Am I a Landlord or a Nanny?

I had to ask myself that question, yet again, after the conversation I've just had with a tenant of mine. Bless her cotton socks, she is 21 years old, and a mother of two young 'uns. 6 months ago, together with her partner and kids, she moved into a 2-bed property, which was right opposite a primary school, an ideal location for when her kids started school. But appearances were deceptive. The man of the house always gave one excuse or the other as to why they weren't paying their top ups, and so they started building up rent arrears.

It transpires that the personal situation was not as rosy as it looked, and partner moved out early January. Although it is a joint tenancy, the local housing allowance claim was made only in his name, which at the time I queried, but they both said they were happy with it - a carry over from their previous residence where they'd been for two years.

As is the norm with gofmint red tape at the Council Benefits office, the nightmare of sorting out benefits after the break up meant arrears built up, and I was left with no rent coming in. Anyway, she finally sorts it out, and then we find that there is a 2-week gap that suddenly materialised when no benefits have been awarded.

At the start of the year, sensing that all was not well, I had issued a Section 21(1)(b) to take effect at the end of the fixed term. I sent her a letter at the beginning of this month, confirming I'd receive the first payment after re-instatment of the benefit (it gets paid into the Rainbow Saver Credit Union Account), informed her of the missing two weeks and asked her to go to the Council to find out why it happened, and sort it out. I also suggested she ask if she was eligible for discretionary benefits.

OK, so today she texts me to please call her, which I did. She then goes on to tell me she'd received my letter confirming the benefit was paid, and that she taken the S21 notice to the council, and they were prepared to rehouse her, but not until I'd got a court order. I asked if she wanted to move, she said "no". I then asked why she didn't sort out the matter of the missing HB payment, and the arrears and to my amazement, she said "what missing payment?". So, I asked her to go get the letter, which she did, I brought my copy up on my computer screen, and asked her to read me the relevant paragraph. She goes "oh, I see". Then she says she can't do anything about the topup arrears that built up, and I pointed out that as the tenancy was in joint names, she was liable. She went "oh, I see". I then asked her if she'd asked at the Council about the discretionary benefit and she said "discretionary what?". You can imagine my frustration by now, can't you? So, trying to remain calm, I asked her once again to read the relevant section of the letter, and again got "oh yes, I see" (favourite phrase of hers, eh?)

So, I had taken the time to point out what she needed to do, but she'd not bothered to even read the letter past the first two lines which told her I'd got the housing benefit paid over. So, remaining calm, I told her I was willing to help, but if she isn't going to help herself by doing her bit, then I'd have to evict her. Plus, I was going to have to go after her Guarantor (mother) for the outstanding monies, if she didn't cough up.

I find when it comes to paperwork, with some tenants, I have to take the forms to them myself, help them fill it in, collect it, and post/deliver it, otherwise, they don't "get round to sorting it". I get ID documents, photocopy these and send them back their original copies by recorded delivery, only to find they are calling me nearly 2 weeks later, asking when I was going to return their documents. Documents sitting at the local post office because they could not be bothered to take the red post office calling card and go collect their post!! Yikes. I deliberately use the recorded delivery option to avoid the "I never got it, must have got lost in the post" thingy. Anyway, I digressed, let's get back to my dear tenant.

What more can I do? If she can't be bothered to read a letter properly, or to act on information and advice given, what can be done? I find it worrying that we have a generation of young people who do not seem to be able to read properly, let alone understand what "responsibility" means, who are now themselves parents. It is scary. What are their priorities then, if not to keep a roof over their heads and give their kids a good chance in life? But you see, they can mess up in one tenancy, and the council will happily rehouse them elsewhere, without so much as blinking!!

It is not my intention to be ageist or anything, but where is it going to lead to? what are these people going to teach their children?? I am a Landlord, for goodness sakes, not a Nanny, or a school teacher.

But this gofmint would have us be everything, wouldn't they? Nanny, Teacher, Scapegoat, Charity, etc. etc. We are business people, providing a public service that said gofmint is failing appalling to provide, but what do we get for it, thanks? Oh, no! heaven forbid. The gofmint thinks the best way to show their appreciation to us is to overwhelm us, no, strangle is more like it, with regulations and red tape, even when it is patently obvious such regs are not required or that the regs would force more of us to pull out of renting to housing benefit claimants (LHA regime), lower income earners (due to new planning regs) or even pull out of the market completely.

Wake up, gofmint. Education, education, education. Educate tenants on how to be good tenants, and stop strangling the majority of landlords who are doing a good job already. If you are going to force Landlords down the mandatory register route, them make sure you set up a Tenant Register as well, as tenants are not the saints you think they might be. Afterall, it takes two to tango .....

Government Vendetta Against Landlords

We have recently been hit with a set of new proposals by this gofmint, which they allege is to bring private rented property up to standard and give tenants more rights. Of course, the social housing sector is exempt (as it always is when gofmint tinkers with housing regulations), thereby ignoring the myriad of problems that exist with housing standards in that sector. But I digress.

The Housing Minister, John Healey recently announced that the government will:

1. set up a new website on which tenants can post their views on their landlord and their accommodation
2. launch a new National Landlord Register to enable tenants to see how well prospective landlords maintain their properties and how quickly they fix any faults with them
3. make it a legal requirement for all tenancies to have written agreements, to ensure that tenants are clear about their rights from the outset
4. put in place tougher regulatory regime to drive out rogue letting agents

And then to cap it, the Treasury announced a consultation today on the role the private rented sector can play in increasing the supply of housing, as well as what measures the Government can take to remove any barriers to investing in rental properties.

Now where do I start??

It is obvious to anyone reading these pronouncements that this gofmint aint sure whether it wants to attract private landlords or wage war against them. It can’t do both simultaneously, and it really needs to rethink its strategies, and stop this vendetta.

Did anyone notice the lack of the word “responsibility” in the gofmints’ references to tenants. Its all “rights”, “rights” and more “rights”. Where, in the name of all that is good, is the “responsibility” side of it??  You give people rights without spelling out the responsibilities that go hand in hand with those rights? That’s why this society is in the sorry state it is in. Everyone is so focussed on rights, responsibilities just don’t come into the equation. You cannot have rights without responsibilities, both go together. My favourite way of expressing this is that “rights and responsibilities are like the two halves of a pair of scissors, you cannot have one without the other ^TM”.

