Are we are unreasonable landlords?

[Leavingonajetplane33]

We moved out of London recently, but have kept our house and we are renting it out.

Our tenants moved in last week and so far we are finding them very difficult. On day one they called and the wife was shouting down the phone to my husband with a whole list of things that she was unhappy about.

There are too many things to mention, but she described the house as being filthy, dirty and covered in stains. Firstly the house is rented unfurnished with wooden floors throughout so not sure what could really be stained. Secondly, we had our much trusted long term cleaner spend 8 hours cleaning the property after we moved out and the check in report we have since since seen describes the property as domestically clean throughout. Nevertheless, we subsequently agreed to arrange a professional clean of the house. When the cleaning company arrived they called us to say that there was so much stuff everywhere that they could not even access some rooms and as some boxes etc were piled precariously they considered it a health and safety hazard. They cancelled the clean (with a £50 cancellation fee) which our tenants are very unhappy about.

Before moving in the tenants demanded that we install a washer dryer (we only had a washing machine) which we reluctantly agreed to. We did not have time to do this before we moved out and then needed someone to be at the property to take delivery. We had thought the tenants would be OK for this to happen shortly after they moved in. On day 1 the wife went ballistic at my husband about it and asked how she was going to be able to do washing. We pointed out that she could use the existing (perfectly fine) washing machine and put clothes out to dry in the 30 degree heat, but apparently that was unacceptable. We arranged a washer dryer to be delivered 2 days later (the quickest possible delivery slot) and then the night before (after we had had already received a 2 hour delivery slot message) they told us no one would be around to take delivery. We have again incurred a charge to rearrange the delivery.

There is a whole host of other things but I would be here writing for days to detail them all. Funniest was they told us that the boiler is inadequate because it does not have a water tank (it is a combi boiler).

We have asked to go round at some point this weekend to look at a couple of the smaller “issues” and collect a parcel addressed to us that has been accidentally delivered to the house. They are refusing because it is the anniversary of the death of the wife‘s mother.

We are trying our best to help them, but nothing ever seems to be right / good enough for them and frankly is is exhausting!

Don't give in to their every whim. Why on earth would you buy a washer/dryer just because they asked for one? I rent and have my own washing machine, it travels with me.

They either take the property as is, or they can move out. I really think it might be a good idea to get a property manager - they sound like a nightmare to deal with, and it would be worth paying the fee to be free of their complaints. A professional manager won't put up with this nonsense.

The OP agreed to it before they agreed to rent the property, so she has to supply it.

The mistake she made is leaving all communication to the estate agent.

@newtoallthisshizzle I think that's the difference- we pay quite high rent too but have good standards but aren't mega demanding- but I know many paying these big sums are indeed very demanding - particularly ones not used to renting in the UK who often tend to treat it like a serviced place. I can tell you that whilst we have occasionally had competition and a few times lost out due to higher offers- on the whole it's not 8 people after every place within a day at this level.

You are a far better landlord than they deserve.
we rent our London flat out, but we decided to go through an estate agent. We pay £280 a month that includes insurance for solicitors in if rent doesn’t get paid. The agency is worth every penny, I have no worries, if something needs doing , they phone me up, I give them the go ahead , problem solved. They do all the home visits every 6 months. They do all checks to make sure they are suitable tenants. Good luck with these people, I hope you don’t have too many problems.

Honestly tell them that the house clearly isn't what they want so they can leave and you will give them their deposit back. These people never ever get better . Trust me on this

I agree. These people are never going to be satisfied.

"I have neither a drier nor mould.
So no, it isn't true."

The poster didn't say that drying inside causes mould, only that it causes condensation, which it does. I never had big problems from it either because I had the heating on and opened the windows (something some people frown on), but I did get some wall paper peeling a bit behind the radiator. It's definitely true that it increases humidity in your home (can also have a positive side!).

I quoted the wrong post. Previous posts referred to condensation mould

As a renter, I think tenancies should be long so tenants have stability in the place they live, but truly. I'd say get them out ASAP.

Don't do anything above or beyond for them- it'll just hit you in the face.

Get a management company in, make it their very first task that they come in to do a house inspection. If you've been told it's a health hazard you need to know what's going on and how they're impacting your property.

Can you break the tenancy because they're not taking care of the house?

They are dreadful tenants and this us only the start. Get yourself an agent who is experienced with dealing with this sort of nonsense and leave it to them.

As others have said, say you will release them from the lease.
When you next rent it, rent it without any white goods. So much easier all round as a landlord.
In the meantime, set up and give them a generic gmail email eg landlordof24@ to contact and block them on your phones. My son’s agent only takes emails, not calls. You should do the same. Have an out of office reply on it saying you will respond by email within 48 hours.

Hey 👋🏼 Managing Agent here… welcome to the hell house. Offer them early surrender if they are unhappy do that you can, hopefully, all move on after all it is to nobody’s benefit to continue with a rental where neither party are happy and the relationship has already broken down or get a Managing Agent and distance yourselves from this point forward. They are your best two options.

We are currently evicting tenants for a landlord where they don’t pay and then screech and shout at us and the landlord that we are ‘harassing them’ even if we send just one email 10 days after payment was due…. They have the money, they just don’t want to pay. They threaten all sorts… I will never understand what they think this approach will gain to be honest. I am assuming they hope they will have someone naive that will give in if they holler enough.

I think when they have a CCJ and court costs to cover and the council are only offering a hostel they might regret the situation, but reasoning is impossible so there is nothing more that can be done!

It sounds like they are being deliberately dreadful. Is it possible they are setting the scene to making your lives so unbearable that you will end up begging them to leave, and paying them to do so?

I don't know what the answer is but if there is any way you can terminate the tenancy - perhaps by saying you now need to sell the house because of unexpected circumstances arising - I would be inclined to do that. Otherwise, I suspect things will only get worse.

As for the sarcastic remarks from some posters implying that landlords are being constantly and unfairly demonised or are expected to lend out their homes for nothing, that's ridiculous. I have great sympathy for landlords such as the OP who are obviously being led a merry dance by some unscrupulous tenants, but there are most definitely also landlords who are greedy and lazy and tenants who are shamelessly exploited.