Tenant late with rent numerous times.


thanks pc7. I waited 2 days for her deposit because she was waiting on it from her previous LL. I cant believe i didnt think of this till now...

Im definately sticking to my guns and if she goes to the PRTB or whereever then i`ll have to cross that bridge when i come to it... if i fall on my ass then i have my solicitor and myself to blame but at least it`ll never happen to me again. Possibly an expensive lesson to learn but it could be worse... i`ve learned a heck of a alot during this thread.
 
I think you've been unlucky with these tenants for your first time renting, so don't let it get you down. Learn from this experience and read up on the relevant laws for your own peace of mind.
 
Afuera said:
I think you've been unlucky with these tenants for your first time renting, so don't let it get you down. Learn from this experience and read up on the relevant laws for your own peace of mind.
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good advise and thank you..

SS.

(will post on Fri morning to update after Thursday evening meeting with them for handing over keys etc)
 
just think of it as a baptism by fire!

you will be much more inclined to read up on a landlords rights/obligations after this experience and it will make you much more discerning about who you rent your property out to.

Dont sweat it - these things happen, the main thing is that you are dealing with it. itll soon be over and you can move on.

about PRTB etc - it might never happen, dont worry about it unless it does.
 
Shootingstar, I think we'll all be interested to hear how this one goes. It sounds like you have a nice property & you should be able to choose your tenants more carefully. I have had couples in their mid-late twenties on 3 occasions now & it has worked out fine. You will be fine in the future, just be more careful. I found Daft excellent as you can tell quite a bit from people's initial written emails & if you put up plenty of good photos you will have your choice of tenant.
You have been unlucky here, just be ready to have a vacant month or so and be out of pocket in order to get the right tenant.
It's obvious from the tone of your emails that you find it hard to say no to some people - I think that's all you have to do next time & you will be fine.
Best of luck with your current situation.
 
I think the tenants have been a little unlucky here as well. Their personal circumstances got worse after they moved in - they couldnt afford to pay the rent after hubby lost job and needed the RA increased to cover rent.
The OP/Landlord hit the nuclear option almost instantly...obviosuly no experience with RA as they would have worked with you (ever think thats why they are phoning now? sure they are slow but fair).

Did your ad for renting house generate a lot of interest? If so better luck with the next rental - take a little more time selecting someone you are happy with. Use texting a little less next time - it doesnt strengthen your position when dealing with tenants - if you cant hack the personal touch hire an agent.


I hope that you arent under pressure to rent this house now that its empty - you dont need any extra worries - you seem to have plenty. I hope you can afford to have the house empty for a while (take the time out to organize exactly what rules you plan to have in place for the next tenant and stick to them). If you can afford to have the house empty I would wonder why you were so quick to get rid of your family of tenants?
 


Agreed with above poster - but I do think the OP in this case realises they are an amateur landlord (werent we all once). Hopefully she will learn from this and improve next time.
The bad legal advice from a professional solicitor is a little scarier.
 

I think it was a social worker not RA/CWO - which would imply to me that there's more going on with that family than meets the eye.
 
Mel said:
I think it was a social worker not RA/CWO - which would imply to me that there's more going on with that family than meets the eye.
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Yes I agree, as soon as I read OPs post mentioning a social worker I thought the same.
Its not a nice situation for the family but it is not the OPs responsibility to sort out a troubled family and allow them to be late with rent frequently, mortgage repayments still have to be made on the property and she needs reliable tenants.
 
The notice period in the landlord's lease is illegal.

Section 69 of the Residential Tenancies Act 2004 specifies:
(2) Such an agreement to a lesser period of notice being given
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In other words, the landlord can agree a shorter notice period with a tenant at the end of a period of tenancy but not in the lease. The solicitor should have pointed this out to the landlord.​

The same act specifies rent payments are considered late for the purposes of the law when they are paid more than 14 days after the landlord issues a written reminder.​

The thread title tells us the rent has been late 'numerous times' when it appears from the solicitor's letter that the rent was late on two occasions and that there were no written reminders or 14 days of grace.​

The landlord makes reference to becoming a tougher person and acting in a more businesslike fashion. the implication here is that to succeed in business she must make some kind of faustian deal and abandon her humanity for the sake of profits. This is a naive view of business. Being fair with people and learning from mistakes is a more profitable policy than bullying and illegality.​

The questions about who should cut the grass, maintain appliances, pay for breakages and should be detailed in the lease agreement. Any omission like this can lead to dispute and misunderstanding. As the landlord drew up the agreement, it would be fair to either split the costs or favour the person who did not word the agreement - the tenant.​

In business in Ireland, clients who pays bills within 14 days of the due date are not considered late. A business wouldn't have any customers if it came down too heavily on this behaviour. Yes writing reminder letters is a pain but this is part of business and just a task to carry out dispassionately every monday morning. Legal route is the last resort as it is aggressive and may cause the loss of a customer, as happened to the landlord in this case.​

Perhaps the landlord should treat the tenant in the way that the landlord would want to be treated?​

In this case, perhaps the landlord should consider if she would be happy if her bank attempted to repossess her house following three late mortgage payments on foot of an illegal clause in her mortgage agreement.​
 
just reading back over various posts.... so im not going to quote anyone.

