I had what seems like a great idea and wanted to run this by those of you who may know more about the law.
If I let out a property to tenants without a written contract, if they don’t pay the rent, can I not call the police and claim that they are squatters? At which point the police have the obligation to remove them.
There could be various ways of doing this. A deposit could still be taken to protect against the tenants causing damage, but there would not be an obligation to register it if they are squatters.
Effectively, I would still reference the tenants and need them to agree to move in, give an initial deposit plus one month’s rent, and if they don’t pay in future months then it becomes a police matter and is much less costly to evict them than following the standard procedure.
A contract doesn’t need to be in writing, there would be a deemed tenancy contract which would give all the protections to the tenant without any protection of having a written contract for yourself.
As long as you don’t supply the tenants with anything that can be used as evidence of a contract (e.g. no texting), how can they ever prove there was even an oral contract?
I see. So that’s a good point. Evidence of accepting rent would make them into tenants. But if you just took cash and didn’t give a receipt, my idea might still work.
There are many ways that they can be linked to the property - registering with GP, bank accounts, electoral role, driving licence, Council Tax, utilities…
It would only take one for them to prove that you have illegally evicted them, which is a criminal as well as a civil offence.
Do not become a Landlord if this is the way you think. You are pro-actively seeking ways to avoid your responsibilities in law. You are not cut out to be a professional Landlord.
Possibly the daftest post I’ve seen here. So many reasons why this won’t work. It’s akin to saying if I don’t register my car and don’t put number plates on it, then I can’t be done for speeding. More significantly for you, you’ll have broken several laws and will never be able to evict the tenants - unless you do that illegally as well.
Brainwave might not need a conscience but they require a brain.
No wonder landlords are demonised.
I imagine you probably rant if someone steps in front of you but are happy to treat or potentially treat people in this shabby way.
I feel ashamed on your behalf.
I’ll explain a bit more background to this.
When listing a property for rent via openrent, the vast majority of enquiries I received were from tenants that would not get through a reputable estate agent’s filters.
I gave viewings and I attempted to do employment and income checks. They often bragged about their big business selling cars or in the building trade and they pestered me for a positive decision. But every time I tried to give someone a chance, I realised that I had been given Photoshopped bank statements and fake employer references.
The honest ones were often on a mix of low income plus benefits. I would like to give them a chance because maybe they will turn out to be honest and reliable, but I know that if I make a mistake the potential losses for me are drastic. So I’m trying to see if there’s a way to give those who cannot pass traditional referencing checks a chance to rent a property without the risks being super-sized against the landlord.
I eventually found some tenants for my property and I was swindled anyway. I was shown bank statements for a construction business showing a high monthly income that weren’t forged, but after 2 months of paying the rent I’ve now realised that the statements belonged to a relative who never moved into the house, and the actual tenants living there are telling me they have no income. So I’ve lost 3 months rent so far and I’m unlikely to get them out for the next 6 months, and have no idea how I’m going to pay my mortgage. First time I’ve had to evict anyone and I realise now that the system for evictions is pathetic.
Hi.
There were bank statements showing regular large payments from a building firm and I was told he was the father of the tenant and would be moving in. However, on the day they moved in and the contract was signed I was told he was visiting Romania and would be back in a few weeks to sign. So I let them move in but I’ve never seen that guy turn up.
I have no guarantor - I thought it makes it too complicated to find a tenant.
It took me 5 months to find a tenant - lots of time wasted by other applicants on the way. I did cut corners a bit but next time I think I’ll just go with a reasonably priced estate agent.
I do have landlord insurance and so I hope it will cover the missing rent - I haven’t contacted them yet.
I didn’t do an actual credit check on the tenants. I thought payslips and bank statements were enough, so I hope my landlord insurance will still cover me. The credit check wasn’t something I thought of until they were signing the contract and by then was too late.
