Tiny violins out - private landlord having trouble

[roarfeckingroarr]

I own a flat that I rent out because it no longer suits my needs to live there and I couldn't find a buyer without making a substantial loss during Covid (due to no private outdoor space).

I try to not be a dick - e.g. I charge under market rate, I don't increase the rent unless in between tenants, I get everything fixed as soon as I can (via management agency), I allow pets/children etc. All things that should be standard but too often are not.

Anyway, I have a tenant who is playing games. Every month for the last three she has had a problem paying the rent. First of all she wanted to move the payment date (fine, circs change, but she was a week after the agreed date), then she was late again, then she decided unilaterally she didn't have to pay because the boiler had broken and I couldn't get a new one installed over night. I reimbursed her for heaters to keep warm and had it replaced as soon as a reputable tradesman could install one - about a week in total. I get this isn't ideal and I offered a £100 discount as a goodwill gesture. She eventually paid.

I hate being a landlord and I am v shortly going on maternity leave with my second child so I need to sell especially as the income is now unreliable to use the equity to buy us a family home.

But I'm scared to put it on the market in case she takes that as free reign to stop paying altogether.

Does anyone have any advice that doesn't include "private landlords" and "scum of the earth" in the same sentence? I wouldn't expect her to let people traipse through her home at short notice and would hope to arrange maybe two open house mornings in Jan to minimise inconvenience - but I also expect her to stick to her side of the contract and pay the agreed rent during this time.

Good advice - thanks everyone.

Looks like S21 is the best route.

I need to check with the agency re insurance - I switched agencies not long ago and can't believe I would have signed up without it.

I redecorated summer 2020, just before she moved in, so I doubt it needs too much sprucing up.

No chance of capital gains. Chance would be a fine thing.

I find it really off that tenants just refuse viewings. Surely in life you give and take. I wouldn't try to hoist last minute regular PITA viewings - but why can't tenants be reasonable and say "ok, I'll be out on these two days next month, arrange some then"? Why must everything be such a battle?

Love how everyone says ‘evict’ her as if it’s that easy!! My tenant has paid no rent for over a year, does not communicate with anyone and has ignored Section 21 - now having to instruct solicitor to get her out

@Wimpeyspread None of said (or probably think) it will be easy; but starting the process before selling will be easier than facing this with a looming completion date

Don’t expect to be able to market it and to have a paying tenant at the same time. It is unrealistic and geeedy. LLs need to understand that when deciding to sell, it isn’t something that happens fast or on the timescales of non-rental properties, but something that takes far longer and needs planning in advance.

You can’t exchange in a property with a tenant still present. Most agents will tell you to have vacant possession before marketing. Why? Because until the property is vacant you can’t be sure a tenant will be gone. Remmeber, you need to serve a legal eviction notice, giving at least 2 months notice if you are beyond the 4 month point of a standard 6 month AST. The tenant is then entitled to stay until the end and doesn’t need to allow viewings. AND vitally,if they choose not to leave, they are entitled to a legal eviction process after that,which can easily take 6-12 months. This is why it is recommended you don’t try and market with a tenant present.

This tenant has already become tricky. If they know you want to sell and serve notice they may quite likely not pay and not allow viewings. You might well have a long drawn out eviction process ahead. Unfortunately, that’s the way it is sometimes.

The best thing in this circumstance would be to serve notice. Personally, I didn’t think I’d mention selling, simply that you aren’t going to let for a while. I wouldn’t make it about the fact she hasn’t paid on time. I’d check with agent first about the exact date you can and should serve the S21 and make sure it’s all done exactly as required, as otherwise you can have to start again. Then you will have to wait and see if the tenant vacates. You might have to accept they may not pay all their rent. You might have to follow formal eviction processes beyond the termination point. It could all cost you lots of money. It’s awful and annoying but it’s a cost all LLs need to factor in as a possibility and if you haven’t, or feel you need to sell before these timescales, you didn’t do your HWK properly when choosing to become a LL. LLs always need to accept that a sale is probably 12-18 months away from the point they decide they want to sell, and also that they need to have the funds to cope with several months of non-payment. It’s annoying but how it is.

Give her notice, obtain possession order and then put the property on the market. Your tenant is legally entitled to remain until you have obtained the PO, so depending on where you are there might be a wait. Don't rely on her leaving at the expiry of the notice as, if she presents as homeless, she will have to be in receipt of the PO before the local authority will assist her. She still needs to pay rent obviously until she leaves. If there are arrears and she has presented as homeless then you could advise them of that. Where I worked not conducting a tenancy satisfactorily might make a person ineligible to be on the housing register, so it's in her interest to pay up.

I find it really off that tenants just refuse viewings. Surely in life you give and take. I wouldn't try to hoist last minute regular PITA viewings - but why can't tenants be reasonable

It's their home. They don't have do do anything for you.

Keep in mind she has no incentive to make to property look it's best for viewings. When we were renting one to be sold we tidied up but it we had a lot of clutter without places to be 'put away'. The estate agent told the landlord we weren't tidying the property up enough! We found that so cheeky as we had made an effort to tidy we refused more viewings.
I really think you'll have an easier time after tenant has moved out, it's actually really disruptive to tenants

Another vote for evict then sell. Hopefully there won't be much damage but I wouldn't bet on it. It may even be worth paying her to make her go away (as you may lose the money anyway if she stops paying rent)

Get her out first. My tenant was late (3 weeks!) twice in two months. Unfortunately, being a landlord has its stresses and having to suck up a void in payment is standard, particularly when selling.

