Tenant from hell - help

[Nondescriptname]

I inherited my sister's house in a rural area of Scotland.
I did a lot of work on it and got a tenant, woman in 40s & her mother, who moved in in Sept.
Just before they moved in, I noticed a small problem with the washing machine piping so I text to ask them not to use the machine until I got it fixed.
The woman replied that I was harassing her and when I went there with the plumber she said again that I was harassing her, and gave me a lot of insults while the piping was being fixed.

My solicitor drew up the tenancy contract and it states that I can have access to a large shed on the property, which is beside the house.
This is because I want to store furniture and other belongings there while I get work done on my own house.
When I went there, with some of my things, the woman shouted that I was harassing her and she phoned the police but they didn't come out and have never contacted me.
The tenant has now put a padlock on the gate at the entrance to the property.

I don't know how to deal with this by myself.

Would it be a good idea to get a letting agent to act for me, so that I don't have direct contact with the tenant and the letting agent would be much less vulnerable to accusations of harassment?

I would be asking your solicitor how you can evict her as quickly as possible.

If the tenancy agreement states you can have access to the shed & she's signed it then she is technically breaching tenancy. However you would be required to give her sufficient notice that you wanted to access the property.

I would give notice and kick her out

Gosh. She sounds awful. You have my sympathies. It might be worth joining a landlord group or speaking to a solicitor for specialist advice.

You need Scottish legal advice but in England, there are currently stricter eviction protocols in place (due to C-19).

Life is too short - start taking steps to have them move on.

I would strongly recommend a good letting agent to manage everything.

Solicitor has suggested eviction, on basis that I want to live there as my house needs a lot of work.
That would all take months, though.
Also, I could do with the rental money as I spent a lot on the house.
I'd rather get it sorted so that the tenancy can continue without me being accused of harassment, even if I have to store my stuff elsewhere.
So, my thought was that a letting agent could keep a check that the property is not being damaged and I wouldn't have to be involved.

Yes, covid letting regulations are in Scotland too.

Before you do anything; have you registered as a landlord in Scotland? Its a serious legal requirement here , so if there's any formal complaints to or about the tenant, your LL registration is the first thing either side will check.

I'm not sure if they operate in Scotland or not, but one firm that was recommended to me by other landlords is Landlord Action. They are very good at the legal bits if you decide she needs to go - any mistake in the process and you are back to square one. I didn't need to use them in the end as my batshit tenant went quietly in the end!

An agent sounds like a good idea but you need to be sure that they'll actually do what you need them to do, otherwise you're paying money for f**k all. In the short term, if she's denying you access to the storage area that is not part of her tenancy then you could probably just take a set of bolt cutters to the padlock - as you mention that you have a solicitor, probably best to discuss it with him first.

Whatever you do, communicate with this woman in writing only - text or email. That way you could prove that her crazy allegations of harassment were false if need be.

I agree with PP, I think you should get her out as soon as possible.

Yes, I'm registered.
I don't want that to get cancelled because of her complaints.

Paper trail on everything, OP - every last thing. Start a log of events and organize your evidence so that you're prepared if the shit hits the fan somehow e.g. a complaint to the Landlord registration body in Scotland, more police calls etc.

Thank you MyOwnSummer and everyone who has responded.

Getting some sensible advice from you has helped me.

I've just checked re eviction and found that, under covid rules at present, all grounds are discretionary.
So even if my reason is accepted, there might not be an order for eviction.

Definitely, I'll be making sure of a paper trail, whatever happens.

@Nondescriptname

Solicitor has suggested eviction, on basis that I want to live there as my house needs a lot of work. That would all take months, though. Also, I could do with the rental money as I spent a lot on the house. I'd rather get it sorted so that the tenancy can continue without me being accused of harassment, even if I have to store my stuff elsewhere. So, my thought was that a letting agent could keep a check that the property is not being damaged and I wouldn't have to be involved.

You may have misunderstood your solicitor's advice.

""LL requires the property for their own occupation" if genuine, is a permitted reason to serve a no-fault tenant with notice to leave at the end of the agreed tenancy term. Reasonable tenants will comply and if they do , you won't need the trouble, delay and expense of eviction proceedings.
If they don't leave by that date, then you would start eviction proceedings.

  Having that  "place to live" reason   is a valuable asset to you and in  these circumstances I'd  prepare to use it.  Make sure to follow the  absolute letter of the law in regard to timing, wording,  proven delivery of the notice etc. 

I hope you made a  very detailed  inventory and took photos of everything, asked for references and followed them up. 

A letting agent won't have any additional rights of inspection or entry, other than the ones in the existing tenancy contract.

I've a feeling that a tenant behaving in this way may not leave the place in a very goud condition. Sounds a very extreme use of language, almost paranoid and I'm not sure a letting agent would fare much better. I think the sooner she is out the happier you'll be.

She accused you of harrassing her after you sent one text?

The woman replied that I was harassing her and when I went there with the plumber she said again that I was harassing her, and gave me a lot of insults while the piping was being fixed.

When I went there, with some of my things, the woman shouted that I was harassing her and she phoned the police but they didn't come out and have never contacted me.
The tenant has now put a padlock on the gate at the entrance to the property.

I know nothing about tenancy/landlord laws in scotland but have been a tenant and landlord in England & Wales.

The harrassment allegations seem slanderous.
The not giving access to a landlord is almost certainly in breach of the tenancy agreement.

You need to get rid of the tenant. There is a housing shortage. You will find new tenants.

I'd guess that she'll stop paying rent and refuse to leave, so get rid legally and quickly.

OP, I'm a LL in Scotland - the laws are different up here.

I suggest you contact & join SAL (Scottish Assn of Landlords) - they give good advice & information- it will cost you about £100 but is well worth it.

Also take a look at the first tier tribunal (FTT) process - they have a decisions section on their website to give you a feel for things - but there are lengthy delays - you are probably looking at 9-12m to gain possession.

I'm assuming you self-manage & don't use a letting agency.

Also check out if your landlords insurance covers you for legal expenses - as this will be a costly process.

She doesn’t have dogs does she, there was a recent tenants from Hell programme filmed in rural Scotland, woman in her 40s and her mum, padlocked the landlord out and completely wrecked the house, the landlord was in tears and the neighbours were harassed by the women.

You need a much stronger stomach to be a LL. In the first instance I'd get an agent, start eviction proceedings and write off a large chunk of money and time that it will take to get rid of her.

Did you get references from previous LLs for her?

No dogs.
Yes, I got a reference from previous landlord.
It does sound weird that all this started right away.

Thanks for that info LargeProsecco I'll look into it.

Not really relevant but, after having the tenants from hell for nearly 2 years, once they finally left i got an estate agent to manage it as letting agents and it is AMAZING.

They deduct about 15% before passing the rent on to me, which is high, but they do everything and do it very efficiently. I have had regular payments, high standard of care for the property, minor maintenance taken care of, and most of all sane tenants. It is a world away from having to deal with the appalling situation i found myself in before and has done wonders for my mental health let alone my bank balance. I highly recommend it.

Thank you 2bazookas, you're right, that's what was said - I phrased it badly.
That sounds wonderful RubaiyatOfAnyone.

Nasty tenants are on the lookout for inexperienced first-time LL who self-manage.