Tenants taking advantage?

[Applecart12]

I have a rental property and despite them passing all referencing have been a nightmare.

1. They have consistently sub-letted (breaching the contract) the property numerous times to various people and the agent has had to move them along. But they've consistently lied saying they are only temporarily living there or they are family.

1. Breaking things in the property and then claiming it is not them, and not taking responsibility.

1. They all do night shifts - even the new ones they have moved in after the original tenancy agreement and have no consideration when they come back in the middle of the night, stomping up stairs, using the dishwasher, washing machine and blender at any time between 12-6 am. There are currently 4 people living there when the tenancy is for only 2.

1. Rubbish and mess are left at the front of the property and if the foxes do get into overflowing bins they just leave it sitting there.

1. Parties - children running, stomping at 11-1 am.

1. Domestic arguments where the neighbours can hear every word between the two adults

As the landlord I have spoken to them many times, the agent has spoken to them. The neighbours have knocked on their door.

Their 12 month contract ended recently and I was not willing to renew. However, they requested an extension because they said they had found a place and could not move till x-date.

X-date is approaching and they have now said they are still looking. Lies again

Now the question: neighbour this week had to knock on their door to ask for the screaming and running kids to stop and that they should be in bed at 11pm. They also mentioned about the domestic arguments that they could hear.

Tenants duly rang the agent next day complaining that the neighbour was aggressive and that they didn't like them talking about their children.

However, on speaking to said neighbour - they said that the tenant did not look upset when she mentioned the children (smirking and not bothered) but it was only when they mentioned the domestic arguments did their expression change.

How do I navigate this.

Unreasonable = neighbour
Not unreasonable = tenant

It sounds as if you need a long hard look at your letting agent. They don’t seem to be very competent or knowledgeable. Sadly running a letting agency seems full of people who think it’s easy money but don’t have a clue. As PP have said you could have evicted them for the sub letting.
Don’t let the agent give them a good reference, we had a tenant who was not paying full rent but managed to get a new tenancy despite owing about2k and her guarantor was unable to pay. Dozy letting agent let her off , changed agent soon afterwards.Hopefully she paid the rent to the new LL but I guess they didn’t know that she was unreliable.

I've used Mark Dawson at AST, he is very good at what he does.

Absolutely no one has said that. But are you denying that a sizeable number of landlords inflict difficult tenants on neighbours while living elsewhere themselves? Of course it's not all landlords, but the ones who do this give landlords a bad name.

Get rid of these arseholes asap

Are you denying that a sizeable number of landlords inflict difficult tenants on neighbours while living elsewhere themselves?

Not at all, @gothicomedy - as you rightly suggest there are some nightmare landlords just as there are some dreadful tenants, although I wouldn't have thought the landlords would actively want problem tenants for themselves never mind anyone else

Unfortunately, instead of screening applicants herself, OP appears to have used an agency to do this and too many of them simply don't care who places are let to as long as they're getting their money. Happily though she's now got a different one who hopefully (?) might be better

Absolutely this!

Agree, Section 8
https://www.gov.uk/evicting-tenants/section-21-and-section-8-notices#:~:text=You%20also%20cannot%20use%20a,property%2C%20if%20gas%20is%20installed