Desperately need some advice!

[IThinkIJustShatMyself]

My parents recently retired and have moved into their ‘dream home’ in their dream location. To afford to do this, they’ve rented out their family home on a two year contract. The people renting their house have been a nightmare, breached the contract multiple times, have tried to run a business from the house (against the contract and my parents mortgage agreement), have moved in extra people who they didn’t declare on the tenancy agreement. This month, they’ve only paid half the rent. My parents are panicking. They can only afford their dream home while their family home is rented out. Not what they need just before Christmas! They’ve also refused to let anyone in to inspect the property, so my parents are worried about damage they’re causing/have caused with the business. Is there anything we can do? Obviously my parents want them to leave, but legally can they end the contract early? Can they insist on an inspection if they’re worried about damage to the property? What can we do?

From watching nightmare tenants slum landlords I'd say get legal advice as soon as possible to get them out.
An eviction notice can take time then you often need bailiffs to enforce it.

Suggest they get themselves on here, OP www.landlordzone.co.uk/ but also be aware they've probably got a long haul ahead

MN is notoriously anti-Landlord so you'll probably get a pasting from some posters, but if your DPs have gone about it the right way I really hope it all works out for them

Have they done it privately or through a letting agency? If it's through a letting agency then they need to step up and sort it out. What was in the tenancy agreement with regards to access and the penalties if the tenants break the agreement? I would advice them to seek legal advice.

I was about to ask the above... how have they rented it out? Through an agency or otherwise?

breached the contract multiple times

In that case, just serve them notice. They have broken the contract.

Be prepared for them to dig their heels in though. Sorry this is happening.

Letting out property ALWAYS should always allow for times of no occupancy, higher maintenance costs, and contingency money. It sounds as though your parents may have been a bit naive about the amount of money they were assuming they could get from the rent. I think they need to look into ending the tenancy and moving home as soon as they can.

Thanks for all the answers. Yes they went through an estate agents/letting agency who did a back ground check on the renters. One half of the couple had historical CCJs but they were from a long while ago. The letting agency said that the other person could cover the rent by themselves, so we should trust them. Obviously this was a massive mistake.

Does their Landlord Insurance cover evicting problem tenants?
Did the Estate Agency offer any legal comeback as part of the package?

at the moment you can still serve a setion 21 givinf 2 months notice. To evict for breach of contract terms or 2 months rent not paid is a section 8 to court. Both methods acan take about 6 months. If it is stressing your parents it would be worth doing it through a solicitor. They will be without rent for some time so will need to find funds. It is never a good idea to rely on rents as you will always get gaps

What is the letting agency doing? I assume your parents have paid them a fee...?

sorry about typos

It sounds like they've broken the contact substantially so you have a better case. Be aware tho that if you serve an Eviction Notice any Housing Dept will tell them to stay put on eviction day, so you then have to spend £1K on High Court Bailiffs to repossess it & change the locks: which takes another 3months. If they move out on your eviction date they are considered "intentionally homeless" & won't be rehoused. They'll need to take docs given to them by the Bailiffs on the day, straight to Housing. Good luck.