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 don’t normally do this but this cannot be real. Why aren’t you worried about not using deposit scheme? They should have been given paperwork regarding where their deposit was held, if it dawns on them you didn’t do that then they can raise it, even if you give them all the money back.

I’m a landlord and a bit of an accidental one as I inherited a property which can’t be sold without selling another thing that I first want to see if my DCs would like to keep as it would be hard for them to acquire themselves. Any time a tenant leaves then the house has to be professionally cleaned and after 6 years it would need to be completely redecorated at the very least. I’m very surprised that the place is “AirBnb ready” so soon and without even an extensive clean.

How will you police your air bnb guests drug use? What about other illegal activities that they may use your property for?

“I am a very good landlord”.

You have evicted good tenants from their home to chase bigger profits, did not protect their deposit (as required by law) and are wrongly threatening not only to withhold it but to call the police on them into the bargain based on a hunch? If that’s a very good landlord, I dread to think what a landlord from hell might look like!

Of course they're bad landlords, they're kicking a good tenant out to rent on air bnb 🙄

Informal basis?
Do you mean no contract? But you have a deposit?

Need to do a deep clean?
Why aren't you doing this anyway?

Didn't get round to protecting deposit?
You might be able to get compensation if your landlord didn't follow the rules when you paid your deposit. You could get back 1 to 3 times the amount you paid if your landlord didn't: protect your deposit at the right time. protect your deposit at all.
https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk

If you suspect illegal activity is taking place in your property you report it to the police. Although if you went to the police now and said 'there is some herb like dust in the kitchen and I suspect my tenants might have smoked weed in there at some unspecified date in the past' they would have a right laugh at your expense.

if you suspect a breach of tenancy you take the appropriate steps to terminate the tenancy (although this doesn't sound like a legal tenancy so not sure how that would work).

What you don't do if you suspect illegal activity might have taken place, in your property or anywhere else is set yourself up as judge and jury and decide to fine the putative perpetrators and keep the money for yourself.

You and your DH are guilty of showing very poor judgment in many ways here: in acting illegally with regard to the deposit, in not making a condition of tenancy that the tenants pay for a professional end of tenancy clean and in thinking that a series of AirBNB clients are going to be as hassle free as your previous, excellent tenants.

I own a property in a building which had some flats that were AirBNB'd and it was a nightmare - partying into the early hours even on weeknights, takeaway food strewn across the halls, vomit in the lifts, cans of drink sprayed up the walls, bags of rubbish left festering in the communal areas, the street door constantly left propped open, a perpetual stink of weed. Luckily the owners of the head lease became aware of this. They drew our attention to and then strictly implemented the no holiday let clause in our leases and things have calmed down.

1. You can’t be held liable for unlawful behaviour if you were unaware of it unless you then allow it to continue without action- they’ve already moved out so not your problem.
2. Unless they were dealing from your property I don’t think the police would be remotely interested in a couple smoking weed in your property- they want to catch the big dealers organising county lines, exploiting kids and using violence to protect their patch not 2 recreational users.
3. I think you’d have known as soon as you walked in the property if they had been smoking weed- even my 14 year old knows the distinctive smell of someone smoking a joint! I don’t think they’ve been smoking weed on your property but you could check by asking the neighbours- they’ll have smelt it if they were.
4. As others have said the property should have been getting a deep clean anyway- not sure why you think its only required because you think you’ve found “drugs”?
5. Again as others have said just wait until you start doing Air BnB- its notorious for people abusing properties.

This is a reverse right?
Or a wind up.

I don’t understand what ‘ramifications’ you think you could face here?

You sound like a bad landlord. You kicked out your tenants so you could make more money. You didn’t have their deposit in a deposit protection scheme, which is a statutory requirement. You’re looking for ways to make unauthorised deductions from their deposit because you disapprove of something you think they have done. You don’t appear to have had a formal lease in place.

You’re exploitative and immoral and your behaviour is significantly more harmful than your former tenants maybe having smoked some pot in their home.

So you're a rogue landlord who "forgets" to put the deposit in a scheme even though you are required to do so, and YOU think you've been wronged because something green which could quite literally be anything, looks like weed so you're now going to steal their deposit?

You should do so OP.

And then let your tenants report you for failing to place the deposit in the DPS scheme.

I hope you get fined and banned.

I really hope this is a reverse.

Then you’ve broken the law. I’d get their deposit back to them quickly and hope they don’t take it further. This could end up costing you a lot of money. It’s not illegal to have cannabis (if it even is cannabis - it could be oregano for all you know. It’s illegal to sell it, but you have no evidence they were doing that. If this shocks you then you’d better gird your loins for Air B’n’B because things are about to get a lot worse. Your shockometers are about to go into overdrive!

If you are this uptight about 'weed residue', it will be interesting to see what offends you when you've all sorts coming by AirB&B.

YABVU.

Photo or it didn't happen

You're not a good landlord if deposit wasn't in a scheme. Give them it back asap and hope this doesn't happen to you:

What is the penalty for not protecting the tenant's deposit?
The court will also tell your landlord to pay compensation of 1 to 3 times the amount of your deposit. You're likely to get more compensation if your deposit wasn't protected than if it was just protected a few days late.

I’ve often wondered! I think that can be the only way 😂

This is a wind up post...must have been up all night bored. Not genuine. OP may come back but only to wind people up all the more, for a laugh.
If they are real landlords (unlikely)..they are obviously too thick to be competent landlords. I smell bullshit

You have broken the law by not putting their deposit in a protected scheme. I expect so you can illegally withhold it for some made up reason. WTF is 'weed residue' anyway?

You are going to have fun cleaning up after your air bnb clients, and you will need a much more concrete story to fleece them of their deposits.

Firstly, you're insane

Secondly, deposits are taken so if any damage has been done to the property or costs outside of the norm are incurred, they're easier to recover. (ie replacing broken fixtures, not a paint refresh and DEEP CLEAN, a quick wipe and a run of the hoover, grim)

You could try keeping it in order to pay for the therapy you need to get over the shock of this huge drug discovery but they then could sue you for 3 times the deposit amount as YOU ACTED ILLEGALLY by not protecting it in a registered scheme and they could also pursue an illegal eviction case as no notices served would have been enforceable without the deposit protection...

Absolutely bonkers.

Criticising people for breaking the law when you are breaking a bigger and and more serious law.

Classic behaviour and attitude of someone who would think it was acceptable to run an Airbnb.

You sound insane. Crying because you THINK there is weed in the house? Get a grip.

The only people who would be justified to shed some tears would be the poor couple you’ve turfed out of their home to make more money. I feel sorry for people who rent when there are landlords like you out there. Also, you should be doing a deep clean anyway!

I hope any air bnb guests this OP gets forgo the condom and just shit directly into the freezer

You are going to have Airbnb if this has upset you so much. You'll get all sorts of yuk from your guests.

DH didn't get round to putting it in the scheme

Good job you're giving the deposit back in full - you should count yourself lucky not to have to pay back more!