The gofmint should be seeking ways of educating tenants on how to be good tenants, and not just seek to weigh down majority of good landlords with more regulations and the attendant costs. A lot of tenants don’t bother to read their tenancy agreements anyway, and just toss it to one side or loose it. When I take on tenants, I always explain the main points of the tenancy to them, that it is a legally binding contract, and they are expected to behave in a “tenant like” manner, be responsible in paying rent in full and on time, keep the house in good condition, report any maintenance items to me promptly, not cause nuisance to neighbours etc. In return the Landlord will leave them to “quiet enjoyment” of the property and maintain the fixtures/fittings that we are required to do. I encourage good communications, as that is essential.

But some tenants just can’t be bothered. Some just don’t understand the word “contract” or “legally binding”, and think they can break the agreement if and when it suits them without any consequence whatsoever. The advice given by some Housing officers at the Local Authority also leaves a lot to be desired, seemingly aiding and abetting such tenants. You give some a good standard house to live in, and they trash it anyway.

I welcome regulation, it will do the job it’s intended to do, and root out the rogue elements. But we in the industry live daily with the effects and consequences of the implementation of some of the badly thought out housing laws that have been spewed out in recent years. There are already enough laws in place, which if implemented properly, will achieve the goals that the gofmint is aiming for. Implementation is the key, not more laws. Hear me dear gofmint, IMPLEMENTATION, not more regulation. To implement existing laws, the Local Authorities need more staff and better training so they can do the job well. But what does the gofmint do, hit them with smaller budgets that mean more cuts in jobs and services. Then the gofmint gives more laws for those remaining to implement, and they can’t because they are understaffed and underfunded, and the cycle goes on ……

If this gofmint really wants to see an improvement in the standards in the private rented sector, then may I suggest that the government should:

1. set up a new website on which landlords can post their views on their tenants and identify those “tenants from hell”
2. launch a new National Tenant Register to enable landlords to see how well prospective tenants have behaved in previous tenancies or if they’ve left owing rent
3. make it a legal requirement for all tenants to attend courses as landlords are expected to do and become accredited or licensed, showing they understand their rights and responsibilities
4. put in place tougher regulatory regime to drive out rogue letting agents (amen to that)

The gofmint can encourage faster/better response to repairs and investment in property by removing VAT on repairs, and making grants available to Landlords for some essential repairs. For example, in my neck of the woods, replacing a gas boiler costs a minimum of £1200 if you are lucky and have a friendly Gas Safe plumber, £1700 on average, and £2,200 or more if you are desperate. Plus VAT. Most landlords just don’t have that kind of money sitting around, and when the need arises, have to find the funds somehow, otherwise the tenant and council officials go all gong-ho. For portfolio landlords, its even more dire if 2 or 3 go pop as they tend to do, all at once!! There are any numbers of ways to help private landlords, if this gofmint is willing to listen rather than regulate.

So, dear gofmint, stop the vendetta. It aint gonna help you get more stock into the private rented sector. Trust me.

Tenants' classic ruse of claiming disrepair

In light of the recent proposals by the gofmint to link payment of LHA to housing standards, the phone call that I've just had has caused me to wonder yet again if they've thought through, or even thought about it at all, the shenanigans that tenants get up to when it comes to making allegations of disrepair.

The caller was a nice chap from the Housing Standards dept of the Council wanting to talk about a one of my properties. It appears that the tenant, who has very famously spent her LHA on other things in the past, as a result of which the LHA is now being paid direct to me, and who is in the process of being removed via the S21 process, has decided to go down the "claiming disrepair" route. She has been a particularly devious and ungrateful tenant, who has no compunction about lying, or at least being economical with the truth. And she has a young son to bring up!! I feel for the young man, I really do.

Miss H, as I will refer to her, spent the LHA at the start of her tenancy last year, and then tried to say that the Council had paid it into the wrong account etc. etc. She even used the ruse of paying in a cheque into the nominated account, then reporting her cheque book stolen, resulting of course in the cancellation of the cheque, and a further reprieve whilst she attempts to find the money!! She couldn't produce her statement of account to enable us and the Council verify that she hadn't received the LHA, even when I offered to pay for any cost incurred in getting the bank to give her copies. After several weeks of toing and froing, she eventually admitted to receiving the LHA and spending it - something I already knew - but as she'd run out of room to run, she gave up. I'm a sucker for trying to keep a roof over the heads of young single mums, but I suppose it comes from being a parent of young kids myself. Anyway, we came to a payment arrangement which she broke after the second instalment. I told her the tenancy would not be renewed at the end of the fixed term, and she pleaded and pleaded and asked for another chance and all that stuff - and I fell for it again....  sucker!! Guess what, the second arrangement fell apart after only the first payment instalment. So, I decided enough was enough and I would apply for possession of property.

This is when the disrepair shenanigans began. First she goes to another Local Authority, which was where she had been prior to moving to my property, and claimed that we had not turned up to carry out some repair to a door, as we'd agreed to do. Imagine my surprise, getting a call from a housing officer from this LA, asking me about repairs to a property that is not in his jurisdiction!! Ms H was trying to get on the housing list there and rubbishing me, so I explained that Ms H was trying it on, enlightened him about the situation with rent arrears etc., and he thanked me and rang off. Never heard from him since.

Then today, I get the call from the housing officer from the LA for the property, wanting to arrange a meeting at the property due to the "concern that the tenant had expressed about some damp issues in the property".  It was not unexpected, and I had a good chat with the officer, and gave him the facts about the matter, which he was unaware of. Ms H had not given him those facts, and she seemed to be picking alleged disrepair items at will or to suit. Anything to try to deflect the authorities from her misdeeds and blame the landlord. She obviously knows the system and how to work it, but still can't get it round her head that she's no match for me and can't get around me like that. In the word's of the Dragons in the Den "she's out".

And just as we came to the end of the conversation having arranged a date and time to meet at the property, the officer mentioned that another T in same LA had reported disrepair. Now, with this one, I am really surprised - they even claimed they didn't have a CP12!! For goodness sake... They claimed that lock on front door isn't working properly, a socket is broken, the joint bar for the newly laid laminate is not done properly, middle bar of gas fire not working ... I didn't hit the roof, I just told the nice officer that as an accredited landlord, I'd know better than to put someone in a property without a valid CP12! and if the fire was not safe, my Gas Safe plumber would have capped it off. He then says to me that "you obviously know what you are talking about and know what is right", etc. etc. and we agreed on a way forward. Anyway, guess what, my dear tenants had recently missed a topup payment.... and looking for an excuse.

