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9:35 AM, 30th January 2024, About 3 months ago 25
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A BBC presenter and GP has revealed how a ‘friend’ of 25 years turned into a nightmare tenant who trashed her flat and refused to pay rent or leave.
Dr Renee Hoenderkamp, known to many as Dr Renee, regularly appears on BBC Radio London and Inside Out, rented out her one-bed flat in Hendon, northwest London, to a builder in February 2021, after her son moved out.
She offered him a discounted rent of half the market rate, hoping he would look after the property and pay on time.
But she soon regretted her decision, as he stopped paying rent and damaged the flat beyond recognition.
On X, formerly Twitter, Dr Hoenderkamp wrote: “Don’t be a landlord. I became one to help my son move.”
Dr Hoenderkamp told MailOnline: “He cracked the bathtub, corroded the floor, left the bathroom filthy, and made the glass screen so dirty you can’t even see through it.”
She went to court to evict her tenant but the process has been delayed by almost a year due to the pandemic and the slow justice system.
A possession order was granted in September 2022, but she is still waiting for a bailiff order to evict him.
She says she has spent thousands of pounds on legal fees and repairs, and she is worried about the state of the flat when he finally leaves.
Dr Hoenderkamp added: “It’s been really stressful. All the time you’re wondering: will it ever come to an end?
“Even then, I know when it does come to an end, I’m going to have to get builders in to replace the bathroom.”
Dr Hoenderkamp took to X, formerly Twitter, to warn other landlords not to make the same mistake as her.
She wrote: “Don’t be a landlord. I became one to help my son move.
“For 5 years I had the most amazing tenants, I reduced their rent as they hit financial difficulties to try and help, until eventually they divorced and left. Sad day.
“Then I made the biggest mistake ever. I took pity on a friend. Let him rent the flat at half the market rate, so that: a. He could and would always pay the rent. b. He would maintain it beautifully, he was a builder.
“Not only did I rarely get any rent until he agreed to let the local borough pay some of it directly, he smashed up the place.
“After repeatedly asking him to leave I had to go to court. I started the process almost a year ago. He has never attended a hearing because he knows the court will do his work for him.
“I had a possession order last September. I am still waiting for a bailiff order. A year and time and costs.
“Do not be a landlord. The system hates you. Is it any wonder why landlords are giving up and the rental markets becomes more expensive with less property. @LandlordAction have been brilliant with their advice, shame about the courts.”
She received support from Paul Shamplina, the founder of Landlord Action, a company that helps landlords recover their properties from non-paying tenants.
He replied on Twitter: “Renee as you know @LandlordAction we help landlords get their properties back from tenants refusing to pay their landlords or vacate the leave.
“In my 33 years in the industry I’ve never known the courts to be so slow.
“Landlords have been selling up adding to the housing crisis.”
Dr Hoenderkamp said she never intended to become a landlord to ‘make a profit’, but it was a way for her to keep paying the mortgage on her flat, which is worth £340,000 and has a garden and patio.
She said she had previously had five years of bliss with the ‘most amazing tenants’, who kept the flat in an ‘immaculate’ condition, and even improved it with their own touches.
Dr Hoenderkamp said: “They were lovely. They painted the walls, put up shelves, made it look like a home. They even left me a bottle of champagne and a thank you card when they moved out.”
She said she hopes her story will serve as a cautionary tale for other landlords, and a wake-up call for the government to reform the eviction process and protect landlords’ rights.
Dr Hoenderkamp, who has been left around £7,000 in repair costs, said: “I don’t want anyone else to go through what I’ve been through. It’s not fair. Landlords are not all bad. We need more support and faster justice.”
Reluctant Landlord
9:38 AM, 30th January 2024, About 3 months ago
we need more of these stories hitting the mainstream media to balance all the anti LL rhetoric out!
Nikki Palmer
9:54 AM, 30th January 2024, About 3 months ago
Reply to the comment left by Reluctant Landlord at 30/01/2024 - 09:38
That seems a ridiculous comment - how can that help the PRS?
This is a very unfortunate story but perhaps she should have left it to the experts.......
GlanACC
10:04 AM, 30th January 2024, About 3 months ago
I used Paul Shampalinas lot once, very effective, recommended.
Dino Saw
10:27 AM, 30th January 2024, About 3 months ago
Sounds awful, however, reading between the lines the takeaway I read is don't be a landlord like you (sorry to be harsh but true)…. You have clearly made many mistakes and do not have a clear understanding of the responsibilities or understanding of laws and processes of being a landlord ….
