Tenant is damaging my property - Can I evict them?

Landlord Discussion Legal
1

Hi

I need advice on what to do with the tenants that are destroying my property? Tenants have been living at my property for nearly 2 years now and currently are on periodic tenancy agreement. Recently we have noticed they are not putting effort in looking after the property and keep causing unnecessary damage, such as; blocking off the drains by pouring fat/grease, rice, etc down the sink; leaving bathroom taps on to cause leaks, carpet appears burned in places from what appears to be cigarette burns, fridge freezer is so filthy with grease and ice that it does not close; walls are all dirty, etc. I have sent plumbers, electricians, purchased things at the beginning but same things keep popping up. The place is filthy, the bath is covered in mould although they have a baby living at the property; we never had any issues previously with mould and the property was completely refurbished 3 years ago. I am not sure whether they are doing this now on purpose because previously they have asked me verbally to evict them because she is now in receipt of Universal Credit. I had informed them I am unable to evict them because at that time I did not have any cause to evict them, although the rent was never paid in time.
The tenant is now claiming she has been battling cancer for the past 6 months when we informed them we are increasing the rent by £40 p/m because the rent is already very cheap compared to what there is in the market. This was never mentioned before. I do sympathise with the tenant if she is battling with cancer but at the same time, I can see the whole flat is being destroyed before my eyes and I am powerless in knowing what I can do. The tenants have provided us with false information previously in regards to their employment and their reference checks.
All I want is for my property to be looked after because I will not be able to completely refurbish the whole property again and they are causing me more expense in being negligent and reckless; their deposit when and if they ever leave will not cover 5% of the damages they have cause by now.
Can I do anything?

2

Yes, you can evict. If you do, I’d suggest you serve s21 today in case they write to you about the mould problem, which might cause an obstacle to the notice.

You also need to write to them separately about the mould and any other health and safety issues with advice on how to deal with them and the health consequences of not doing so.

3

Hi David,

Thank you for your info. The property never had any issues with mould/condensation before and we only noticed the mould yesterday. We did a property check back in January and although it was dirty there was no signs of mould. I believe they do not open the bathroom window at all after they have a shower or put the ventilation on.

4

Quite likely. Make sure that your inspection reports document what you’ve said above so that its clear that this is a recent issue and likely due to tenant behaviour.

5

They wanted you to evict them but you couldn’t? Why would they want to be evicted? Can’t they and you just agree to end the tenancy earlier if both want to?

6

They want to get evicted so the council have to arrange housing for them. A baby involved.

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7

How long the eviction takes? They might not pay the rent and the law on their side! As LL we will lose income and pay for the mortage etc.

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8

several months backlog

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9

there is a potential risk that tenant won’t pay the rent if there is a court case. If they don’t pay the rent and would affect their credit/reference check for the future? It must be somehow the law could deal with this kind of tenant, otherwise all LL will be facing the same issues overtime.

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10

About 7-10 months from the date of service of the notice to bailiffs executing the warrant. Thats if you get everything right first time. They might just leave on expiry of the notice though.

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