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.

I haven’t read all the responses so may be repeating something here. Please take a look at The Independent Landlord’s website which provides very useful information on renting out property. Suzanne Smith, who runs it also has a YouTube channel and has this week put up a video summarising the new law. I’m in a similar position myself, haven’t looked at the new law in any detail yet but understand that you can still give the tenants reasonable notice in order to sell your property, as long as you don’t rent it out again at a higher rent after making the tenants leave.

Follow law to a T, DO NOT extend the required notice period thinking you are being kind. You may cause more problems for yourself.

I'd suggest handing the management of the place over to an agency now so they can make sure all the paperwork is in place. That in itself may take time if there is even one bit missing the tenant can (and Shelter will advise them to) wait until the very last day to point it out and then you have to start all over again.

You could see about bringing the rent up to be in line with similar properties in the area as a first step - she might decide she will move herself.

That is shocking. If a landlord has no say to who he or she rents to that is akin to state ownership. It really does seem that they want to reward the feckless.

Interesting to see what happens when their are no private landlords left. Feel sympathy for the decent tenants but just desserts for the rubbish ones.

I mean the properties themselves aren’t going anywhere!

I’m hoping what will happen if the small-scale amateur landlord like OP sells up that there is a bit more consolidation around larger scale professional landlords. There’s no reason we can’t have larger landlords similar to housing associations operating on a for-profit basis in the private rented sector, where the risk associated with ‘bad’ tenants are spread and they can operate on the basis of longer-term investment models (eg can take on more debt to invest in improving the homes).

I’m with you on this. As the result of divorce I’m an accidental landlord and I do my best but it’s not easy. I can’t believe some of the responses on here, judgemental to say the least. There’s so much red tape attached to letting out property and you need time and money to wade through it all. As soon as my tenant wants to leave I will be selling up. It will cost a lot to make it attractive to any buyer but it will be worth it to me to get the stress out of my life. To those who say use a managing agent, well fine if you can find a good one but I’ve heard a lot of negative feedback about them.

Did you not give her written instructions to clear up the property following the inspection? I rent and any inspections will follow up with things the tenant needs to do, such as get rid of mould on the window ledge. All that junk outside would attract vermin and keeping the garden in good condition is surely in the terms. You should have advised her to make improvements and walked through again in 1-2 months.

Sounds like you don’t want to upset her, which is very noble but yes when renting its my home, but i’d certainly expect my landlord to hold me to account for causing damage etc. Assume you’ll be keeping her deposit to pay for the damage, but I do think you should advise her to sort it out, or she could lose her deposit. As surely saying nothing means you’re fine with the state of the house?

Think you will find the property belongs to whoever is on the deeds not who pays rent. Entitlement at its finest.

Landlords will still absolutely be able to carry out affordability checks and take references!

What they can’t do is bar people JUST because they receive benefits (if those benefits make the rent affordable).

What was still happening was people not even getting a foot in the door because properties were still being advertised as “NO DSS”.

Please remember it will be an absolute nightmare for her to find a new place before early January with Christmas in the way. And she will have to move pack etc over Xmas.

3 months is nothing to move. Ive moved several times (as an owner not renter) and the while process is stressful and takes many months

If you are wanting the house back fine. But show some respect.

This is exsclty why we need tougher renter protection . You havent even given her a warning or talked constructively with her about making changes before leaning to evict her.

Just get an agent, this is why they exist so they can have the difficult conversations and ensure that your tenancy is legal.

@camelhasthehump how disgusting to call it entitlement that a long term tenant thinks of her house as home

Id like any home owner here to imagine being give 3 months notice to look for a new home and move into it. Leaving behind a place they felt was home.

You owe it to her to let her have a chance to make amends if you are unhappy about the house.

Why not employ an agent and they can talk to her about sticking to the rules.