To have done well with only £7K out of pocket…. you were lucky.
All you have done is rant about how bad the tenant was yet take no responsibility for how you should have mitigated the risks and pushed blame elsewhere else.
I don’t think your story helps the PRS in any way shape or form but actively encourages Tenants to think they can get away with this kind of behaviour and that all landlords are this Nieve.
Going forward you can put it behind you and move forward.
Hopefully you will learn from this to improve your thought process and process awareness skills when working in the NHS.
Throwing in the towel LL
11:56 AM, 30th January 2024, About 3 months ago
Dino Saw - your comment is ludicrous. You can be the most responsible and knowledgeable landlord but tenants' situations change. They may start a tenancy with a spotless work record etc but their lives change for the worse and landlords take the brunt of it. Jobs get lost, maybe a messy divorce or have babies and maybe no partner etc etc they stop paying rent as their lives fall apart and no matter how sympathetic a landlord is we NEED the rent to be paid as we cannot go to our mortgage providers/service charge management and plead bad luck in our lives! I have a tenant now who has stopped paying rent (4 months) and is cultivating mould but won't let me in to deal with it. also a LGasSafety cert is due but again won't let the plumber in. What help is there for me to deal with this? With excess regulations and no help for PSL's I am sick of the situation and am one of the thousands selling up completely. See how the housing market/tenants fair once all we PL's have vanished.
GlanACC
12:08 PM, 30th January 2024, About 3 months ago
Reply to the comment left by Throwing in the towel LL at 30/01/2024 - 11:56
Couldn't agree more. It doesn't take a lot for a good tenant to become a bad tenant, at that point its survival mode and all they are interested in is still living in the property. By all means give the tenant a SMALL leeway but remember it doesn't take much to take a landlord down. If in any doubt the courts will side with the tenant.
Reluctant Landlord
12:15 PM, 30th January 2024, About 3 months ago
Reply to the comment left by Nikki Palmer at 30/01/2024 - 09:54
by showing that not every LL is a 'rogue' and just what the reality of renting is like. The government are hell bend on creating a system where by tenants rights are unevenly balanced and more articles like this will prove it's not a one way street.
It shows how ridiculous the court system is and that it should not have taken this long to get the situation remedied....just when they are looking at the RRB which is only going to ADD to the court process!
Just a few reasons why! And they wonder why LL's are selling up and shipping out??
Dino Saw
12:34 PM, 30th January 2024, About 3 months ago
Reply to the comment left by Throwing in the towel LL at 30/01/2024 - 11:56
Thanks for your comment but you really need to read what she said;
Quite 1:
“She offered him a discounted rent of half the market rate, hoping he would look after the property and pay on time.”
Would you offer a flat from day 1 in the hoping (hope being the word here) at half rent so he would pay their rent on time if so good luck with your business plan
Quote 2;
“ Then I made the biggest mistake ever. I took pity on a friend. Let him rent the flat at half the market rate”
Ah what… no character checks or financial affordability checks - would you pity someone one and reduce the rent by half from the beginning of the tenancy if so good luck with your business plan.
Quote 3:
“After repeatedly asking him to leave I had to go to court.”
Serve a Section 21!!!! - would you keep asking your tenant to leave without a section 21 - serve the notice!.. start the process that's formally asking them to leave. - would you keep asking them to leave without a section 21 if so good luck with your business plan.
Regards your situation no rent fur 4 months what have you done about it?… I gave this every year but I deal with it…
Have you served a section 21… if not serve it now!… pressure of money can make you make the wrong decisions you have to trigger a process regardless of what a tenant says otherwise it will delay and dither and you will expose yourself - Small claims court apply online trigger now online don’t delay… and follow the process to the end.
Hope truely your situation works out for you.
Cider Drinker
12:47 PM, 30th January 2024, About 3 months ago
I agree with Dino Saw.
Tenants are like children. They need to know the house rules and they need to k ow when they have done wrong - each and every time.
Incompetent landlords are more likely to have bad tenants.
TJP
15:16 PM, 30th January 2024, About 3 months ago
Reply to the comment left by Nikki Palmer at 30/01/2024 - 09:54
And perhaps the courts ought to do their job !!! When I tried to evict my tenant under section 21, it took 7 months to get a hearing, another 5 months for deferral. Then 3 days before the deferred hearing, my case was put back by 1 year and 2 weeks. AND the judge INVENTED a deposit for my tenant. You couldn't make it up.
The courts in this county are corrupt