It was a social worker that called me. Yes, i believe the family have a few things going on in the background. Im going to say this and i know some of you will balk at it but anyway.... the husband isnt very nice. He was drinking all last Sunday night and the previous Thurs. I know this because the house is in a small community and it came back to me. He can drink yet cant pay the rent for the last few weeks. I dont begrudge anyone a pint but hes a regular in the local and can drink im told. Im also aware that her husband loosing his job is COMPLETELY down to himself. but i dont want to go into that...

I have the cop on to know when something isnt right... I know this would have happened again. She complained a few times about money to me. I did actually say to her i didnt want to know about her personal affairs. And being the person i am im always kind in how i speak to people so i was never harsh at any point with her. Im never harsh to people.

Everytime they called me up about something she commented on the rent being high.. *example* - i called a plumber out to the washing machine and he said he`d be there first thing monday morning. I told her this and she said it wasnt good enough, she had 4 kids to wash for and her husband etc.. I told her i have no control over how the plumber times things and told her maybe popping to the laundrette to tie her over might work. She hurled at me saying "i have no f-ing money for taxi`s in and out to a laundrette coz rent is huge"..
Guys i could give you a few more i just couldnt be bothered typing it all out.

Again, Its done and im not undoing it. They have found somewhere to live im told. Will let you know tomorrow how i get on tonight with them. The hubby nerves me so my neighbour and my dad are coming with me. Enough said..
 
I dont think she was calling you a "bully", just not to see being "tougher in future" as to mean you would be unfriendly/unfair etc. You can be tough,in a nice way if everything is clearly spelled out at the very start. Know your rights and limitations and you wont get yourself in this type of situation in future.
 
update :

Everything went ok(ish) last night. Tenants have moved. house very dirty. drawing all over cupboards but i know i have to allow for that etc. I ended up apologising to them and they also apologised. Plenty of things missing but i let it go..

I couldnt even look them in the eye for fear i`d get upset. gave them back part of deposit (less rent owed) and changed the locks. Went home and had a large bacardi!!!!
 

Good. Put it behind you.
Now you can go and read up on landlords rights and obligations, make yourself fully aware of the legalities of your position.
If youre not great at personally dealing with tenants perhaps you could engage an agent to handle that end of things for you?
 
Thats good, just get down at weekend and get cleaning and get organised for letting it out again.

Don't be put off by your experience, count yourself lucky it could have been alot worse and I still think that you did the right thing, things were only going to get worse.
 
I'm glad that's over for you shooting star. All in all you did very well to get out of it so easily. You'll be very good at weeding out tenant's after this experience, and make sure you always get a large deposit up front, that the lease has all the terms & conditions and most important check the references thoroughly. There's loads of tips/experiences on AAM to help you become a good landlord.
 
Glad it worked out for you in the end.....Like others have said, put it behind you and enjoy your weekend....Well done for sharing your story on the forum. It might help other people who are new to renting....
 
yes i definately need to brush up on my skills. have learnt alot though... Thanks a mill for the help, advise & support....

Great site
 
I don't know if you are a Christian, but if you are, consider the Nativity story over Christmas and your actions in this case.

If you are confused about the meaning of bullying, it is normally defined as the abuse of power of the strong over the weak. Power may derive from wealth, intelligence or level of education. I accept that you may not have known that your actions were illegal, at first, but this became clear to you as the situation progressed and you chose to hide the fact that you had learnt that the the contract was illegal.

If you want to be more assertive in future, please find the courage to discusss your concerns directly with your tenants rather than nuking them at the first opportunity. There is a cost to replacing tenants.

Deciding based on gut instinct that your tenants are bad news is unfair as it fails the reciprocity test. What if they had decided, based on gut instinct, that you were a poor landlord and then trashed your house?

I'm sure you are not a bad person but I think this kind of situation could be avoided in future by being more explicit at the start of a lease with tenants about terms and conditions and setting conditions trhat are within the law.
 
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