To keep their deposit!!

[LivFG]

DH and I have a couple of properties we rent out. We have been renting to a young couple who always seemed like good tenants. We gave them notice a couple of months ago as we are going to start renting on AirBnB instead as DH thinks we will get more money (don't get me started).

Anyway, they moved out on Saturday and everything seemed fine. Today I went to get everything cleaned and I found (what I think to be) weed residue next to the sink. I'm Furious. I feel completely violated and uncomfortable being inside the property. I'm sick with worry that they have been using illegal drugs in my home and what the legal ramifications could be!!

Obviously we have their deposit. I was planning to refund it this week. After my discovery today, I now feel incredibly reluctant to make any sort of refund. The idea of supporting/funding their lifestyle makes me very uncomfortable. And they never would have been given permission to abuse my property in this way.

DH seems to think none of this is a problem and seems to completely miss the point - it isn't about cleaning it up - it's about the abuse of our trust.

AIBU?

I wonder how many tears your tenants shed when they were told they'd have to vacate their home so you could make more money OP?
I actually think you should withhold their deposit. That way, they'll know exactly what sort of people you are and can take you to court for 3x as much. If you're really nice to them, and give them their money, you might get away with your illegal activity.

Wait, so YOU did illegal things with your property, and now you’re upset they also possibly did illegal things with your property?!

Also, weed residue?! How would this look different to cooking herb residue in the sink?!

This must be a troll.

And if not, just give them their deposit back.

And also, they have never been in your “home”, so can’t have done things in your home. They were doing things in THEIR home.

I’m loving the irony of the OP seething about some mixed herbs left by the sink illegal activity while actually being the one who is acting illegally.

you are being unreasonable. give the deposit back. In fact as a goodwill gesture, give them back their last month rent, as it will be hard for them to find somewhere else…..

You broke the law first by not protecting their deposit and doing things 'informally', you set the tone for this tenancy.

If it hasn’t been protected in a deposit scheme, the tentants can potentially take you to court where you could be forced to pay three times the deposit to them.

It’s in your interests to return the deposit to them before they realise you haven’t done things properly.

You acted illegally and don't have a leg to stand on and no, you can't use the deposit to clean unless they've trashed the place and you need to bring in professionals

If I were you, I'd return their deposit and move on because you are in the wrong here

What on earth have I just read. A deep clean should come as standard after the end of a tenancy and certainly should if you want to Airbnb where people will leave reviews. It actually sounds like you had good tenants. What they do in the privacy of their home is up to them. It is in fact their home while you rent it and I would really encourage you to reframe your mindset on this one.

Surely that op isn't real.

Ah I dunno I thought she jumped the shark in the OP!

Fingers crossed your tenants (if they exist) see this and report you for not protecting their deposit.

This is one thread hopefully The Sun will pick up...

You kicked them out of their home so you could make more money and didn’t protect their deposit with the legal scheme.
You also have no proof it’s weed, unless you get it tested. You’re crying about something that is potentially weed, but you don’t have evidence? Grow up.
Stop being a greedy judgemental meanie and give them their deposit back. Honestly.

Green residue by the sink? More likely to be:

1. Limescale (in our hard water area it goes green)
2. Mixed herbs from cooking
3. Dried Fairy liquid

I'm also shocked by not using the tenancy deposit scheme, you can't claim ignorance about that one.

But it sounds like you could do with a joint or two to help you unclench to be honest! 😆

What legal ramifications are you on about? Landlords aren't responsible for illegal activities of their tenants such they were unaware of.

You should be more worried about the legal ramifications of not protecting the deposit! That was definitely a breach ... by you and your husband!

As for calling the police, don't waste their time. You "think" some gunky mess and a bit of ground powder must be illegal drugs - why? How do you know they weren't having a clear out of some old herbs and spices? That's the sort of thing people do when they move house.

If they'd been smoking weed in the house it would absolutely reek. I presume it doesn't or you would have mentioned it.

You DID break the law. You failed to.put their deposit in a secured scheme.

You’re being utterly ridiculous and the police would laugh at you! Loads of people use weed.

gosh

I was in tears earlier. It might not come across well, but this has all really shaken and upset me.

@LivFG its coming across terribly. You can’t rent on a non formal basis. Both you and your DH were completely wrong to not protect the tenants deposit and could be made to pay back 3 times the amount plus a £300+ court fee if your wrongdoing was uncovered.

I am completely anti drugs of any form but you only have to walk down the street in most towns or cities to see weed use is rife.
Your previous lack of cleaning standards is nothing to boast about, as a landlord a decent deep clean is basic. A ‘wipe and hoover’ is shoddy - but in keeping with your other business practices as noted previously.

Your are frankly. A joke. Do you think you're the morality police? It's a bit of weed and you're crying and upset and want to bleach the place? Do you think it's going to jump out from corners and attack your pretty morals.
You must have lived a sweet little protected life to be so outraged and distressed by their illegal behaviour. You know weed is legal in plenty of other places.
Give the poor people their money back you judgy greedy idiot and they are well rid of you. I think karma is so gonna bite your arse enjoy the air bnb.....

JUST THIS... This response.. Is EPIC!! The OP sounds rather loony, delusioned, naive and from the sounds of it, sounds like it's her first tenants.. She has got a lot to learn me thinks!

You are NOT a good landlord. You broke the law much more than they did by not protecting their deposit, and the likely reason why your DH set the rent low is to attract the type of people who may not question this too much.
What about all your other rentals? Are their deposits protected? Unlikely in the circumstances!
I hope someone reports you and you and your DH pay the penalties for numerous properties, without deposits in schemes.

Keep their deposit and wait to be sued.

I’d be happy to see these tenants compensated for your assumptions and judgemental behaviour.

I think you are looking for an excuse to keep their money hence why you didn’t protect their deposit.

Blaming your husband for this is pathetic - are you not an adult?

I think evicting them to do Air BnB is low though I’m guessing the impact on your house will be a life lesson.

Oh please do ring the police OP, they need a good laugh.
"Hello massively overstretched and under resourced police force. Either my ex-tenants or one of their guests may or may not have used weed in the property I rented to them whilst failing to comply with the law on storing their deposit. Come running!" 😂😂😂

Good Lord.

I hate weed, and think people (incl on here) seriously minimise its harmful impact, but I don't know where to start with this - first you two play fast and loose with your tenants' money (not protecting their deposit), then you give them notice out of, essentially, greed (obviously that's fine legally, but it is an eyebrow-raising choice IMO), then you think you can withhold your tenants' money because you've made a moral judgement? What a strange, paternalistic view of the tenant/LL relationship you have. If your tenants were doing weed in their home (which is was while they were renting it), any legal consequences would have been theirs to deal with, and nothing whatsoever to do with you. They weren't your errant teenage children.

I'm glad you seem to have calmed down a bit, but I don't think being an AirBnB LL is right for you, to put it mildly (but there seems to be a whole other can of worms there re your husband steamrollering you into things).