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?

You sound utterly exhausting @LivFG
I hate drugs. I’ve effectively lost my son to them. I’ve seen what they do.
But unless they are dealing drugs from your property they are not engaging in illicit activities. I think you need to brush up on criminal law. In point of fact not securing their deposit in a scheme is far more of a problem.
Also deep cleaning and sterilising because of weed is absurd. You should for sure be deep cleaning but not because of weed, and the whole disinfectant stuff is just plain silly.
Crying and shaking about this is an extreme overreaction and honestly I would worry about my mental health if I were you.

If you didn’t protect the deposit you are on very dodgy ground

Pay them their deposit back in full and move on

Of course you can't withhold their deposit. It's so unreasonable your post seems more goady than a real question. As PP have said you will struggle with airbnb if this is your reaction to some potential weed use.

I have a friend who uses Airbnbs for sexual assignations. Happy to send him your way. 😆

But you have to be impressed by just how many people try to help! 😂

I know, right. AirBnB will have much much worse to offer 😂. I'd keep your pearls at the ready op.

Oh dear. If this is a genuine post and not a wind up then all I can say is your property is going to be at much more risk of this kind of thing with AirBnB. Many people use these places for catch up / parties and weed is commonly used. As if the property needs to be bleached etc as someone smoked weed in it. You need to get a grip and stop renting if you’re in this much of a state over a bit of weed. You are also not following procedure and it’s totally unfair to keep a deposit as you don’t agree with the fact they smoke drugs. Probably not weed after all that too

If you didn't didnt put it in the scheme they can claim many many times over what it's worth.

I threatened my landlord with that when they tried to withhold my deposit.

I sort legal advice and asked them for the scheme number, they told me they didn't put it in a scheme. Then when I told them my legal rights they transfered it.

I hope your tenants find out their right and take your tight arse to court.

Give your head a wobble. If this thread is for real you are nuts

The tenants will be able to buy a lot of weed with the settlement they will get over this.

This has got to be fake.

Cleaned and sterilised

Sorry Op, but you are being totally unreasonable!
Buy a couple of plug ins if you're worried about any smell, but if you didn't notice anything before finding the debris then no-one else will!

This has got to be a joke

I wonder how they got the turd into the condom. Did they freeze the turd first?

Lol at the moral outrage over "illegal activities" when you yourself have failed to comply with your legal and moral obligations as a landlord.

People like you and your DH should not be allowed to rent properties. You are not "good landlords, you are shit landlords who don't comply with the law. If you choose to act unethically yourselves, it's hardly surprising that you only attract tenants who may do likewise.

Just based on the fact you’ve turfed our tenants to create an air b and b makes me think your looking for reasons to keep the cash, finding weed residue 😂

You're being ridiculous

Ahahaha! It’s weed!? Why does your house need to be sterilised? Sorry OP but you seem utterly pathetic.

What is hilarious is that the person who should actually be worried is you; by failing to register the deposit in a scheme you’ve broken the law. Id give that deposit back pronto and keep your head down if I were you if you don’t want to risk getting caught.

And perhaps take a long shower and sterilise yourself to scrub off the immoral and illegal behaviour of failing to comply with the obligations on you as a landlord.

1.) you have no idea if this ‘gunky stuff’ is ‘weed residue’ or not. You don’t seem to know much about weed. Or residue.

2.) You cannot keep an entire despite based on some deposits next to a sink, whatever you seem to have decided they are.

3.) you are complete amateurs if you haven’t put the deposit into a protected scheme. You’d like be in more trouble for that than the tenants would if it were weed.

4.) the AirBnB plan is not a brilliant one unless you are flush in time and money. You will incur much greater costs and much more work. The wear and tear on your property will be immense, especially if it’s a low-end property. People are not respectful.

Totally agree

You are clearly not a good landlord if you don't know the law, have terrible instincts about what the law might be, blame your husband for whatever goes on, and think being a landlord should allow you to exercise Turkmen dictator levels of control over the renters.

The place needing to be disinfected or whatever because of some maybe-weed is equally hyperbolic to the point of being nonsense, hyperventilating self-righteousness.

You need to learn the law, take responsibility for your own shared actions and get a grip.

The idea of supporting/funding their lifestyle makes me very uncomfortable.

YOU’RE not funding their lifestyle, THEY’RE funding yours. YOU’RE just giving back money you owe them!

Tell them they need to do a full clean before they leave.

You fucked up by not protecting their deposit. Just give it back.

Perhaps just sell the place, you AND your husband don't seem capable of running it.

You have definitely broken the law by not protecting their deposit in a registered scheme. That’s a fact. Did you even have the necessary gas and electrical checks / certificates? Have you paid the correct amount of tax from the rental business?

They might have broken the law with respect to drugs, or they might not. You don’t know for sure. Legally (and morally) you are on shakier ground than they are, so involving the police would seem a bit foolish…

Surely this isn’t a serious post op? It’s such a non issue honestly.

if your losing your sanity over a tiny bit of what may or may not be weed, how will you cope with the house being used as an air bnb? All sorts could be going on. They will probably be sniffing lines off the toilet seat next