You were an enormous help to us when we had tenants from hell, and now my Dad is suffering terribly with his...he is too stressed to do anymore and is told there is no way out, so I will share his situation myself in hope you might know a way forward in what seems a pro-tenant anti-landlord legal system!
He and his wife have a 100% mortgage on a small house which they is letting out in hope it will be an investment for the future. They have had tenants for over a year in which the rent came in (late at times)and they renewed the years contract which now ends next May. In July the tenants stopped paying and give every excuse under the sun as to why they can't pay. They moan about damp so my Dad got a damp specialist in who confirmed it condensation due to tenants never opening windows. They have tried numerous times to get an electrician in to put in extractor fans but every time the tenants cancel the appointments yet keep moaning about damp.
When they first moved in, they all agreed the deposit would be put in an account opened specially for it to which the tenants could view for themselves that it was still there. (because DPS delayed to return previous tenants deposit resulting in stress for her, they considered this better for their tenants than using DPS again). They have since learned about being fined 3 times amount of deposit for not using DPS...tenants started making threats over this so deposit now with DPS albeit later than deadline.
Dad and his wife have found their legal cover won't pay because they did not take adequate tenant references, and have just borrowed £1100 to pay their legal fees to date (as well as £700/month to keep the mortgage paid)and have issued a section 8. They have been told by another solicitor that they are unlikely to win because if the tenant states they are not paying because the property is damp the whole case can be thrown out without looking at Dads defending evidence. He's also been told that if the tenant makes a small token payment towards the debt the section 8 can be thrown out. To issue a section 21 he would have to wait till May, and would also have to pay the deposit back to be legal because of the late DPS situation.
It looks like my Dad and his wife can lose everything, and it seems to unfair to be true that the laws are all geared round protecting tenants and not landlords. He and his wife are not sleeping and are getting ill with stress and getting into serious debt. Is there any way out for them?
I'd be so grateful for any advice
Many thanks
He and his wife have a 100% mortgage on a small house which they is letting out in hope it will be an investment for the future. They have had tenants for over a year in which the rent came in (late at times)and they renewed the years contract which now ends next May. In July the tenants stopped paying and give every excuse under the sun as to why they can't pay. They moan about damp so my Dad got a damp specialist in who confirmed it condensation due to tenants never opening windows. They have tried numerous times to get an electrician in to put in extractor fans but every time the tenants cancel the appointments yet keep moaning about damp.
When they first moved in, they all agreed the deposit would be put in an account opened specially for it to which the tenants could view for themselves that it was still there. (because DPS delayed to return previous tenants deposit resulting in stress for her, they considered this better for their tenants than using DPS again). They have since learned about being fined 3 times amount of deposit for not using DPS...tenants started making threats over this so deposit now with DPS albeit later than deadline.
Dad and his wife have found their legal cover won't pay because they did not take adequate tenant references, and have just borrowed £1100 to pay their legal fees to date (as well as £700/month to keep the mortgage paid)and have issued a section 8. They have been told by another solicitor that they are unlikely to win because if the tenant states they are not paying because the property is damp the whole case can be thrown out without looking at Dads defending evidence. He's also been told that if the tenant makes a small token payment towards the debt the section 8 can be thrown out. To issue a section 21 he would have to wait till May, and would also have to pay the deposit back to be legal because of the late DPS situation.
It looks like my Dad and his wife can lose everything, and it seems to unfair to be true that the laws are all geared round protecting tenants and not landlords. He and his wife are not sleeping and are getting ill with stress and getting into serious debt. Is there any way out for them?
I'd be so grateful for any advice
Many thanks
