To evict my tenants

[Landlordbyaccident]

Name change due to personal info possibly given.

I brought my first home in my 20’s and quickly paid off the mortgage on a 2 up, 2 down terrace in Birmingham. Nothing special and it always needed a new kitchen. I invested very little money in this house as I was so unhappy there.

I brought my current home in 2018 and we are paying a manageable mortgage although other outgoings has become a strain in the current financial climate. We owe around £75k on a house worth around £250 (not sure if this is relevant). My previous house has been rented out to a friends friend for around 2 years before this it remained empty.

They are paying £475 per month, other rentals in the area go for around £800. Some months they pay late or come up short. I know they are struggling. They are from a Caribbean island so I am not sure what benefits they are entitled to to help them.

Anyway my husband would like to ‘evict’ them. Ideally I would like them to increase the rent and remain in the house as they are no trouble and really nice people. I am going to be transparent in saying the house could do with some work being carried out but they never complain as I assume it’s because I am in a position of power and they fear I would evict them if I do.

After writing this I am not sure what I am asking? Would I be heartless in evicting them (goes against my core values) or raising their rent ? Should I just continue with the current contract and seek to cut costs in other areas.

what would you do?

I agree with that @yoghurtflavours

The other stupidity of this remark is that without LLs there would be no rental properties, and everyone has to rent at some point in their lives.

Do you just need to give them notice? Why all the talk of eviction?

It’s a mix of both imo.

There are lots of Lls who thought it was an easy and safe way to make money.
Their costs have gone way up, their allowances have lessened, but there is a ceiling on what they can charge. So it’s not working as well as they thought.

There are a lot who could never afford to be LLs in the first place. One boiler breaking or one tenant not paying on top of their own costs of living increasing meaning they simply can’t afford the btl mortgage any longer.

Generally the people who are not negatively impacted are the wealthy folks with lots of properties as they have economies of scale.
And then the people like me who don’t have a mortgage on rentals. So I’ve more than broke even over the years even with a nightmare tenant that cost me a fortune and even with a new boiler/keeping things fresh.

I’ll be honest, I didn’t go into it thinking long term. When I was going to sell someone asked if I’d consider renting temporarily while they were waiting on an adapted social housing property. The profit would cover both the cost of insurances and doing the legal things I had to, plus would go toward the selling costs so I said yes. They were there for two years. When they were leaving the housing officer dealing with them asked if I’d consider a “very short” tenancy for another person. They were there five years in the end. Three times I went through the process of selling to the council and each time mid way through their budgets or policies have changed.

I bought my first house.

But I definitely brrrrrrought my second home. It was December 1990 and fucking freezing.

Forget that. @VanCleefArpels and @yoghurtflavours . I'm going to bow out now. I blame it on the fact that people who bleat that they are performing a humanitarian act by being landlords should spare us all the pain and get another job.

Because in the current climate very often people who can’t afford a low rent will be looking to be housed by the council and they will tell them to stay in place until eviction.

Yes housing team will advise stay put until day of the eviction,remain there as long as possible

I do think it’s a real shame that decent landlord registration schemes like the one that ran locally for the last few years haven’t taken off.

in conjunction with a decent social and affordable housing build glut it made a real difference and have tenants good security.

Decent landlords had zero objections to it and embraced it. Shit ones were effectively pushed out of the market.

And if they all did that we would have a major fucking housing crisis.

With far more renters than properties to go round, rent prices would increase exponentially.

‘a shabby old house’ made me laugh. But maybe correct. It’s an old Victorian terrace with high ceilings and original features, apart from the 90’s kitchen which doesn’t suit the property. And despite what the crazies say on mumsnet I could rent it out easily. I just don’t want the hassle of difficult tenants because these ones are nice and respectful.
it is not in a deprived area. All schools are Ofsted rated good and is close to amenities. This is why I bought it and lived there for 9 years

First of all you should stop using the term ''eviction''.

This implies that you have given your tenants the required two month notice to end the tenancy, that they refused to leave after that period and that you then had to go to court to get legal permission to evict them and use bailiffs...