So, when will tenants learn that alleging non-existent disrepair will not remove their responsibility for paying rent? and if they don't pay rent, they limit the Landlord's ability to carry out their responsibility. If there is no rental income, what is the Landlord supposed to use for effecting maintenance and repairs - cowrie shells? monopoly money? And when will they learn that reporting bogus direpair is not guaranteed to enhance landlord-tenant relationship? Tenants like these almost make the word "compassion" a dirty word to even consider.

And all this even before the gofmint's proposed  Landlord Feedback Website is put in place. If tenants cry foul at whim now, what are they going to do when there is an official website in place, licensed by the gofmint, for the sole purpose of bashing landlords? When will the gofmint learn that tenants need educating on their responsibilities, and giving them rights without emphasising the responsbilities that come with those rights is tantamount to legalised abuse/theft, call it what you want.

Heaven help us all. 

Nutcase responds to advert

I must tell you this story, sad but true ….


I have a property that is advertised in the local paper, and had block viewing arranged for Saturday afternoon. I do the block viewings thing when I have a property to let that is some distance away from me. That way, the trip is worth doing.

On the way to the property for the viewings, I got a call on the mobile, which I couldn’t take, and as the dial code was that of my destination area, called the number back a few minutes later. It turns out to be a woman who wanted more information about the property. Anyway, she asked various questions, you know, the usual how big are the bedrooms, is it double glazed, gardens, features, décor etc. Then she suddenly, she says, “I’m not interested in your property. You private landlords are all the same, I’ve spent all morning on calling and its costing me so much money just to call you, and I don’t want to view the house” and put the phone down on me. Ironic isn’t it? I was the one who was paying for that particular call, but that was lost on her.

Not quite ten minutes later, she rings me again, this time on her mobile. I answered the call and the first sentence was “can I come and view the property?” I was stunned for a few seconds, then suddenly recognised the voice and realised it was the woman who’d just put the phone down on me, and so I calmly answered “of course you can, I’m on my way there now, so just drop in anytime between 12noon and 1pm”, gave her the house number and she assured me she’d be there, and the conversation ended with “see you there then”.

Imagine my surprise then when at about 12.30pm, a text message comes through on the mobile, and on checking it found this:

“Sorry i dont wish to view your property i have gone through phycotic landlords after viewing there property and the alligations are completely out of character its a complete waste of time infact the journal will be notified on how you all pay for the advert and how you speak to us im not that desperate and really i dont wish to view anybodys property speak or give any of my details to you or anyone ever again u landlords push for money which you are nice then then u give every effort to whind or upset the person thats just paying or wanting to live and pay and look after your property as you may do im not the one thats neglected youR House or houses as landlords its the way u treat us now ask yourself why ur propertys are empty after so many months of basically being treated by you all like basic crap but thats just the town its not the phoning the trip down to the bank of your nasty small print”

I kid you not. Obviously this person has never heard of punctuations, capital letters, proper sentences – even if its text-speak!! If anyone can make sense of this unprovoked diatribe, I should be pleased to hear it.

What a nutcase. She never did tell me her name, nor did I ask. No one forced her to respond to the advert in the first place! And to have a go at someone like that, without any justification, really takes the biscuit. I’m glad she’s not my tenant, and I do sympathise with whomever her current landlord is.

The viewings went well, and I now have an applicant who filled in the application form and put down a holding deposit there and then. I am now carrying out the necessary referencing checks, and so far so good.

And whilst on the topic of potential tenants, why is it that when these people view, and you can tell by their response the property is not for them, they still say to you “thank you, we’ll call you and let you know”. Why not just thank the person conducting the viewing for their time, say its not the right property, and be done with it. It is lying, even if they don’t see it as such. Its become such a normal action that people don’t even think about it, do they?

Landlords, be careful – there are some nutcases out there disguised as potential tenants. Keep them as potentials, rather than actuals and your life will be a lot easier.

Tenant Shenanigans to postpone eviction

Continuing the saga of my tenant Mrs F, who is due to be evicted on Thursday ... I was just about to call the police to arrange for assistance on an if-needed basis, when the phone rang. It was the solicitors acting for Mrs F. They claimed that she would be moving out, but the property she was moving into was not ready, and asked if I could give her another week before moving. My response was a swift and unequivocal, NO. The solicitor tried again, and put the question slighlty diferently, and the answer was still No, this time I explained that her client, my soon to be ex-tenant, had completely used up all the goodwill that was available to her, and I was not prepared to suffer another week of no rental income. Eventually, solicitor rang off, and I put down the phone, relieved that I had not lost my temper.

The cheek of it! This is the same tactic that this tenant had used all along - promise to pay tomorrow, next week, the following week, next month ...... endless. Give her due credit for trying though! Tenacious in her duplicity. With no proof of where she was moving to, what state the place was in, nothing at all, the solicitor expected me to give Mrs F leave to remain past the eviction date!! And these are solicitors for goodness sake, who are supposed to be versed in housing law??Maybe they are not. Whatever!

No, I've had enough of being mucked about by Mrs F. Enough is enough. Roll on Thursday.

LHA - Guidance ammended on Direct Payment to Landlords

We are winning, we are winning!!

As you all know, for our tenants that claim LHA, we have to wait until they were actually over 8 weeks in arrears - including time served - as they used to say in the council. This meant usually a 3 month arrears situation for most landlords.

You may also recall that there was a Tribunal ruling in Oct 2009, where the Judge ruled against Coventry Council and stated that the guidance to local authorities that rent was not in arrears until the time had been served was wrong. Landmark ruling, which seems to have turned things around.
This is the statement the Judge made at the time:

Rent is in arrears once the contractual date for payment has passed irrespective of whether rent is due in advance or in arrear. Regulation 95 of the 2006 Regulations refers to a liability to pay rent and the liability in this case is to pay rent in advance

Thanks Judge CJ Jones, for bringing sanity into back into the matter.

The government seems to have taken heed of that ruling - Hallelujah!! Sanity has finally prevailed.


