after getting it for the right price.

This is all very tangled but I’d go to the police. Surely it’s criminal damage.

I’d get it put right, by taking a mortgage out on it and re let it using a proper agent. They inspect, they organise repairs. The fees are absolutely worth it. My sister lives in work accommodation and rents her own home out using an agent. Regular inspections happen. She evicted a family for putting a massive hole in the downstairs wall and breaking part of the shower. The deposit covered it, the agent took care of everything and she was not out of pocket a single penny.

its a civil matter, police won't care. plus tenant is now in Australia.

Landlord/ tenant is a civil matter, forget the police. Even with this kind of revolting trashing. Usually means dealers but not necessarily.

BTW don't be too harsh on lack of inspections - still takes months to evict even once you find the mess.

And as tenants can and do take sledgehammers to places, self insurance may be a thought. Malicious damage from legal occupiers (which tenants are) is excluded from many buildings policies. Be aware.

Finally, it is probably worth getting legal advice to prove abandonment and be sure this tenancy is formally ended. The bugger could come back and sue for illegal eviction.

mybrilliant but we don't know he hadn't. For all anyone knows he did report lots of problems and nothing was done. I think it's most likely to be a bit of both tbh. A scruffy tenant is unlikely to attach much importance to the yellow marks appearing on the wall, the low water pressure, the mortar becoming a bit loose round the sink etc, and a ll like ops mum is unlikely to act on anything so small. And small problems quickly escalate.

35k is not a lot and I don't think you are being scammed. You need a few firms to inspect and evaluate the works to be done. My partner and I buy 3 bed houses and usually spend 25-35k doing them up ourselves. Tearing down ceilings isn't a five minute job, there's boarding, plastering, electrics, and decorating involved. Kitchens and bathrooms are what sell houses, so I wouldn't go too low end on these. No need for laminate as bare boards will suffice when selling. Do it up to what they call a builders standard, i.e, magnolia walls throughout and cheap pendant light fittings.
Can't you or your mum secure a loan against the property to get it refurbished for the sellers market?

Me too Bluelady for all sorts of things including plumbing and electrics. Always been happy with prices and work.

£35k is outrageous. Don't listen!

In her mum's favour, though, if she hadn't heard from the tenant that any repairs needed to be done
When we were the remnants in this situation we weren't ABLE to report repairs
He didn't answer his mobile. His wife told us off if we called the landline when he was ill in hospital. We were never given an alternative number to call if he was unavailable due to I'll health, so many less urgent repairs went in reported.
We had to really fight/push for a call back for major issues.

remnants = tennants

P.s. DH is in the trade and said that a full clear out and refurb would cost him up to 30K on a small/average house to self manage if it needed all new kitchen and bathroom/plumbing

Surely she must have building insurance at least?!?!? That would cover some of it. If she doesn't even have that (what about Fire?!?!) then I'm afraid I have no sympathy. Pure laziness

And I say that as someone who has lost their Dad, which left my mum being chased for tens of thousands by HMRC (long story - pls don't ask) so similar issue in terms of sudden debt.

We've had similar it's a risk you take unfortunately some tenants are scum some are great until they move in you can't really tell and insurance won't cover her. The high cost is for someone else to do the work and sounds about right, highish but in the right ball park.

Landlords insurance exists for this very reason, amongst others. Unfortunately, given that it's lapsed and was allowed to lapse, has taught an incredibly sad and harsh lesson by the looks of things.