None of that has happened so you are not ''evicting'' anyone. What you are doing is considering ending their tenancy.

It really annoys me when I read posts by landlords using this term because it makes it sound like the tenants have done something wrong and need to be asked to leave by force...

Then, I also really don't understand why you have made such a mess of being a landlord.

You should have charged a rent that would cover repairs and updates for the property as well as pay the mortgage on it and still leave you with a profit. That should be in your business model.

I am also not quite clear as to why if you have no mortgage on your own house, you are pleading poverty when it comes to doing updates/repairs.

Frankly I think you should sell the property as you don't seem to be able to maintain it or do a decent job of being a landlord.

If you want to keep renting the property you will have to get it to a decent standard first if you want to get a higher rent.

I also think that you probably will have issues with the tenants because if they are struggling with the rent as it is, they won't be able to afford an increase or easily find somewhere to move to and they will likely stay in the property regardless with the aim to be rehoused by the council. At which stage you will need to go to court to get them evicted...

Frankly I have little sympathy for landlords as a rule so I hope your tenants get rehoused so that at least something positive comes out of this.

If you want to keep renting the property you will have to get it to a decent standard first if you want to get a higher rent.

Erm you’ve no idea as you’ve never seen it.

@Greenfairydust
there is so much rubbish in your post I am not going to bother answering it

YANBU provided you meet, and have met, all your legal obligations as a landlord.

But if you're an opportunistic landlord (nothing "accidental" about it) with a single property, then there's a good chance you've missed something. In that case you could be in for an expensive lesson.

Get past your bitterness and accept we need LL

Many years ago in a new relationship we moved in together and rented just as well as it didn’t work out
last thing you want to do is saddle yourself with a joint house purchase in a new relationship make perfect sense to rent
also student they need rentals and not all of them want to live on campus

Crikey, ignore the landlord haters on here OP. You should be proud that you have a mortgage free asset in this climate and your tenants have had the benefit of a below market rent for however many years. You absolutely must raise the rent. One of the responsibilities of being a LL is maintaining the property and I would raise the rent with a view to invest the additional money into the property.

Your tenants are not your responsibility and you must not be guilt tripped into keeping the rent as it is because it is simply not sustainable.

It was clearly an error 😂 there’s no need to point it out or try to make a smart ass reply is there? I assumed her “i definitely brought it” post was either a bit of a tongue in cheek thing or just a mistake when typing again. You can say whatever you want but in reality the SPaG police just love a moment to feel special and better than everyone else, soz 🤷‍♀️ That’s not just directed at you.

@Landlordbyaccident - I doubt this thread is going to give you much further information that might be of use to you.

I would go through the posts and take note of information that you consider useful or new. Then rewrite your questions and post at the Residential Lettings forum at LandlordZone.

You are likely to get more concise and actionable responses from the experienced landlords who post there.

It looks like I wasn’t the one projecting after all. As for op taking advantage. Absolutely not.

I would look to put the rent up to £600 op and give them info on how to check if they’re eligible for UC. You aren’t a charity.

I pay £430 for a 2 up 2 down in Brum. That’s housing association.
Similar properties are £600-£700 private.

I think to avoid the accusations of greed you’re gonna need to invest in a new kitchen and boiler.

It also depends on the area of Birmingham too. Harborne then £800 is probably average, Hodge Hill not so much.

If you increase the rent too much you are less likely to get it

But doesn't the LL have to go through the appropriate process before eviction?

I disagree with changing the kitchen and boiler if op cannot afford it. As long as they’re safe and functioning, she just needs to reflect this in the rental figure.

People from Birmingham know the difference between brought and bought!

I've not read all the responses on this thread. I think you are right to put the rent up at least a bit as it will still be discounted compared to market rate. (you could probably arrange an appraisal if you felt the need to be sure)

Sorry if this duplicates - but would your tenants be eligible for housing benefit? If they would be but aren't claiming then they might end up being able to pay an increased rent and be in a better situation than now.