Frustrated with tenants?

[thankunextex]

I’m trying to view a house and the tenants have refused to let me view it both times. Appointments been booked in advance and then they say it’s not a good time an hour before.

I get it if you don’t want to actually leave the property (not sure if that’s the situation or not) but I’m just being messed around now.

Thankfully, I was able to sell my flat quickly. If I hadn't been, I would have had to let it out.

No, you would have chosen to let it out so as to be in a financially better position than if you weren’t. It’s a smart financial choice. Not accidental.

The tenants may want a reference from the LL so it's a bit daft of them not to allow a viewing.

It isn’t always. I rented my parents’ empty and newly refurbished house because I didn’t want it standing empty over the winter. The rent was incidental.

Do you mean it isn’t always a choice?

I understand some people become accidental landlords but if you can't afford to cope with a few months with the property empty how do these people manage if something big needs doing to the house like the roof or the boiler or something like that?

Can you afford to pay a mortgage for several months on a property you’re not living in? Lots of people can’t & some of those will be people who own a house they’ve needed to rent out. Not all landlords are purely landlords doing it as a business.

The landlord's financial situation is not the tenant's problem. They're problem is paying the rent and finding another place to live when given notice. It is their home whilst they are paying the rent, it's space for hire. A business transaction. And they don't have to allow viewings.

We stopped allowing them because the EA's are dicks who treat tenants like shit. Every one of them. They'd say they were 'just round the corner' and wanted to 'pop in' when we were in the middle of dinner/sex/in the shower, etc., come in with their key with no notice (this is common), pull us up on the flat not being 'viewing ready' or having packed boxes out (hello, we're moving), even had some who expected us to do their job showing the viewers round! Bullshit the EA arranged with the tenant and the tenant cancelled, more like the lying EA never bothered to schedule anything, chanced their arm and got knocked back. EA's lie through their teeth.

We even tried offering one weekend afternoon for viewings or an evening or two during the week. Nope, they all pulled stunts like this. Basically just wanted to keep coining in the rent whilst they sold. Got sick of it and said no after a while.

Then you have snotty viewers 'Can't you go out and 'grab a coffee' whilst we look round?' Nope. You're the 4th person who's been in here today and I don't want strangers pawing round in my stuff without my being there. Nope, don't trust the EA for shit because they're lying ratbags working for the LL.

Jessica's right, you can't really be a decent landlord if you are sailing that close to the wind financially, but hey, blame the tenant.

Just find another house to buy.

Maybe they already have been told they won’t get one? We actually have very little information here, just a claim by a prospective owner who presumably is not dealing directly with tenants- as you shouldn’t be.

If the tenants have been given notice to vacate, they’ll have a few months to find a place and pack up. It’s really annoying to have viewings while that’s going on so maybe a couple of times ended up being inconvenient. Who knows? If they’ve secured a new home they’ll have gone through the reference process. Maybe they’ve had a lot of viewings already and want some peace in their final weeks? There is very little information here and a lot of hypotheticals. Upshot is, it’s better to conduct viewings for buyers when it’s vacant, so as to allow the tenant quite enjoyment.

My DH and I, before marriage and renting a shitty little place, had an EA barge in early Sunday morning and come right into our bedroom with a family behind them, while we were having sex. Really. So I’m afraid, most tenants have suffered inconsiderate, rude and entitled EA’s & LL’s and quite rightly set strict limits on viewings. I certainly did after that!

Exactly, Jessica, it's incredibly common to have EAs just barge in. They don't give a shit about the tenant. We got sick of it after a while and started saying NO and definitely after we'd secured another place to live. Needed to focus on packing and making sure the flat was clean, not flogging their property for them.

It's incredibly common to have EAs just barge in

Certainly is. I remember being off work with a horrible D&V bug and the EA and landlord just letting themselves in. I'd already said no to a viewing that day, because I was at home being violently ill, so they just decided I was making it up and let themselves in.

Another one guessing that the tenants haven’t just changed their mind about the viewing but weren’t informed by the LA.

I know it would have been a choice, I chose to sell the flat. I wouldn't have wanted the hassle of letting it out. But it wouldn't have been a planned business decision. It just happened to be the case that my DH and I both had properties to sell.

That's what the term 'accidental landlord' would mean to me.

I have had lettings agents walk in to properties three times that I know of. Thankfully I rent direct from my landlord now but I would never bend over backwards to accommodate letting agents or estate agents.

