I have a house that my tenant has recently left after non payment of rent. The place has been left very dirty with lots of rubbish dumped in the house and outside. In addition the garden sheds have been demolished. As we are £0000s down on rent we thought that we would sort out as much as we can. However as we are giving up our time to sort out what tenants should have been done, can I charge for this time and if so would I use market rate? With regards to the sheds, what value should I put on them?. They were a couple of years old so I can’t put replacement value? I am aware that I may not recover this costs but if I get a CCJ against their name that would do as I feel their actions are very very wrong. Thoughts please?
I don’t believe you can charge for your time, only time of any tradesmen that billed you accordingly. You can charge for disposal of waste, any decoration (beyond wear and tear) so if the house is filthy then full decoration, and carpet/flooring cleaning, cost the repair any damaged cupboards, furnishings etc you can also bill for. Your sheds I would say find the lowest market value of an equal size etc in 3 stores eg B&Q, Wickes, Homebase and take the average cost of them that is what I would charge per shed damaged.
Hi Jayne2 - I am sorry that you are having to go through this. It is so reminiscent of the TV programme about bad tenants and nightmare landlords (can’t remember the correct name), I have no advice since I’ve not faced this myself.
I can only offer sympathy. I wish there was a register of tenants like these who leave debts and filth behind them.
Debts can sometime be forgiven, it is all too easy to be made redundant and get into a debt spiral if you have no family support, but I find it hard to see why the house they have rented has to be treated with such a lack of respect.
I hope you are able to recover financially as much as possible, it seems such a shame that you are unable to claim for your time, as of course you do not want to not increase the debt these awful tenants have left by paying someone else to have their mess cleared.
Samantha’s suggestion for the shed costs are good.
Hey girl, I feel for you… I was not awarded time to attend to damages and ended up being stung to the tune of £7,636 The courts were unhelpful, just did not care. Didn’t stand a chance really up against a single parent mum with 2 kids under 8 plus an infant AND a blind mother guarantor to boot - at least she says she’s blind but I have seen her half jogging to catch up with her husband swinging her white cane! No, I am not exaggerating.
These are what I call seasoned nightmare tenants, I later discovered too late I was not their first victim, estate agents and their clients likewise have suffered. These people know the system and how to play the game including setting up great references.
It is a while since your post and I imagine licking your wounds was the ultimate outcome. This is just to say, don’t feel bad, you are not alone and there are still lots of good tenants with integrity out there :-/
Strange this should have been the first post I see on my maiden virgin with OR LL discussion!
Take no notice of references. Go to where they live before you take them on and SEE how they live Take no notice of a landlord reference ,he may be glad to get rid of them and lie to you. ALWAYS be suspicious. Tenants and landlord s can lie PS I have great tenants (20 years some of them) insulate the place, carpet it, no white goods, paint the common areas and make it look smart
Yes, I agree, this is exactly what I have since been doing and it does paint a clearer picture. Did read your earlier posts on white goods, not quite adopted that yet but definitely giving it serious consideration.