How to nicely vacate tenant out of property with rising damp?

How to nicely vacate tenant out of property with rising damp?

16:29 PM, 11th July 2018, About 6 years ago 11

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Hello all, Looking for advice on how to best get my tenant out of my property so I can treat rising damp, paint it and sell it.

My tenant has rented my terraced house in St Helens for the last 5 years now with many ups and downs, rent arrears, catching up, having moved a big dog in and 20 fish tanks to breed fish which has contributed to the damp.

The damp needs treating and he insists I need to rehouse him for a month which is impossible with the amount of stuff he has.

I have put the property up for sale with the tenant wishing to stay and sell to another landlord …. he has now stopped paying the rent due to illness.

He has nowhere to go and now says the damp is bad for his health.

Antoinette


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Comments

Neil Patterson

16:35 PM, 11th July 2018, About 6 years ago

Dear Antoinette

I would be very careful how you deal with this and would take expert professional advice from someone such as Paul Shamplina and his team at Landlord Action >> https://www.property118.com/member/?id=190

You are at risk here of the tenant getting the council involved and a potential revenge eviction claim if not handled correctly.

Annie Landlord

9:21 AM, 12th July 2018, About 6 years ago

If you just needed the tenant to move out while the house was uninhabitable you would simply not take the rent from him, so he could use those funds to stay somewhere else while the works are being done. The AST should confirm the terms. The complication is that you have put the house up for sale with the tenant in situ. I did this recently, but only after discussions with my excellent tenants and I also put in writing to them that they wished to stay put in the hope I could sell to another landlord (which I did) Frankly, you shouldn't be trying to offload this non paying, non compliant tenant on to another landlord. As Neil says, you could fall foul of the revenge eviction legislation, so paying for advice from someone like Landlord Action would be money well spent

Chris @ Possession Friend

9:36 AM, 12th July 2018, About 6 years ago

We handle ALL possession claims against tenants, especially difficult ones. PossessionFriend.uk
( and are far more competitive )

Michael Barnes

13:47 PM, 12th July 2018, About 6 years ago

Sounds like the sort of tenant that I would not want to take on.

What is the status of the tenancy (fixed term or periodic)?
Has the tenant made any complaint about the condition of the property?

S21 may be available; also S8 various grounds.

Antoinette Cunningham

16:44 PM, 12th July 2018, About 6 years ago

Reply to the comment left by Annie Landlord at 12/07/2018 - 09:21
Thank you Neil and Annie .... The tenant was up to date with the rent when I put the house up for sale stating That the tenant would like to stay . He has since been knocked off his bike by a car and consequently lost his job , so is now behind with the rent and selling the property with him in sittue is no longer an option.
I have also explained that the mortgage is coming to an end and I have to sell.....

Antoinette Cunningham

16:49 PM, 12th July 2018, About 6 years ago

Reply to the comment left by Michael Barnes at 12/07/2018 - 13:47
This is a periodic tenancy .
Yes the tenant made a comment last year about the damp . I arranged to get it treated with a company, but he told me his expensive settee might get damaged and he could not stay in the house while the work was being carried out and needed to be rehoused . I have reduced his rent since then .

Chris @ Possession Friend

19:27 PM, 12th July 2018, About 6 years ago

I know of some who would be in favour of granting this tenant a Three Year Fixed term !
Course, thing is you wouldn't know the tenants True colours until after you were committed.

Ian Cognito

19:42 PM, 12th July 2018, About 6 years ago

Reply to the comment left by Chris Daniel at 12/07/2018 - 19:27
But tenant has been renting property for 5 years!

You're right that I'm not opposed to 3 year minimum tenancies IF the quid pro quo (to quote another Ian) is that there's a change in legislation that enables rogue tenants to be ejected with the minimum of fuss, time and expense.

Of course, I am well aware that defining and proving 'rogue' is no easy matter, but if the 3 year law is coming in anyway, at least let's have the debate.

Rob Crawford

11:12 AM, 13th July 2018, About 6 years ago

I fail to see why the work cannot be carried out with the tenant in situ. If it was your house would you move out? No. A good company will work with the occupant to reduce the intrusion. Assuming silicon injection and replacement of 1 metre of plaster in each room it should be manageable. Get some quotes now and write (must be written) a proposal of works to the tenant. If he refuses this then serve a section 21. You have then complied with the law relating to revenge evictions. But before all this. Was there damp 5 years ago? If not why has it suddenly appeared - there could be a quick remedial solution here?

Wyn Burgess

8:31 AM, 14th July 2018, About 6 years ago

Are you sure you have rising damp, I have been reading Jeff Howells book "The rising damp myth", essentially he says RD is a myth and the cause of the damp is more likely to be due to condensation or external factors such as leaking pipes or raised ground levels. I think dpc installation and replastering cannot reasonably be carried out with a tenant in the property unless you could arrange compensation - pay them for a holiday?

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