@BoringBarbie The LL redecorates! Not the tenant. It’s not law yet and of course you can give notice. 4 months is fair. She’s not respected your property. No wonder people don’t rent out property. Yes, you deduct from deposit.

plus - use an agent! I had annual property checks! Not me doing it. You are too DIY snd she’s taken advantage. You need professional checks.

Get a property solicitor to write the letters to make sure you do it right.

Is the deposit in a deposit protection scheme?

I e pay for correct advice.

Do yourself a favour and go over to Martin Lewis’ money saving expert forum. They have a section for renting/ buying and there are professional landlords on there who will talk you through the process.

forums.moneysavingexpert.com/categories/house-buying-renting-selling

“Stressful for the landlord”?
As someone who was served a section 21 two years ago, faced the prospect of spending Christmas in a hostel in separate rooms to my partner and some of my children, almost committed suicide due to the immense stress, had to uproot all of my children from their schools and only friends they’ve ever known and is still NOW feeling the affects of it (including PTSD), landlords have no sympathy whatsoever from me.

My landlord saw £ signs when he realise he could make more money by evicting us.
I guarantee he hasn’t given us a second thought since we left and yet I’m still trying to put my life back together again 2 years later.

Poor landlords, hey. However do they cope having their mortgage paid by people that can’t really afford it whilst making it impossible for people who actually want to LIVE in their houses to own one.

I’d laugh if it didn’t make me want to cry.

Section 21 should have been scrapped years ago, and there’s still so much they need to do to make renting more secure for everyone, but at least this is a start.

and for those “Oh but what would you do without landlords?!”
If it were illegal to buy to let then it would HAVE to be easier for people to buy their homes, there would be no other way around it.
Landlords existing does not benefit anyone other than the landlords.

Report my comment all you like, I’ve said my piece and won’t be commenting further anyway.
You have no idea, no grasp on the reality of this.

Exactly this!

Unfortunately, I feel you may be wasting your time trying to elicit any sort of empathy from the landlords on here though.
They only see as far as their bank balances.

Of all the things I’ve read on here this is the most stupid comment.

I’ve been a tenant myself in the past and wouldn’t damage the house because “it’s usual”.

When you rent you know it’s never your home, you are a tenant not a homeowner and as such should have respect for the property.

Attitudes like this show why people don’t want to be landlords and are selling up to the big companies who will have no problem serving an eviction notice in this situation.

I think you should ask her to tidy up the garden. I don't think you should kick her out around Xmas. You don't seem to have any urgent need for the property back. I know it's your right but a messy garden and damaged carpets wouldn't make me do something so drastic.

Please join the National Residential Landlords' Association and get some proper advice.

I only have one property too, but you need to be professional about it, not soppy (sorry).

Not read the whole thread but join the NRLA and use their legal helpline.

I assume they will confirm that you can still issue a S21, but that you will need to be quick. The new act is not law yet. Once issued speak to her civilly. Say that unfortunately you have another use for the property. (Need to sell, family member wants it etc.) I would then be tempted to take a bit of a hit. Say you would be happy to write her a good reference. Say that though you are unhappy about the painting, you are aware that these are difficult times and that as long as she does not cause further problems, you would be prepared to overlook the cost of repainting, etc.

Then sell. You do not want to be a landlord going forward.

Whilst hoping for the best, you need to prepare for the worse. If she refuses to go, hoping that eviction will follow along with an obligation on the Council to rehouse her, it will be lengthy and tedious. Get NRLA advice on what might be next steps.

@cheeseandbranston if you do keep the property, I wouldn’t let a friend live there even if paying rent. You might find their standards problematic as well. You might not, but it sounds like it wouldn’t help your anxiety.

It sounds like she’s broken quite a few terms of a standard lease.

Not removing garbage in a timely manner

A pet when the lease does not allow one

Substantial damage to fittings ie carpets

Painting without your permission

And I’m sure there are clauses about keeping a property in general order.

She’s broken all those clauses - you have enough reasons to give her notice.