A landlord was handed a huge cleaning bill after his house was left in a horrific and disgusting state.
The landlord was shocked when he inspected the property after the tenants had moved out to find rubbish everywhere and bin bags piled up on furniture.
The tenants left rotten water in the bath, knocked electrical sockets out of the walls, and damaged the carpets ‘beyond repair’ at the house in Grimsby’s West Marsh area.
More than 50 bags of rubbish were removed from the house, which had been home to a family with young children.
The landlord, who wishes to be referred to only as Garry, said the tenants ‘ruined’ the kitchen, with many of the cupboard doors broken off their hinges, while the bathroom had also been left in a state of disrepair.
Aside from the problems discovered inside the house, there was also a huge pile of rubbish bags in the back garden.
Despite the appalling state of the house, the landlord managed to completely refurbish the property in just a week, after Nottingham Council contacted him about housing a family in need.
The council offered to provide the landlord with three months’ rent in advance so he could make the necessary repairs.
Aside from leave the property in a disgusting state, the tenants, who were receiving Universal Credit, left owing more than £1,700 in rent.
Anne, the property manager, said: “Since the introduction of Universal Credit we have had constant problems with tenants falling into rental arrears, the whole system just doesn't seem fit for purpose.
“Many times when a tenant goes onto the benefit system, there is no communication with us as landlords, and for the first few months we often get no rent paid.
“To try and fix this we have sent documents to tenants and the Department of Work and Pensions [DWP], providing them with the correct forms so that rent is paid directly to us, but we have just hit brick wall after brick wall while doing this.
“There are times that I have been hung up on by the DWP just for simply trying to chase up where one of our tenants’ rent is coming from.
“It is putting landlords off renting to people on benefits altogether, as we cannot afford to go without rents being paid.”
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Its simple, DO NOT RENT TO PEOPLE ON BENEFITS....
Dealing with DWP/ UC is a nightmare. However, if you do get poor service or hung up on, then complain. All calls that go into DWP/UC are recorded, all the need is the phone number you called from and the call is located.
The simple answer is to stop renting to people on UC, until there are changes in the system.
Totally agree. Do Not Rent to people on Benefits until your local councils sort the problems out. I’ve just sold my block of 10 flats that took months and a cost of £12k to me because I had one DSS tenant who was told not to leave by the council resulting in me having 9 empty flats and waiting 3 months to get my Benefit tenant out. Councils are a discrace and they are the reason for the housing crisis not the Landlords!
Full agreement, I will not rent to anyone on benefits, sooner or later Councils/Government must learn and make Tenants responsible for their actions, i.e. refusing to rehouse them if they damage property.
I agree one issue though I have found is u can’t control them going on UC whilst in situ this has happened in two cases and cost me 6k in arrears on 2 flats of mine the whole thing is a mess and I will not let and don’t need to anyway. it’s the poor tenants that suffer go Back to paying it direct and it wil solve so many issues these over priveledged toffs in Westminster ain’t got a clue the damage they are causing or do they and they don’t care. Ashamed of this country at the minute
When you have a choice of UC LHA or private tenant even if private tenant rent is lower ALWAYS go with private tenant. If we have no choice other than to rent to benefit tenant we go for full home owner guarantor. You will be amazed how rent is always paid on time and better still respect from tenants to landlords is much higher
I never rent to benefit tenants, however, I have a situation where a working person is failing to pay and is 4 months in arrears.
The only mistake I made was probably renting to a person on a low income, but I will make sure in future that they have sufficient funds to cover the monthly payment.
That's nothing.. I rented to a family through an Agent.. They sublet to another family and students whilst living there. Paid their rent on time every month.. Wasn't till he put a nail through an electrical cable that we got to see the house as he wouldn't tell us what happened and we had to over three days search the electrics (what I'm saying is usually an inspection is 1 hour.. so bedding/people diappear.. 3 days quite difficult).. The plaster on the walls was rotting as adults breath out 5 litres of moisure a night x 8 in a 4 bed house no incuding the children. House has cost £40k empty for 10 years for refurbishment i.e. back to brick and the cheeky *** even had the cheek to ask to buy it once renovated. He had no money so claiming was a impossible and now he owns a shop with tenants above but the time to take from him is over 7 years. He worked wasn't on benefits.
The solution is easy and in the governments hands. Make it a criminal offence if benefit paid for housing is not passed to the legitimate landlord.
always chase arrears--all the way--even if no chance of receiving money--ccj acts as a register of scum tenants
Do not rent to benefit recieved a. If after time they end up on benefit either evict or insist council pay you rent direct (safeguard it).
Even if property empty for some time due to property trashed you still get a council tax bill for not using a service as there is nobody living in the property to use a service!!!!! Still waiting for the council to explain to me why I have to pay for something that I have not recieved or used and why if there was one person living in the property they would give a 25% discount yet charge 100% for Nobody living there... /This had to be fraud,, theft,,,stealing???
Makes my blood boil how they get away with that one it’s plain extortion in my eyes
I have just sold a flat and had a hell of an argument about this.
I see that the tennant who had just vanished told the council he was a student and the SBs believed it.
The flat is on an estate owned by the residents.
The roads are not adopted so no cost to the council for lighting and road repairs.
Rubbish is collected privately.
That must be worth a considerable discount
I know a group of campaigning landlords who have privately prepared a statement refusing to rent to any DSS, charity or council housing worker until all attacks on landlords are immediately ceased and unwound. I think we should all put out something like that to all tenants/charities/govt departments/councils and stick to it. A landlords union, fighting back against the ridiculous treatment currently being meted out!
All great comments above. Dodging rent, whether on benefits or not should count as theft. Unrepaired damage beyond wear and tear should be criminal damage.
of course it should be theft once the tenant's contract has ended and they have moved out leaving without payment or forwarding address and without any intent to pay. I wrote to my MP asking why it isn't considered theft only last week. It is encouraging serial bad tenants who know the worst that can happen is they may eventually have to pay if we catch up with them. Benefit payments claimed for rent but used for another purpose by the claimant should be fraud- no less.
Technically deliberate damage by the tenant is criminal damage, just try to get the police to recognise that fact. Its all on the very first page of the Criminal damage act so its not hard to find.
Unfortunately almost al of Grimsby’s renting clientele are in receipt of benefits.
That is the problem in some areas and unfortunately, your choice of tenant is therefore limited in these circumstances.
Join property 118 and pledge to our new landlords union / association and let’s fight back against all this landlord bashing and outright sabotage of the PRS. Apathy will get us knowhere
I will look into this, thank you.
NO DSS, leave them to councils to house, not our problem, simple!
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