The Department of Work and Pensions now agrees that, when a tenant has already skipped payment of one month’s rent, the landlord can claim the arrears on the day after the second monthly payment is missed.

The DWP issued a revised Guidance Manual in Dec09, and the guidance manual now states: "

4.40 If the tenant builds up rent arrears of eight weeks or more, the landlord may commence action to evict them. Once arrears have reached eight weeks, you will be required to make direct payments to the landlord under the general provisions in Regulation 95 (1)(b) unless it is in the overriding interests of the claimant not to do so (see Fit and proper test earlier in this chapter).

4.41 Rent is in arrears once the date it is due to be paid has passed regardless of whether it is due to be paid in advance or in arrears.

then goes on to give two examples.

Example 1: Rent paid monthly in advance
John is due to pay his rent monthly in advance on the first day of the month. He pays rent on 1st August but loses his job on 28th August. He claims HB on 28th August 2009. His rent is due on 1st September but he fails to pay his rent on that day.

The local authority decides to pay his HB two weekly in arrears and makes two payments equivalent to four weeks rent during September. The tenant does not pass any of his benefit to his landlord.

He fails to pay another month’s rent when it is due on 1st October. On the 2nd October he is in arrears by two months’ rent. The landlord advises the local authority. The authority should make payments direct to the landlord from that point.

Example 2: Rent paid weekly in advance
Suki pays her rent weekly in advance but gets into difficulty when she stops work. She claims HB on 30th October 2009 and fails to pay her rent on the 2nd and the 9th November.

She gets her first fortnightly payment of HB in week commencing 16th November but
fails to pay any rent to her landlord. The local authority is unaware of the situation until the landlord contacts them on 22nd December to say that she has missed eight weeks’ payments.

The local authority makes direct payments to the landlord from that date.

The guidance also says that:

4.42 In both these examples the local authority must pay the HB to the landlord because the tenant is in arrears by eight weeks unless it is in the tenant’s overriding interests not to do so. However,if the local authority becomes aware that the tenant is failing to pay their rent before eight weeks worth of payments have been missed it should consider direct payment under the safeguards. Additionally, if there is already a history of non-payment it would be prudent to make direct payments to the landlord for a maximum period of eight weeks while a decision is being reached.

So folks, don't let the Ts get away with any more than they have to.

First Tenant Eviction of 2010

Whilst its not the sort of thing to start the new year with, it is never-the-less quite appropriate. A bit of "out with the old and in with the new" theme-if you see what I mean. Did anyone listen to Jeremy Vine show on 24-12-09? It was based on that theme... good show Jeremy!

Anyway, the ongoing case with my errant tenant Mrs F, seems to be coming to its inevitable conclusion. During the lull between christmas and new year, a white envelope dropped in to my letter box postmarked from one of the county courts in Lincolnshire. That stumped me a bit, cos I wasn't expecting any missives from that particular court. It turns out however to be the Notice of Appointment, for the Bailliff to evict Mrs F, who lives in another Lincs town some 20 odd miles away-whose story you already know. The court hearing had taken place in a different court some 15 miles from where the property is located. Are you confused? yeah, so was I. It would seem that the property is located in a town that does not have its own county court, and sits nearly half way between two other towns that do and happen to have county courts that are part of the same circuit. OK. enough of that...

So, having opened the envelope, a bit warily, and finding the Notice of Appointment, the whoop of delight I gave could be heard 50 miles away. 14th January 2010 is the day its all going to happen. I like to think that perhaps my call to the first court's Bailiff office had had some impact and someone decided to do something positive. All I can say is that it was a welcome, if belated, christmas present-thank you. I duly filled in the reply slip, but waited till today to send it. Why?

I figured that having been helped along the way by no-win-no-fee scumbag solicitors who advised my client to ignore the possession order, it is possible we might have problems when the Bailiff attends. I can just imagine Mrs F sitting in and saying "I'm not going. You are going to have to carry me out of here". So first thing this morning, I called the Bailiff's office at the first court and spoke to the Manager. She was quite helpful and said she would inform the actual Bailiff who would be attending the eviction. And she did! Not quite an hour afterwards, I got a call from the attending Bailiff - from the other court - and we had a chat about my concerns and what preventative measures to put in place. And that would involve the Police!! 

Sad really. But a necessary step. This year, I will not be taking any prisoners .. so to speak. So, I start as I intend to carry on. Get rid of the old and bring in the new.

Watch out! Grumpy is on the war path........

Happy New Year

Well, 2009 has now well and truly departed, and we are now 4 full days into 2010.

Welcome 2010! I really hope that you will prove to be more accomodating than your predecessor was.

Oh, don't get me wrong, 2009 was full of opportunities and challenges, highs and lows ( maybe more lows than highs), tears and laughter, joy and sadness, losses and gains. Quite a rollercoaster, I'd say. When all is said and done, good ol' Grumpy is glad to see the back of 2009.

The agenda for you, 2010, promises to be just as varied, and hopefully more fun.

To all Landlords, have a cracking year and may your portfolios be fruitful.

To all Tenants, give your landlords a stress-free year. Pay your rents on time and keep the properties well, and I'm certain you will have a cracking year too.

When all is said and done, it takes two to tango - dunnit??

Ghost homes: why are properties empty?

According to a recent report released by UpMyStreet, privately-owned properties that have been vacant for more than six months are on the rise. And we get the usual stuff about it being a sad sight, attracting pests, crime etc., and devaluing neighbourhood and all that jazz.

So, why does it happen?

The facts
Figures released by the Halifax Empty Homes in England Survey showed that between April 2003 - 2008, the number of long-term empty properties has risen above 300,000. The North West has the highest number of vacant properties at 66,691, followed by Yorkshire & the Humber with 41,299, and the South East with 34,663 homes.

With first-time buyers being priced out of the property market, and record numbers of people waiting on housing lists, there are growing calls for action to be taken against this developing trend of vacant homes.

Why are houses left empty for so long?
Properties are left empty for many different reasons. Some are purely financial; an owner lacks the funds to redevelop or make a property habitable, is awaiting planning permission for structural alterations, or the property is vacant pending sale.

Other reasons can be more personal. The homeowner may be hospitalised on a long-term basis, with little access to their property or affairs, or there could be legal issues surrounding the dissolution of an estate.
Either way, the impact of any of these scenarios can be very real for your home, and your neighbourhood. Read our tips below to see what you can do to help get empty properties back in working order.

