Help my tenant wants a section 21?

Help my tenant wants a section 21?

10:18 AM, 15th January 2016, About 8 years ago 13

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Help, my tenant is causing damage to the property and have been there just over 2 years now on periodic tenancy. I have been letting below market value as I knew them and was trying to do them a favour.want

Now they have complained to council about condensation and mold! I have spoken to council and explained that they are not cleaning the windows or allowing air flow through house. They only have the heating on 2 hours as they can’t afford heating bills? First I knew was when I got a letter and went to house and was shocked by state of it. Lots of damage!

When I told them the rent going up to £1,100 per month they told me they couldn’t afford it on housing benefit and they now want a section 21 to help them? The council will only pay £850 a month so they will have a shortfall?

I was looking for help please as to what to do next. I want them gone and it will cost to put house right again.

Any information would be greatly appreciated as I am fed up with tenants that trash house.

Many thanks in advance

Lazydaisy


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Comments

Gary Dully

20:06 PM, 15th January 2016, About 8 years ago

Daisy,

Would you like a £50 cure?, if so read on....

Are your tenants just a bunch of idiots or they simply in fear of a "Rogue Landlord", who after they have raised a concern, has made their rent unaffordable?

You have rocked their World, just like George Osborne has rocked ours with 'Clause24'.

Do you think that they want a free house from the council and jump the queue for housing, whilst suing you for harassment and disrepair?

Is it the case that the rents gone up because they had a mould and condensation issue?, if that's the case you ought to be worried.

Your tenant requires educating in regards to the damp, but they have no incentive to listen.

So you need to get a bit of evidence of the Tenant being unable to maintain a house and ventilate as it should require in your tenancy agreement.

But at the same time, it might help improve your communication and relationship with them.

Use a camera and a sheet of A4 paper your phone probably has one built in and Staples sells paper.

Issue a section 21 and issue a Section 8 notice, but at the same time offer them a potential way of not becoming homeless and still remaining on the councils waiting list.

Then move to step 2.

Arrange a property inspection explicitly for the purpose of the condensation problem and get 2 Hygrometer meters, (Humidity meters), one will need to be a temperature gauge also.
The other should be a simple dial gauge type with purple colored section of the 'safe' area for humidity.

Upon inspection obtain the humidity, dew point and temperature readings for each room. (Electronic gauge costs about £11 on eBay).

Take the readings and note them down and give the tenant 14 days notice of your next inspection and a copy of the readings.

Leave a £10 hygrometer with the tenant and tell them to keep the needle within the purple section on the dial.
(Do not give them the electronic one)
If it goes higher than the purple section , they have to ventilate or heat to avoid mould.
If it goes below the purple section tell them the house is probably going to burst into flames if there is a bush fire anywhere in the street and all, the paint will start cracking as all the doors warp.

See how they are drying their washing as its more likely to be the cause of all of the problems.

Get the Window locks operational, replacement handles with locks are about £5.99 at Screwfix.

The house should have humidistat fans fitted at least in the bathroom and kitchen and you could do no worse than to offer more info via the heritage homes website concerning damp issues.

Buy them 3 jumbo sized car wash sponges, rubber gloves, breathing masks (disposable) and 2 bottles of spray on mould remover and tell them to get cleaning with the materials you have left to get rid of the mould.

There will be people on this forum who will shriek in horror at my suggestion, but it works for me time and time again.

The tenant has the viewpoint that they are going to win any legal argument because the Council tell them that you are at fault.
They also have the viewpoint that you are a bit of a ' git' and have raised the rent on defective property.

If you have humidity, dew point and temperature readings recorded, they will be unsure of their position.
The simple hygrometer meter, you leave, will cause the nervous side of the tenant to ventilate and the awkward side to whinge.

Nobody can stay angry 24 hours a day and sooner or later they will get curious and try the meter in each room.

But in that 14 days there will at least be an improvement and you will be able to record it.

The tenants have the main issue with you, of your rent increase and it appears to be retaliatory in nature and made worse as they are claiming disrepair.
if the council issue an improvement notice, you won't be able to use the Section 21 notice anyway.

If you want the property issue resolved, you will need the tenants cooperation.

If you start eviction proceedings now, you won't get your property back until about July anyway and it could cost you thousands.

Try this method and you might improve things all round and they may sign the petition against 'Clause24'

Joe Bloggs

20:21 PM, 15th January 2016, About 8 years ago

Reply to the comment left by "Mandy Thomson" at "15/01/2016 - 18:17":

mandy,

i dont think i implied that recorded delivery was not 'legal'!

the point i was making (and you have confirmed) is obviously the advice given by ross mccoll about recorded delivery was bad advice; recorded delivery could defeat the whole objective of good service.

Ross McColl

21:14 PM, 15th January 2016, About 8 years ago

To clarify. When I say recorded delivery, I mean some proof that the document has been served. I personally hand deliver and film delivery. I have been challenged in court by a tenant who claimed they had not received the section 21, at which point I supplied a usb stick with the video. Needless to say the decision went in my favour and we were granted a possession order. My point is that however you serve, make sure you have evidence to prove it. All the best.

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