When I was looking to buy there were a few really nice places that had tenants, but it put me off putting an offer in as at the lime a friend was renting a place and it had been sold, she was told to wai5 to b3 evicted before the council would rehome her. This meant the buyer had to wait for court hearings etc which took months (I think close to a year) before they could complete. I felt for my friend but also the seller and buyer. There was no way I wanted that kind of stress so I on,y viewed vacant or non rental properties

When i was renting our agent used to let himself in constantly. We were in one place 5 years and every sodding year they decided we were students and would be moving on in the summer so started showing groups of prospective tennants round in Jan/Feb sort of time for the next acedemic year. They'd just turn up and i worked nights at the time so they'd regularly barge into me bedroom while i was sleeping. Used to make me so angry.
Its really not unlikely the tennants are being perfectly helpful but the agent is arranging your viewings before checking with the tennants that its convenient

I was a renter in that position. We were happy to accommodate viewings but drew a line in our absence. I refused to have somebody in and be in danger of damage or theft.

Even with viewing with us at home the estate agent once arrived with three parties at the same time and let them just loose, it was a nightmare trying to keep track of who was where (and the house was small).

In your position I would ask the agent to speak with the landlord and come to some kind of compromise or walk away.

I see an accidental landlord as someone who has become a landlord as a result of unexpected life experiences rather than someone who has bought a btl with the express purpose of becoming a landlord. Regardless of what you call them they are likely to have a slightly different attitude to people who have set out to run a business.

They certainly won't be getting a reference off the landlord. I'd be fairly wary and wouldn't exchange until they are out

They will have been told to stay until the bitter end and bailiffs are at the foor9, in order to secure a council place.
Also it's their home. Would you let random people wander round your house?

Can you afford to pay a mortgage for several months on a property you’re not living in? Lots of people can’t & some of those will be people who own a house they’ve needed to rent out. Not all
landlords are purely landlords doing it as a business
But renting a house out is a business, its obliged to pay tax etc. If someone doesn't want to be a landlord then sell the house. At whatever price.

That's what the term 'accidental landlord' would mean to me
But its (or it should be) a considered decision, pros and cons rated, possible yield calculated after tax, insurance, void periods etc.
That's not accidental. That's a decision made with all available knowledge. Frankly if no thought has been given to the important job of being a landlord, then that person should not be one.

@Badwifey A contract cannot override the law.

No landlord is "accidental". You dont accidentally rent out a house. If you end up deciding it'd be better for you to rent then sell then you have to play by the rules.

even had some who expected us to do their job showing the viewers round!

We had some that did this! I'd have been furious to be paying for that 'service' if I was the LL. We agreed to do it a few times anyway and that was the way we found out that the EA was telling viewers we'd already handed in our notice and would be leaving in six weeks - which wasn't true.

It's sensible to think about getting a reference from the LL when you're the tenant in that position. But there comes a point when you have to draw a line somewhere about what's happening in your own home. We agreed to viewings twice a week, one weekday evening and one weekend morning, and we agreed to keep the place looking like a show-home at those times, and we showed viewers around for the sodding estate agents, and we had a small baby at the time and hadn't wanted to move in the first place anyway. We hit our limits at being accommodating when the EAs kept arranging viewings outside times we'd agreed with them and expecting to rock up any time of day with half an hour's notice.

My favourite experience of this, as a tenant, was the random couple that turned up and let themselves into my home for a viewing I hadn't been told about (that should have been cancelled anyway as they had no agent available). The EA swore that they'd called his mobile and left a message, but he'd had no such call!

I had bent over backwards to allow viewings. Estate Agents lie. A LOT.

I wouldn't assume the tenants are at fault here.

I had it written into the lease they signed that they have to give reasonable access for viewers.

You can't enforce that, though. It's a standard clause in every lease I've ever seen, but it doesn't mean anything.

It's about time action was taken to stop unenforceable clauses being inserted into tenancies. Some kind of penalty for LLs trying it on. They're legally unenforceable but many tenants don't realise that and so put up with impositions they shouldn't have to.

My favourite experience of this, as a tenant, was the random couple that turned up and let themselves into my home for a viewing I hadn't been told about (that should have been cancelled anyway as they had no agent available). The EA swore that they'd called his mobile and left a message, but he'd had no such call!

It's so unsafe for tenants to have keys handed out to randomers. I remember these kinds of shenanigans from my renting days. If i ever had to rent again, I'd just change the Yale cylinder after the first incident of people letting themselves in unannounced, and debate the rights and wrongs later. You don't even know, when you move in, how many precious occupants might still have keys.

ive booked the viewing always on a weekday at mid morning so as not to inconvenience anyone as chances are most people and children are not at home then.

These viewings are booked a week in advance.

I’m buying it to move in myself.

I have no idea if they have been evicted.

I also think it shouldn’t be on the market if no one can view it.