What can you do?

It can be hard to tell if a property has been abandoned, or is left empty, but here are a few things that might arouse a suspicion:

• No-one is seen leaving or entering the property
• Mail, flyers and catalogues are left discarded at the door
• The property is in a general state of disrepair
• Vastly overgrown front and rear gardens
• An increase in the incidence of vermin or pests around the property
• Refuse being left or dumped in the garden over a long period
• Noticing people entering in suspicious circumstances, e.g. squatting or illegal activities

If you have any suspicions do not approach the property yourself. Contact your local council who will investigate on your behalf.

Several local councils employ an empty property officer whose job it is to get properties back in use. They can use contacts to remedy the situation, make a compulsory purchase of the property in extreme circumstances, or enforce a sale if the owner has debts with the council. All of these options can be discussed with your local council.

My Comments
All very well and good saying talk to your local council. As if the Council care two hoots!! I have approached them in the past about empty properties, only to be stonewalled (the usual Data Protection Act excuse) or passed from pillar to post.

A landlord will not generally leave a property empty for no good reason. Afterall, it costs us money. The issue of empty homes and the underlying reasons needs to be looked at more carefully, and measures put in place to assist owners to get them back into use.

Law and Justice - still definitely not the same thing

Not the best way to start a new week, but there you go - it happens.

I sent a form N325 (warrant for possession) to the court on 14/12/09 by royal mail first class recorded delivery. I telephoned the bailiffs office on15/12/09, but the request had not arrived. It eventually arrived on thursday 17/12/09, 3 days after it was posted. Wow! now that, dear Royal Snail Mail, is what I call first class service. And I had the priviledge of paying extra for it too. I might as well not have bothered and just popped it in the post as normal and hoped for the best ... on a wing and a prayer.

Reminds me of another incidence with royal mail in October when I sent a letter by Special delivery, paid £5.40 for the service that guaranteed the letter would be delivered by 1pm the next day. You know what I am about to say don't you?. The said letter did not arrive before 1pm. So, I'm jumping up and down, making phone calls to each and every royal mail customer service number I could find, but could they help, oh no! The best the staff could do was tell me that it was on its way to be delivered, the postman must have been delayed, apologies etc.etc.What the heck is an apology going to do? Is that what I paid extra for? What about the repercussions of the letter not getting to its destination on time? And they get away with it too because frankly, there's nothing in the system that enables one to take Royal Snail Mail to task for its sloppiness and inefficiencies. I've made complaints a number of times already, on other cases, and each time it takes forever to get anything done, and then the classic response is "its been so long" that they can't trace the postman in question, or the whatever other thing needs tracing, and so apologise. Whose fault was it that it took so long? definitely not mine. But who bears the repercussion? yours truly. I'd rather pay more for a service that will be given, than this apology of a service we seem to have now. No offence to any postie out there - a lot of you guys and gals are doing a good job (I've got two postie tenants btw). The system just stinks.

Anyway, back to the bailiff. So I ask when the warrant will be executed, and was told mid to end January 2010. That of course goes down well-not! red rag to a bull I nearly hit the roof, but I reign in my temper and ask why, only to be told the bailiff was now on holiday and won't be back until 4/01/10 and the defendant has to be given at least 2 weeks notice. So, still holding my temper (with some difficulty I might add), I ask "why did bailiff not give notice on 17/12/09 then?" the reply came back "because she went on holiday on 17/12/09". Aaaarrrrgggghhhh!! I managed a short but polite rant, apologised to the lady at the end of the phone for the rant, and wished her a merry christmas through gritted teeth.

So, between the acts of my errant Tenant, aided and abbetted by the County Court System, and in connivance with Royal Snail Mail, I am about to lose another month's rent. Not good tidings of joy is it!

And the gofmint calls this an "accelerated possession process"!! Pleeeeeeeeeease, give me a break. There is Law and there is Justice, but when will the two meet?? Hopefully sometime in my lifetime-and they had better hurry......

Shelter Report on implementation of LHA

Shelter has released a report on its findings on a study monitoring the implementation of local housing allowance. I like the report title - For Whose Benefit. Very apt question indeed. There is a summary report for those who don't have the time or inclination to read the whole thing.
Having read the report, I would say that this gofmint had better read it and take not of its findings, use them its recently announced public consultation on housing benefit. Or be damned.

The report says what we Landlords have known all along. OK, bear with me and I'll give you the jist...

1. Most claimants would prefer to have the LHA paid directly to the landlord. Did you hear that, gofmint. In your consultation paper, section 6.8, you make assertion that direct payment is an important component of reforms to the system, providing your customers with the responsibility for handling benefit payments and paying their rent which they will need when moving into work. You assume that (i) all claimants want to work and (ii) all claimants can manage money. Both assumptions are wrong, okay. And I can prove it to you.

2. Claimants were finding it hard to find landlords willing to rent to LHA claimants or affordable homes. Why would we want to open ourselves to legalised fraud? Yes, dear gofmint, you have legalised daylight robbery aimed directly at private landlords - the very ones that you claim in 6.4 of your consultation paper "play a crucial role in providing flexible housing choices for people who cannot afford or choose not to buy their own homes". If we play such a crucial role, stop treating us with such contempt and put your money where your mouth is!!

3. Need for top up payments was a problem, which means LHA award is not sufficient, hasn't and isn't being calculated properly. This basing the rent on a Broad Market Rental Areas thing needs a revamp.  The amount of time I spend chasing topups.... its reduced now I use DD to collect rents and top ups.

4. 95% of claimants they surveyed were finding it difficult to manage their finances. doh! I could have told them that ... people who have not been taught money management or ever learnt it or worked for it, can't suddenly become responsible money managers can they??. Its not their money is it? easy come ... easy go. But the gofmint claims in section 6.8 of its document that" many customers now operate bank accounts successfully, in may cases for the first time, as a result of this reponsibility". Many have also defrauded the tax payer and not paid the benefit to the landlord-but gofmint does not see that as fraud, does it?

