Nightmare Tenant Stung Landlord for £25,000!
The state that some rentals are left in is TRULY SHOCKING. But this is genuinely one of the worst that we’ve seen, resulting in £25k of necessary clean up and repairs…
We’re looking at tenant issues today, so you can learn how to avoid them – and all the stress and wasted cash too!
Before we get into that, we want to hear from YOU! Have you been burnt by a terrible tenant experience? Get in touch via the comments below and tell us all about it!
Worst he’s ever seen…
Landlord Tariq Parvez is 70-years-old, so we’d assume that his property portfolio was an investment in his future and retirement. We’ve always said that being a landlord isn’t just about putting your feet up and letting the money roll in, but at 70, you’d hope it would at least not be too much work to maintain… right?
Well, Mr Parvez has been a landlord for 20 years, but has reported that this is the worst he has ever seen in his entire career. Yes, it really is THAT bad.
The tenants were in the property for five years – which is sort of a dream for a landlord. After all, if you’ve got great tenants who are looking to stay long term, that’s less work and worry for you.
… Unless of course, you have THESE tenants, who destroyed Mr Parvez’s property to the tune of £25k
‘Disgusting home’
When you look at the state of the property once the tenants moved out, it really does beg the question of how they managed to live in this state.
When the tenants were gone, Mr Parvez found the following in the property:
- Rotten food
- Human and animal waste
- Graffiti scrawled on the walls
- The fridge had thick brown stains
- The freezer was completely frozen over
- There were dirty clothes, piles of rubbish, including used cigarettes, broken furniture, ripped up carpets
The really shocking thing though is that this wasn’t destruction accumulated over the 5 years of the tenancy, as Mr Parvez said:
They lived there for more than five years and I never had any major issues with them, then suddenly they left and I discovered this huge mess. I had visited last year around July and everything was fine, I don’t know how or when things got so bad.
So Mr Parvez wasn’t neglecting his responsibilities as a landlord – he was doing what we recommend and checking on the tenants and property. This horrific damage was caused between his last check and the tenants moving out leaving him with £25k of work before he can think about moving new tenants in:
- A thorough deep clean is required, possibly even needing a skip to clear out the trash left in the property
- Any damage to walls/floors will need to be fixed
- Redecorating, due to graffiti and dirt
- White goods will need to be replaced
- Carpets that were ripped up need to be replaced
- The garden will need to be tidied up
There’s a LOT of work and it will take time and money to resolve.
What can you do?
Now, we’ve pointed out that Mr Parvez DID inspect the property over the five years of the tenancy and all was well. So this story proves that there is always an element of risk in renting – you just never know what could happen, so the lesson here is always be prepared.
- Get a professional inventory. This is an extreme case and the deposit is NOT going to cover the damage, however, it’s important to always have a professional and up-to-date inventory. This makes claiming on the deposit a much smoother process
- Understand your legal rights. If a tenant causes this level of damage, you could take them to small claims court and try to recoup your costs that way. This is a lengthy process and you are likely to need to pay for the damages yourself in the meantime and there is no guarantee of a positive outcome for you. A letting agent can help you here – they know the industry inside out, they know of any changes that might be coming and what you need to do to stay compliant. If you’re interested in working with a letting agent, click the link below to let us know and we’ll be in touch about how we can help you.
- Cover yourself. We always recommend getting all the insurance you can, covering yourself for accidental and deliberate damage. Yes, claiming can drive your premiums up, but it doesn’t have to come out of your pocket. We’d also recommend that you have some savings too, this way you can weigh the costs of an increased premium against using your savings and make the best financial decision for yourself
So there you go, even reliable tenants can leave landlords in financial straits after they’ve moved out
Are you a landlord that has been left out of pocket by issues with your tenants? Tell us all about it in the comments section below.
