Whether you’re renting out that second home in Cornwall as a summer let or own so many buy-to-let properties you could be considered a property guru – beware the tenant from hell
There are enough horror stories of non payments, squatters and trashed properties out there to send a chill down the spine of any experienced landlord, let alone the virgin property owner with little experience.
These difficult tenants come in all shapes and sizes, from the obvious binge-drinking students to that sweet blue-eyed twenty-something who claims to run a ‘massage parlour’ in her room after dark. However, with preparation, landlord insurance, reference checks and some serious questioning, you’ll be protected against not just the bad, but the bizarre and disgusting world of these nightmare tenants:
After six months of living in a property, a man stole a ten-year old cherry tree from the garden and claimed he planted the tree himself.
A teenage tenant in Scotland caused £20,000 worth of damage after throwing paint on the walls, ripping off banisters, breaking kitchen appliances and smashing windows after not paying any rent for months
One extremely annoyed tenant took all the contents of the property – even the carpets – and dumped everything in a big pile in the garden.
A group of tenants, who apparently ‘got bored’ turned into pyromaniacs overnight and burned everything in the property. This included floorboards, doors, skirting boards and even the wooden batons behind plastered walls.
A student in Birmingham caused considerable damage to her ceiling after installing her very own pole-dancing studio in her living room.
A doctor had a private cannabis farm in his apartment, and then claimed it was for ‘medicinal purposes.’
A group of trainee medical students sharing a flat claimed that doctors were exempt from cleaning after the landlord questioned the state of the property.
After an inventory clerk went to inspect a property, he reported that the carpet was dirty. The tenant, however, denied that the floor needed vacuuming saying, “Why does it need cleaning, I’ve only been here for six months?”
One tenant who spent their time reading up on human rights refused to leave a property for 12 months (and didn’t pay a penny for the duration).
A professional con man (who has still not been found) rented a property under a false name and conducted a series of credit card frauds and benefit cheats.
All rentals have their risks. Fortunately, or hopefully, these sort of cases are few and far between and in the main, an inventory taken at the start of a tenancy will protect both the landlord and the tenant.
There is always risk but they are rare
I learnt the hard way that the most effective way to stop a tenant trashing your property in the various ways described in the article, is to insist on a home owning guarantor, preferably a close relative. Very few tenants will trash a house knowing their parents/sister/grandparent will have to pay for the damage.
It’s all about doing your homework and ensuring you are well covered to mitigate any of the risks in renting out your property.