5. LHA payment cycles of 2/4 weeks causing problems with rent arrears - not aligned with monthly rent dates that landlords require. The very nature of the system encourages LHA claimants to breach their tenancy agreements. from the get go. LHA is paid 4 weekly in arrears - so the service is already provided before the rent is paid. And if some bod at the benefit office decides that the claimant was not entitled to it, then they don't pay it. And who has lost money? dear old trodden-upon landlord!! Do they care, these bods, no sir, they don't .... afterall they will tell you "we are just following gofmint guidelines"... yeah, right!! Bet they wouldn't be so complacent if they had shortfalls in their paypackets because they were deemed not to have done their jobs properly during the month!

6. Reduction in LHA when people move into work is a disincentive to work ... eh, yes, common sense tells us that, doesn't it? why not find a way of easing the transition period, or better still set the LHA rates to better reflect the going rents?

7. Claimants felt that the administrative process of the LHA was a problem ... LOL, ROF, ha ha ha, ho ho ho .... excuse me, but I had to laugh at that one. Don't we just know it. As a landlord, I am the one at the receiving end of the cockups, sorry, administrative errors, that the councils make in administering the scheme.

Thank you Shelter, for that incisive and unbiased report. I will most certainly be putting in my input into the consultation process - bet I will. Question to other landlords is "will you participate??" I really really hope so.

Local Housing Allowance - Government Consultation Document released

Well, well, well, looks like this gofmint is finally listening. Not a very strong point of theirs, one must admit. But, lets give them credit, at least in taking the first steps toward putting right, this travesty of a regulation.

The gofmint has now released a Consultation Document to look at how the LHA is being implemented, amongst other things. You can read or download the whole Consultation Document, just so you have something to look at later or use as firelighter when you get the bbq out next summer.

Let's have a look at a few points made in the summary, shall we:
1. The Local Housing Allowance introduced last year has already brought in a fairer way of calculating Housing Benefit for tenants who live in private rented accommodation. Our objective was to reduce barriers to work by giving people more responsibility for their Housing Benefit payments and to provide a better service based on simpler rules.

Hmnn, yes its a fairer way to calculate entitlement, but this thing about giving people more responsibility for their housing payment, in reality, means giving them licence to steal from you and me as the benefit is not used for its intended purpose but for booze, fags, toys like 40inch LCD TVs and the latest gadgets.

2. The complex interaction with other benefits and weekly adjustments in payments for those who work variable hours can also reduce the incentives for work

you got that too right! b****y nightmare. I have a couple whose LHA has varied every single 4-week period due to the hubby working, that I just want to get rid and give myself some peace. Not their fault obviously, but its low paid work, benefit gone down from £94/wk to something like £30/wk, and they are getting further in arrears. Frankly, he'd be better off not working. But then he wants to work, and I support that.

3. The way in which rates are set has meant that customers in some areas have benefited more than others. In some areas, Housing Benefit can support customers to live in accommodation that many people in work cannot afford. This makes it harder for customers to come off Housing Benefit when they move into work. Furthermore, including high rents when setting Local Housing Allowance rates has driven up benefit levels and has contributed to the annual Housing Benefit budget rising more than it otherwise would have done

If the gofmint had thought it through, they would have seen it coming. We landlords knew that, but as they don't consider us worthing of being listened to, they went ahead anyway. I told you so, dear gofmint!!

4. It also sets out our long-term aspiration to move towards greater integration of Housing Benefit into the wider tax and benefit regimes

oh dear! the system will become so complex, no one will be able to work it out properly - not even Gordon himself who is very clever at putting together indecipherable (at least to the common man) tax and benefit schemes. Means tested schemes where those who need it most, don't get it and those who don't need it get it, and then gofmint complains there's pots of funds left unclaimed. You work that one out.

5.  More integrated benefit provision is not something we could introduce overnight. Change of this order will take time if it is not to involve unacceptable cost and be difficult to implement

The final caveat and "get-out" clause!! yes of course, dear gofmint, we understand perfectly. These things do take time, which you, thankfully-hopefully, do not have.

Fellow landlords who take LHA claimants, I hereby appeal to you, to ensure that you give the gofmint your views on this matter, tell them your experiences, good and bad so they get a balanced view, and hopefully, things will change for the better. I'm not holding my breath though!! ha!

Tenant keeps her word for first time in months...... refuses to vacate

Wonders will indeed never cease.You recall the tenant I told you about on the on Friday 10thDec, well, she has surprised me. I really really was hoping that she would keep true to type and not keep her word. Sadly for me, she has kept her word.

What the heck am I on about. well, Mrs F was given a court order to vacate and give me possession of my property yesterday 14/12/09. However, her solicitor had advised her not to leave, and to stay till I got a warrant of possession. Well, considering that Mrs F has been promising to pay her rent since August and has come up with every excuse under the sun for not paying, I had come to understand that her word could not be trusted, and she could not find it in herself to tell the truth or keep her promises. Surprise, surprise, she kept her word this time, and did not leave on the due date. Aaarrghhhh ... the one time I wanted her to be true to type, and she fails me. Oh well. I suppose it just makes the saga more interesting.

I sent someone to go and visit the property, and she duly knocks on the door and Mrs F opens up and asks her in. My agent says she's come to check if Mrs F had left or was leaving, and Mrs F promptly replies that she has no intention of leaving. I'm told that the christmas tree is up, with decorations and lights, not sure if there are presents under the tree ... maybe an inspection is due!!

It never ceases to amaze me that the tenants who claim not to be able to afford or pay their rents are the same ones who can find money to spend on frivolities and luxuries such as 40inch flat screen TVs.

I duly filled in the N325 form yesterday afternoon, wrote out a cheque for £95 made out to HMCS, and promptly sent these off by first class recorded delivery to the court. I telephoned the court mid morning today, and actually spoke to the bailiff. But thanks to questionable services of Royal Mail, the warrant request had not been delivered. The bailiff was quite a nice man actually. He took the case number, went away to check their mail for the day, and called me back to let me know they hadn't received the letter.

I then went onto the Royal mail website to see what the heck was going on, entered the tracking details for the letter and got the message ".... being processed through the system". What b**lsh*t. First class is not 1st class anymore. You just can't get the service nowadays, can you. Courts don't work, royal mail doesn't work, the gofmint doesn't work, the banks stopped working ages ago, and pretty soon BA won't work. The world is going to pots all around us.

Oh, and whilst I was on the phone to the bailiff, i asked him why it was that the system encouraged tenants to flout orders to vacate until bailiffs are called. He didn't know. He sympathised and all that, but had not answer, mind you, not that I expected he would have an answer. I just thought perhaps he could give me an insight into that side of things.