It is bloody annoying, you are correct!

I know some people hate landlords but nightmare tenants who won't respect a legal agreement are bastards. So many of us are thrust into this situation because of life circs, rather than choosing to buy up many bits of housing stock to make a large profit. It's bloody hard work and when someone decides to be an utter arsehole and not fulfil their part of the tenancy agreement - or worse, not leave - the cost and stress are overwhelming.

Rant over. Thanks very much for advice - all taken on board. I'm speaking with the area manager of the lettings company for advice later today.

Unfortunately you can find it as off as you like, it doesn't change anything. There's nothing wrong in her refusing viewings. It's her home until she leaves and she doesn't have to let people in for viewings if she doesn't want to. I probably wouldn't either if I was being served notice. You can wait til I'm out to do viewings.

Probably because from the tenants perspective they don't see why they should be inconvenienced so that you can get extra cash.

After all, the reason you want to allow viewings while she is there is so you can continue to gain rent right up until the last minute when the place is sold ?

Because why should they have to? They can be very disruptive and not everyone wants random strangers walking around their home with all their possessions in.

Renting costs more than a mortgage, so and have legally protected rights that they are paying this premium for. If you weren’t happy with, or were unaware of, the rights of tenants you shouldn’t have become a landlord OP.

And as plenty of us have pointed out, allowing viewings while you’ve got a tenant in may well be pointless anyway as the eviction process can be very long and drawn out, so your buyers may well drop out during that process anyway if it does end up going to court etc. I really would advise not advertising for sale until she’s moved out.

@loislovesstewie very good idea re possession order, thank you.

The thing about ‘give and take’ is that quite often, LLs and tenants don’t feel like this about the relationship. It’s purely contractual and financial and neither feels they owe the other anything as they have simply had their dues.

Tenants are not obliged to facilitate viewings. You should know that. Therefore to expect or hope for it is to want more than you’re entitled to. A tenant has a legal entitlement to the property as their home and to quiet enjoyment of it. A LL doesn’t have a right to be showing tenants round and in conveniencing them. Even if a tenant isn’t paying their rent, they are still protected by law under the terms of their tenancy.

This is why you really needed to have planned ahead and decided to give notice to a tenant about 18 months before you need a sale. To not have done so and now feel under financial pressure to keep rent coming in whilst marketing/to hope to have got the tenant out and property sold in a timeframe if less than a year, is simply a lack of financial awareness of the realities of LLing and selling a tenanted property. It is amateurish behaviour and ameutuerism is no excuse for not having become informed. Now, the reality is you might well have to wait far longer than you’d like to sell. You have a tricky tenant who might not pay, might revisit going and you might be more than a year from being able to exchange and complete.

I say all this as a LL. Quite simply you need to be fully aware of everything before getting into being a LL. it’s not good enough to talk if being an ‘accidental LL’ or to have started without thinking about the end-phase and what’s involved in liquifying the investment. There’s no point being cross with a tenant who doesn’t want to show people the property or one who wants to go through a legal full eviction process. They are entitled to those things and by signing a tenancy and taking rent, you gave them those rights..it’s what they paid for.

What checks did you do before agreeing to the tenancy?

I don't gate landlords - I am one - but I think YABU about the viewings.

You are evicting her, something that is going to cost her stress and time and money. Why on earth should she go out of her way to help the process along?

You could offer reduced rent in exchange for view

And how long has she been your tenant?

...ings, something which would also help her put together a deposit for her next place.

It’s in her best interests to refuse viewings.

If anything gets lost or stolen she will have a hard time getting an insurance payout for it if people were wandering around her home when she wasn’t there.

But why? Why refuse rent when completely reasonable to arrange viewings as long as you strictly abide by the terms of the tenancy in terms of notice.

I am curious how long this tenant has been your tenant OP? And what checks did you do beforehand?

I think you have to separate the two issues in your mind. Yes she sounds problematic in terms of payment and I imagine that is stressful for you especially if you’re an accidentally landlord. But…she would not being unreasonable to refuse viewings etc. I found viewings annoying enough when I was selling my own flat but she (and other tenants) shouldn’t be expected to put up with the disruption when there is zero benefit to them and a lot of hassle.

Presumably you have covered viewing and notice in your tenancy agreement OP?

Tenants are within their legal rights to not leave until evicted by court, and unfortunately many face homelessness if they do leave before forcefully evicted. That is not their fault and you shouldn’t be angry at them for this.

If you can’t afford the court fees etc it sounds like you don’t have adequate insurance that covers legal fees and/or you can’t afford to be a landlord. What would you have done if you didn’t have a tenant at all and the property sat empty? You’d presumably be worse off than having had a tenant paying your mortgage for however long.

She's been a tenant for about a year and a half. Standard credit checks and references were carried out by the lettings agency (large well known one with a good reputation - for lettings agents!) before tenancy was agreed.

I've always allowed landlords/agents to do viewings when I've rented a property. Yes it was slightly annoying but it's also a reasonable request - so long as they don't take the piss. I always accepted that while it was my legal residence for the period of my tenancy, it was their property.

This attitude of "I know my rights and I won't do anything that might minorly inconvenience myself" - not just in this circumstance - seems so prevalent now and it's sad. What happened to a society of give and take? Ugh.

Thanks everyone. I expected this sort of response (know the process, do it carefully, empty property before selling up) but I really appreciate how kind the responses have been. At 33 weeks pregnant, I'm tempted to just wait until baby is here and reassess because the stress is too much.