Would like to ask tenant to leave but now we have a change in regulations?

[cheeseandbranston]

I have a small renter. I have only put the rent up by £50 in the past 4 years because I had (wrongly) assumed the tenant was a good one, because she rarely asks for anything, is polite and pays on time.

however, I asked to walk through the property a month ago, and it was shocking. She had painted everything herself and down a very bad job, the garden was full of junk as was the garage, she has a pet that we never discussed and the carpets are all ripped up by the pet.

i didn’t say much at the time because my visit obviously made her super anxious - she covered all the floors with sheets and claimed she had just carpeted them when it was obvious that it was because she didn’t want me to see them. And she tried to stop me going outside claiming the rain had made the garden and garage dangerous.

I could see she was close to tears as I left.

i felt sorry for and after texted saying that I hoped the walk through didn’t make her too anxious and I wouldn’t need to do it again for another year - I didn’t want her to be frightened.

BUT, it has made me realise, I don’t want to rent my house any more. I took a couple of months to think about it, and the damage will be costly to put right, and I don’t want my own property at risk like this.

I had planned to tell her in January because I don’t want to make Christmas difficult for them. (Her boyfriend and teenager live there too)

but yesterday I saw renting rights are changing and you can no longer simply give a tenant notice?

does anyone have any advice please? Not just opinion, but actual knowledge of what I need to do?

thank you.

These people will help you. (See below)
They are efficient at unraveling everything. You have to pay but they’ll take over the situation and absorb the stress.

Took me over a year to get my tenants out but I needed to sell.

Furthermore they were not paying market rent so struggled to find an alternative for what they could afford.

After they finally left I was thence liable for Council tax (after 3 months empty) and utility standing charges. I emulsioned throughout to clean the place up readyfor sale. All that costs money. Factor that in.

www.ast-assistance.com/about-us

The law hasn’t come into effect yet - I do know that as a LL

my question is what do you intend to do with the property? That I was unclear about. Pointless just leaving it empty

in the meantime I would say to the tenant you expect them to remove all the junk and make good the walls carpets etc

Do you think a home owner needs to repaint (by necessity not choice) and re carpet every 4 years?

Carpets should last longer than 4 years even in 2025. Surely this shows tenants are treating the property appallingly.

Why weren't you regularly inspecting your property?

Why on earth would you not be honest? Written findings of inspection with written outcomes - for both parties.

Why does your lease not prevent redecorating and terms that make it clear the tenant should keep the property in good and tidy condition.

This all sounds mad. You have let them damage your property and breached your own agreement with a complete lack of engagement with your tenant.

You should issue whatever notice is applicable in law as soon as possible and never be a landlord again, unless you properly educate yourself about the legal obligations involved in being a decent landlord.

Re-.painting to re-let : yes absolutely after 4 years!

Carpets less so but that's why she has a damage deposit

Oh and asking Mumsnet after the fact doesn't constitute educating yourself.

You are right that you’re not cut out for this role, but since you are a landlord you need to keep going. Don’t rely on Mumsnet advice, check the government websites about ending the tenancy. And think what you will do with the property after she leaves. And consider letting her stay provided she completes a list of jobs in the house. It’s hard to find a rental nowadays and she’ll have a big incentive to sort things out.

But if you are not letting a property are you saying a freshly painted (looked after) home will need a complete repaint in 4 years?

That's absolutely irrelevant though.

Renting a property comes with costs associated. I don't know why people think it's going to be a clean rent they receive. Of course you need to set aside funds to repaint around every 3-5 years (and in all honesty probably between each letting).

And the important point is - when I helped my friend push back the tenancy deposit scheme agreed with her.

Why does she need to help someone move? Is that really the law?

Have you got a proper contract and a protected deposit?

Sorry after a 4 year tennacy youd be expected to repaint regardless! As for carpet its every 10 years. What you should of done is given her the opportunity to sort it out given her 6 months to get the house in a good state. She could of got a skip done the garden etc and then made a decision based off that.
your not fit to be a landlord so dont rent it out again.

Sorry feel the need to back the op here.if fhe tennant had looked after the property properly they wouldn’t be in this situation. Wear and tear is normal but ripped up carpets and gardens full
of junk isn’t.