What is a landlord to do?? We can but keep pressing and pushing for our rights and try and keep our tenants paying rent in the face of all the odds stacked firmly against us.

We shall overcome some day.

Christmas greetings to a tenant who did a runner

We decided not to send christmas cards this year, but have had to make one or two exceptions. Afterall, it'll be nice to wish certain people good cheer, even though they dont deserve it. So, I have just put together a little christmas card with a nice letter to a lady who used to rent from us a nice 3-bed detached house with lovely countryside views. Yes, she is an ex-tenant, but not one I would wish on any other landlord.

Lets call her Mrs T. So, Mrs T rents this house, and she's ok for a little while, then falls into arrears because she claimed her salary payments were erratic. Anyway, we agree a payment arrangement to spread arrears over 6 months, to help her get back on track. She makes the first one ok, the second one is late and only half of what was due - she claimed someone had stolen money from her account and the bank was looking into it. So many tenants pull that one nowadays... banks must be getting quite sloppy. Mrs T pays the third installment and then stopped altogether. Wouldn't respond to calls, letters even visits. Eventually, I find her in one day and she claims to have lost her job and was depressed etc.etc. Yeah! right!! so why bury head in the sand and think it will go away? I can get quite depressed too you know, if I let my tenant's shenanigans get to me. Goodness, gracious me, I'd be permanently depressed if that were the case.

Anyway, she turns on the waterworks (it always works) and as she has kids, I agree to let her stay provided she paid going forward and put something toward the arrears. Let's just say after 2 payments, she defaulted again, and this time, I went straight to court on a S8 ground 8 basis. She did a runner before hearing date, so I got immediate possession. And I was also able to get some housing benefit paid direct to me-but that was another fight in itself with the respective council. Oh boy, that story will be told later.

Needless to say Mrs T left the house in a mess, utter and complete mess, and it'll take some doing to get it back into tenantable condition. thankfully, no structural damage, just decor and rubbish, and cleaning. Oh, and an empty brand new box for a 37inch LCD TV (now did I say she was in arrears???!!). The white shower tray looked like it had not been cleaned in months, and outside tap that had broken was not reported, and she just piped the water via a hose into the drains which ofcourse just backed up and oveflowed due to the constant water into it. Junk and rubbish in garden. So many toys for her kids left behind, so we know what the rent money was used for. She'll probably be spending more of her rent money on more toys to replace the ones she left behind. Perhaps if she shopped at TopChristmasToys or StrictlyChristmasGifts, she'd save some money and still be able to pay some rent to her new unsuspecting landlord.

As I now know where she's moved to, I'm about to surprise her with a christmas card. Which is very thoughtful of me, or so I think anyway, though you might beg to differ. I'd love to be a fly on the wall when she opens the card and finds her statement of account and a copy of the court order with the money judgement.

Merry Christmas, dear ex-tenant Mrs T. I'll see you in the new year, or shall I say a high court sheriff will be calling on my behalf.

Law and Justice - still definitely not the same thing

This gets better and better. I was back on an even keel after the unfortunate telephone call of Tuesday, and was quietly gearing myself for next Monday when I received an email about 40 minutes ago. This time, I was amused, even though it wasn't really funny, ha, ha! My tenants solicitors emailed to tell me that it was highlighted to me during the conversation that "possession of the property could not be obtained without a Warrant of Possession. This is irrespective of the fact that an Order for Possession was granted by the Court". And that if in doubt I should seek legal advice. As if I need any legal advice on the injustice of the system. The beauty of the email is the last bit "if there is any attendance by the Claimants at the property, or Agents of those persons and they seek to forcibly evict our client from the property, proceedings will be instituted against the Claimant for illegal eviction".

So there you have it, my amusement for today. Not only is the tenant owing thousands of pounds in rent arrears, she's getting free legal aid to try to buck the system and stay on rent free for as long as the system will allow her to. This legal aid system that she is now taking advantage of, is funded by taxpayers money, including what I pay on hard earned income, income that people like her try to take away through this kind of shenanigan. You'd think that the solicitors would at least try to encourage their clients or help them find legit means of paying their debts. Oh,no! they'd rather spend their time on unfruitful stuff, and cause landlords to spend even more money trying to get their property back.

In effect, the solicitors are saying that the court order does not matter. Ignore the court order anyway. Is that not contempt of court then? Why can't we take these guys to court on that basis?? 

I know what I have to do, which is go to the property on the appointed day, establish that the tenant is still in residence, then apply to the bailiffs to evict. Of course that will not be till after christmas/new year now will it. So another month when rent arrears will no doubt increase. She can spin it for as long as the system will allow, but not for ever.

In the meantime, I have put in a money claim for the outstanding arrears to date. She should get the court papers in a couple of days. I wonder what she's going to do with that, tell her solicitors to threaten me even further??

Law and Justice. What can I say? The law is an ass. There is no justice, at least not for landlords. The government beats us over the head with all kinds of sticks, and regulate us till there's nothing else to regulate. But will they give us any help where it is required?? oh no! small enterprise should be choked and burdened with red tape .... of course this is a labour gofmint, innit!!

Law and Justice - Definitely not the same thing

A couple of weeks ago, I was on my way to Court for a Possession Hearing. I was listening to Radio 2 (as you do), and Terry Wogan (I will miss him) commented that Law & Justice were not the same. This was said after a track (can't remember the artist) that contained words to that effect. I thought how apt it was, considering my destination. Anyway, I came out of the hearing completely convinced, yet again, that Law and Justice DEFINITELY are not the same in this country. This was a S21 case-judge had given tenant 6 weeks to vacate - the maximum time the law allows. I challenged this and requested a variation. But, apparently, the defendant had to be given 14 days notice, and it had to be a hearing, and of course taking all the time into consideration, the hearing date was barely 2 weeks from possession date. I wasn't expecting the Judge to vary the order or bring it any closer, but I must admit, it still hit me in the gut when the appeal was dismissed.

