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.

Hi. I have a house that I started renting out just before covid. During covid the tenant decided to stop paying rent but u were not allowed to evict anyone. Fair enough. She has now disappeared but apparently she is still the tenant and although her tenancy agreement ran out during covid I cannot evict her unless I can find her which I can’t. The house has been left in a terrible state and will need several hundred pounds to get it up to scratch.

I rented the house because I didn’t want to sell when I moved with work to London

A solicitor is willing to do the paper work for a Section 21 but needs a down payment of £300 to verify my identity first. Is this reasonable

if there is anyone in the rotherham/Sheffield area who can offer any advice I would be grateful. I am now seriously in debt

Ypu need to start your own thread, @Br1256

@roarfeckingroarr being late paying rent is an indication that the tenant is having problems paying rent on a certain reliable date every month. A cash flow problem like this means she is having trouble making ends meet.

Did you ever find out out how much extra you would have paid in interest by doing this? The bank would have made this clear before agreeing to you lowering your monthly payment.

But if a LL dared add interest to a late rental payment….

@thewayround - I’m not sure but I don’t think we paid anything extra as we always paid within the month so we never technically ‘late’. And our credit rating wasn’t affected either as we never missed a payment. Hope that makes sense. It was over 10 years ago and my memory is a little hazy. It’s a fine I like to forget!

Late payments accrue interest. And especially 10 years ago before banks were trying to be amenable (at least to the public view!) peoples circumstance given the COL crisis

@thewayround - possibly we did have interest. I cannot remember but at the time we just couldn’t always pay on time.

If you want her to allow any viewings, personally I’d offer a fairly substantial reduction in the rent.
She is not legally obliged to allow any, despite what it may say in the contract, or what the letting agent may tell her.
I say this as a LL myself, just the one property.

People are rarely dicks for the sake of it. People rarely risk being evicted by not paying rent for the sake of it.

I would speak directly with the tenant to try and find out what's going on. Lots of people are finding themselves in difficulty money wise the past 3-9 months (and longer). Maybe they're having difficulty finding the rent for purely economical reasons. Maybe this is a great opportunity to come to an agreement (eg discounted rent/some form of reimbursed rent) on viewings.

The last thing you want is a disgruntled tenant when you're trying to sell.

Good luck

Gosh I can’t believe some of the stuff I, reading and the attacks the op is getting

op , just give notice , when the flat is empty , then put it on the market early spring.

You're wasting time and giving the freeloader the psychological edge. She should fear being homeless, not you losing money. Either way, you lose money so bite the bullet and Section 21 her ass ASAP.

Posts like this perfectly show the problem with this country today. The entitlement. The arrogance. The something for nothing mentality.

If their name isn't on the Land Registry, it is NOT their home. You are wrong and out of order here. And I say this having been a tenant myself, for a decade, up to last year.

No one, NO ONE, who 'fully supports the welfare state' makes repeated statements about how it's 'taxpayers' money' and not 'your money'. Absolutely no one. It's the clearest possible dead giveaway of what you actually think. As is being 'proud' of not claiming your SMP. Because you think it makes you a better person than those who do. Because you think it's not 'their money'.

This is so true, @BloodAndFire .

And isn't it funny, the way "taxpayers' money" magically becomes a landlord's own money once it's handed over?

Years ago, I had to change my mortgage payment date when I changed jobs and went from being paid on the 15th to the last day of the month.

The bank were totally fine with that.

It may not be the tenant's property, but all the while they're there, it IS their home.

They're not paying for a few nights in a B&B, ffs.

If the tenant was an owner and the want paying a bank on time then you can be sure the bank wouldn’t give a hoot that it was their home.

why are we expecting landlords to be different to banks when it comes to late or non payment?

I've never understood that either @thewayround

If their name isn't on the Land Registry, it is NOT their home

Incorrect. It isn't their property but while they're the tenant it is legally their home.

Correct. Rent and tenant contract means property is for tenants sole use for the term of contract. Contract can only be ended by tenant or courts. Amateur landlord are the biggest issue always. Taking monies and not understanding legal obligations.

What you mean like the repeat mortgage holidays all the home owners got during Covid while tenants were expected to find the rent no matter what? Despite the fact that tenants are far more likely to be in low paid jobs thay evaporated during Covid and therefore unemployed and on UC instead of sitting at home on 80% of some high salary?

Yea, the entitlement and arrogance of LLs believing it’s not the tenants home (when in law it is), and these LLs thinking that the tenant has no right to quiet enjoyment of the property (when in law they do) and so the LL thinks they should get access to the property for ‘nothing’ and have photos of the tenants furnishings and belongings for ‘nothing’ for the house selling brochure and also that they can just have their estate agent and prospective buyers stomping through the tenants home gawping at how they live also ‘for nothing’

All because LL arrogantly assume the laws giving tenants these rights don’t apply to their property and think the tenant is such a piece of shit for daring to exercise their basic human rights codified in law. The entitlement of these LLs is breathtaking.

The mortgage holidays accrued interest FGS. Did you seriously think that the holidays were interest free? 😂 they make it abundantly clear while you're not making mortgage payments, you're still racking up interest on your remaining mortgage balance. When the payment holiday ends, your outstanding mortgage balance and mortgage payments will be higher than they were before the holiday.

And tenants were in a very very strong position during covid. No matter what they did, the LL could not evict them

And you think rent arrears don’t carry interest? And that tenants could just skip their rent?! They couldn’t. And you probably don’t know that any incident of being 2 months in arrears ever = eviction as soon as the moratorium ended. Plus tenants had to make up any missed rent payments by paying more. It wasn’t the same for mortgage holiday.

Banks could not take possession. Banks could not evict. And homeowners never had to pay extra to catch up missed mortgage payments. 🙄

Tenants were not in a ‘very strong position’ because rents started going up massively. Plus LLs used covid as a excuse to not carry out essential maintenance meaning that the rate of homes with illegal lifethreatening hazards went up from 1/5th private rentals to 1/4th of private rentals.

The bank will try to work out a repayment plan. They won't section 21 you and call you a dick.

why are we expecting landlords to be different to banks when it comes to late or non payment?