UK Landlord Forum / Life

Hi all,

I've just issued a Section 21 on my tenants- they're due to vacate property 18th April. They've been quite good tenants but for the last 4/5 months have been falling behind on their rent and when they can make payments, it's rather sporadic. After chatting about their current situation, we came to the mutual agreement not to renew the tenancy (runs out mid-March) due to them no longer being able to afford to live in the property.

Yesterday, I received an email from my tenant asking me for a reference as they've seen a much cheaper property they can move into but agent wants a reference this week. My tenant stated that it would be in my best interests for me to give them a good one so everything runs smoothly. I've only just issued the S21, so haven't even had chance to check the state of my property - not to mention they're late with payments and are currently just under £700 in arrears (I haven't received anything for 2 weeks and so the arrears could escalate). I've only been a landlord for 16 months and these are my first tenants. What is the best way to approach this?

Many thanks.

You want them out and you want your money.  If they leave voluntarily before the expiry of the section 21 then this is in your best interests and I would accept the surrender.  No point keeping T's in a house they can't afford, it will only get worse. 

You've got to weigh the situation up.  Do you have a deposit?  Arrange an inspection with them to discuss the situation with them at the same time.  If the property is in good condition still offer to use their deposit for the rent arrears, you did protect it didn't you? 

If it were me I'd perhaps be cutting some losses in order to get them out.

An honest reference is the only way if you want to sleep at night.

Your Tenant stating that it would be in your own best interests to give them a good reference to ensure things run smoothly is tantamount to blackmail. Was it said with a nod and a wink, or did they write that to you? I see mention of email... silly Tenant if that's true.

If you give them a glowing reference then you would be guilty of passing on a bad Tenant (let's not mince words, they're behind in their rent) onto some other unsuspecting Landlord.

I could never do that. If someone threatened me in the way you describe it would get my back up in a massive way. That is the tail wagging the dog, no mistake.

I read your post and at first I thought you said "My Agent stated that it would be in my best interests for me to give them a good one so everything runs smoothly." and I thought, shaking my head, that's no surprise there... but then I re-read it and saw that your Tenant was, in fact, trying to manipulate you and ensure the upcoming unsuspecting mug (sorry, prospective-Landlord) was left with them, instead of you who has finally figured them out and is in the process of moving them along.

An honest reference does not have to go into detail that is personal... like "they're great Tenants, always kept the place sparkling and treated it as their own" you could go completely factual... "They have been my Tenants for 16 months, the rent was £X per calendar month, they are moving out because they need somewhere more affordable and they are currently £700 in arrears."

Good luck, keep us updated with what you decide to do. Feel free to bounce ideas off the forum if that helps.

I remember someone once saying they wrote a reference along the lines of - "It will be a lucky Landlord who has these people as Tenants, and gets them to pay rent on time." - it kinda even sounds positive... almost glowing.

 

Quote from: Riptide on February 18, 2015, 04:49:30 PM
You've got to weigh the situation up.  Do you have a deposit?  Arrange an inspection with them to discuss the situation with them at the same time.  If the property is in good condition still offer to use their deposit for the rent arrears, you did protect it didn't you? 

If it were me I'd perhaps be cutting some losses in order to get them out.

Yes- I have the deposit protected and I was thinking along the same lines- I'd rather take the hit for a few hundred than have them stay and have the arrears mount up/things get nasty. Thanks for the tip- arranging an inspection at the same time as discussion, I didn't even think of that.

Quote from: Hippogriff on February 18, 2015, 04:50:19 PM
An honest reference is the only way if you want to sleep at night.

I was thinking of writing something along the lines of- property kept in good condition (which I will check on inspection- fingers crossed), paid rent on time etc. etc. Then mention that recently, due to unforeseen circumstances, they can no longer afford to live in the property etc.  ... (the property they want to move in to is £300 a month cheaper than mine). I'm not sure if they intentionally meant to sound threatening, they're always been really pleasant, maybe they're just getting desperate.

Thank you both for your help on this. I'll keep you updated.

A sad fact of life is that really great Tenants can change overnight if their circumstances change. They don't become bad people overnight (other people are just bad) but if they've lost their job, or something incredibly impactful like that, they can become somewhat ostrich-like and uncommunicative (fear, shame, doubt). It's Human nature and, maybe, if they can move elsewhere that is £300 less per month, they can get back on track. Whatever happens, you should not be out of pocket and you should not be encouraged to lie as - if you're an honest person - it will not sit well with you, even though it might be in your own best interests.

Just an update on my situation...

I inspected the property- all was good. Rental payments brought up to date as much as possible (£100 outstanding). I gave them an honest reference.

Now they haven't paid a penny since and are now £1,000 in arrears and have just informed me they got the house and are moving out next Monday (I had to chase them for updates). The Section 21 gave them the date of 18th April. I've nobody lined up  to replace them. In regards to arrears, response was they've had money cut so will try sort it out in 5-7 days. Do I have any rights here at all?

It's a debt, owed to you. You certainly have rights. The right to sue them and make them pay. If they don't, chase through to give them a CCJ and they'll not find it as easy to rent a place next time... 'honest' reference or not. Sounds as though they've played you a bit. I hate that.

I am very new here, so hope I am doing this correctly.

I have just read through your post and the replies.
It is said that 'honesty is the best policy'. I would suggest it is the 'only' policy.

I have had trouble with tenants and am evicting them.

I am checking every little detail of the tenancy which includes the previous landlord's reference. It would appear to be incorrect as is some of the information given to me from tenants and the agency.
I suspect that the previous landlord made a 'mutual agreement' to rid himself of bad tenants.

So it could well be that some people are standing in a court room under oath.

Hope this helps,

Michael

Quote from: Hippogriff on March 02, 2015, 04:46:49 PM
Sounds as though they've played you a bit. I hate that.

Yes- I'll soon find out to what extent they've played me come Friday. They've assured me all monies owed will be brought up to date then. If not, I'll definitely be going down the CCJ route.

Quote from: Michael on March 02, 2015, 07:59:02 PM

I suspect that the previous landlord made a 'mutual agreement' to rid himself of bad tenants.

I'm beginning to think this is what their previous landlord did to me.

Bit like 'pass the parcel' really!