So why am I going on about this ... because I've just come off the phone and I'm absolutely livid that a solicitor is advising her client, the subject of this hearing, to stay put in the property and not leave on the date possession is supposed to be given. She had been trying to negotiate for her client to remain in the property based on more futile promises to pay, and I said no, I would be checking her out on due date. This tenant had made so many promises to pay and not paid, that it if she said to me that the sun was shining, I'd have to go check myself. She even lied to the Judge at the hearing, saying she was expecting some money in and would clear the arrears by last week. Anyway, then Solicitor said I couldn't just turn up and expect her to leave, that I'd have to go back to court. At which point I interrupted and asked her point blank if she was advising her client not to vacate. Guess what, after much prevarication, and me insistently asking the question, her answer was yes, that's her advice to her client. She then proceeded to lecture me on the court process - just as if I didn't already know that the court process stinks anyway. Needless to say, I completely lost whatever cool I had left at that point, told her conversation was over and cut off the call. What blooming cheek. I don't normally do that, that is put the phone down on people, but this woman incensed me something terrible. And a solicitor at that. I'm just glad I'm not her client.

Anyway, I'm going to make a cup of tea, then continue with the task I was so rudely interrupted from, which is ..... chasing rent again ... and just hope the day gets better than this.

What is the difference between Guarantor and Witness?

That my friends, is a valid question. You may laugh, but that's what I got this morning.

One of our HMO tenants is in arrears. We chase for the payment, and she claims she's left the bedsit!! She has an AST, signed by her and her Guarantor, and witnessed to boot. Tc & Cs are all in there, but she still doesn't think she needs to give notice. If I'd asked her to leave in a moments notice, she'd be off to the Council like a shot and they, bless their red-tape keeping, do-gooding ways, will be on my back like a ton of bricks telling me about the illegality of my actions etc., and trying to teach me the housing law!! The hypocrites!! If they knew half as much of the housing law and the benefits law as they should, we won't have three quarters of the problems that we do.

Anyway, my dear tenant then comes back with the idea that the guarantor, who incidentally is her mum, is not her guarantor at all and has never been her guarantor. That in fact the guarantor was someone who did some work for us ages ago, who witnessed her signature on the first AST she signed back in Jan/Feb 08 at a previous bedsit. Confused? Hmnn, I'd be too if I didn't know better. I'd like to know what she's on. It might help me with dealing with folk like her.

I have of course already written to the Council to tell them their customer is not paying the housing benefit .....

Then it turns out she still has her stuff in the bedsit, and of course still has possession of the keys to the building and to her bedsit. But according to her she's left and doesn't live there anymore!! Now, considering she never gave notice, nor informed our local staff that she was leaving or was checked out, and still has all the keys, if I went in with my key, turfed out her stuff and re-let the place, I could be done for illegal eviction. But as the tenant, she can claim to have left, and there's nothing much I can do, AND if I want the place back, I have to spend more money, waste more time, lose more rent and apply to court for a possession order, or take the risk and change the locks, still leaving myself open to the charge of illegal eviction. The law stinks, doesn't it? But we all know that. Law and Justice are not exactly the same thing.

And then it turns out her mum is still her guarantor anyway, as i already knew since I have the signed paperwork. surprise, surprise - not. And she'll pay the arrears as she wants the daughter to keep the bedsit. Oh well, thanks for the generosity, dear guarantor, but, I already have you where it hurts - so says the Deed of Guarantee you signed.

Goodness knows where the girl is living at the mo ... and I really don't care. I just want them to show me the money, and whether they do it willingly or I have to go to court to get it, they will show me the money. That's a promise - to them and to myself :twisted:

have a good week guys and gals. I can tell I will - having sent out what seems like hundreds of letters to our various errant tenants last thursday and friday, i expect a lot of calls this week ....... and I am looking forward to them.

The Twitter community

After proscratinating and wondering what the fuss was all about, I finally signed on to Twitter on Saturday. Its another world in Twitterland. I'm still getting to grips with the settings and how to follow and who follows and unfollows and all the twitter talk. So I tweet on twitter....

I have a dream ....

A portfolio that is debt free, tenants that behave and pay on time, and a business that runs smoothly leaving me with time to do the things I want to do and spend time with the family.

This weekend, I'm certain that I've found the way to achieve this.

I'm sitting in the bar at the Heathrow Thistle Hotel, having spent the last three days at the World Internet Summit with like minded people looking to take their online businesses further. There are people out there doing some amazing things on the internet - you don't know the half of it. My brain is in a whirl ... information overloaded. I'm pumped up to the gills with information and seeing opportunities in everything I look at. There are even opportunities to apply some of the techniques to the landlord and tenant issues that I have to grapple with on a day to day basis. Amazing the sorts of creating things one's mind can actually come up with. Let the creative juices flow...

There's tomorrow to go, and after that, I'm just going to have to step back and decide what to do and when.

I'm really blown away by the possibilities. If you haven't already done so, then check out these fantastic products. Its only a small step, but hey, even babies had to learn to walk by taking one step at a time.

Other Systems of Income

Considering the current economic climate and the challenges that non paying tenants has presented and continues to present, it seemed prudent to look at alternative other sources of income to fill the gaping holes.

I have tried my hand at internet marketing, and had some success, but felt I needed to take it to the next level. So, I found myself attending an Entrepreneur's Bootcamp at the O2 last month, and had two fantastic information filled days. Wow! I hadn't realised just what else was out there, having focused on property for some time now. Speakers included Andrew Reynolds (who organised the event), Joel Comm, Tom Hua, Brett McFall, Andy Harrington, Simon Coulson, Armand Morin, Adam Ginsberg, Chris Howard and Kirt Christiensen. Those guys are full of information and advice. They do what they teach - and it shows (in their bank balances of course).

I've since followed that up with more learning, and doing. This weekend, I am attending the World Internet Summit in London. Its a 4-day event, where several experienced internet marketers show us how they've done it, and provide the sort of information that will enable us budding infopreneurs to get going. The line up is awesome, and I'll tell you about it as we go along.

As part of the hands-on learning, one of the experts has created a special offer, a product set, which is new on the market, and exclusive to this event. Its available only for the 4 days of this event. Its called the Internet Marketing Survival Kit. This is one amazing package that should not be missed for anything.

Infact, its not just one survival kit, but THREE. Do I hear you say, "why would I want one of those?".. Its for things like
How to get started online in just 48 hours, how to create you own ebook or info product, how to very quickly build a huge list of hungry buyers, how to build a business using twitter and so much more.

You don't believe me? Check it out for yourself.





I'll keep you posted on the events of the next 3 days. It promises to be awesome.