I accept that. However, I am saying that if paintwork is in a bad condition after 4 years, it can only be because the tenant is disrespecting the property (unless it was a botched paint job)

No it’s not. I assume that the poster meant that offering to assist might be cheaper than the alternative of the tenant sitting tight and not leaving at the end of their notice period.

This is not true. ATM it is perfectly legal to give a section 21 still. Look on the Shelter website if you don't believe me. Wear and tear yes but a LL has absolutely no obligation to find another tenancy for their tenant or pay removal costs.

I'm currently a landlord so I don't hate them! I didn't intend to be a LL - I inherited half a property after a relative died. I wanted to sell but the other inheritor wanted to rent out as the market isn't great.

We've done it through a letting agency so that it's all above board, we put aside money for repairs etc and make sure they are authorized immediately when needed.

The OP has chosen not to use a letting agent - presumably to save money - which is her choice, but then hasn't upskilled herself on what she needs to do legally, what are her responsibilities and what are the rights of her tenants. She's now asking on MN rather than getting proper advice.

Yes, that was also my assumption. It may be better to pay a grand or so for removal costs instead of having to pay a five figure sum next year in lost rent and legal fees.

The carpets were 2 years old when tenants moved in so 6 years old now. ARLA state carpets should be changed every 6-7 years if needed. If there is damage they have a formula to work out cost of damage based on how many years old carpets are.

Negotiating a solution with the tenant may be quicker and cheaper than going through the formal legal eviction process if the OP wants to sell. Obviously that is not the law, just a suggestion for OP to consider.

What does the rental agreement she signed say? If it says, for example, two months, that's the minimum you have to give her. You can give her longer if you wish, but you should have this new agreement in writing just in case things do get difficult.

Does the rental agreement say anything about decorating? Most rentals that allow decorating require the property to be returned to its original/a neutral colour on vacating.

If she can't/won't do this, you may have to look at taking it - and the other repairs due to the pet (I'm assuming your contract said no pets) - out of her deposit.

I understand that this is uncomfortable for you, but that's why letting agents exist.

Another example of why some landlords are just useless.

Your job as a landlord would have been to inspect the property regularly.

You spent 4 years without any inspection? you only have yourself to blame for letting things go that bad.

You don't seem to know about the regulations either.

Now you are going to make someone homeless.

Frankly it is best for you to sell the house as you don't seem to know what you are doing.

Renting houses is like any other business, you need to be aware of regulation, treat your tenants properly and take your responsibilities seriously.

OP’s tenant repainted, presumably to have walls in a colour she prefers, but did a poor amateurish job. She didn’t damage the previous paintwork horribly by disrespecting the property, she just did a bad job repainting. People who own properties also mess up paint jobs.
The carpets have been ruined by the pet. That happens all the time in houses that are owned as well.
The junk in the garden is the tenant’s property and their responsibility to remove at the end of the tenancy. And again, people who own their houses also sometimes leave junk in their gardens.
If you expect your tenants to keep the house in show home condition all the time then you shouldn’t be a landlord. Sure it’s nice when you get tenants like that, but you can’t control it and it’s difficult to predict ahead of time.
OP has worked out that she can’t cope with being a landlord because she can’t separate her ownership of the property from her feelings about how it’s being lived in currently - which is fair enough. Obviously there are laws and rules about what constitutes fair wear and tear and what constitutes damage beyond fair wear and tear. But your own feelings on what constitutes respect/disrespect of a rented house are not law. Landlords have to obey those laws and there is no point expecting the law to align with your own emotional reactions to imagining (in your case) or seeing (in OP’s case) your property being lived in by tenants in a way you dislike.

We seem to have a weirdly casual approach to people being landlords. It doesn’t matter if you are being a landlord as your 9-5 job or letting out a property you inherited because you don’t know what else to do with, you have to meet exactly the same regulations and standards.

You would expect e.g. if someone wanted to start looking after other people’s children in their home that they should be pretty well aware of the need to be an Ofsted registered childminder and have the appropriate training.

If you want to start a cake making business you need to be registered with your local
aurhority and have appropriate food hygiene training and standards.

Why should the business of providing and maintaining the roof over someone’s head be seen as something that can just be done on a casual basis without much knowledge or consideration?

OP mentions damage caused by a pet that wasn't supposed to be in the property, which would not fall under wear & tear.

From her posts though I suspect she may not have a proper tenancy agreement.