29/10/2010 
LRS_memberMy last single female tenant illegally sublet my flat to three men. It created considerable wear and tear not only on my nerves, listening to her lies via email and knowing from all the reports from visiting repair men etc that there were 3 razors in the bathroom and guys sleeping around the flat and on the floor all the time, and that the actual tenant was nowhere in sight nor her belongings.
Very stressful wondering what would happen next and if the rent would be paid or other foreseeable disasters every 5 minutes, It also created considerable wear and tear on the flat which they didn´t look after at all, didn´t clean or anything, and three men is very different to one single female. When I threatened to report the tenant for fraud because of subletting, the men, whom she had repeatedly refused to name when asked, completely disappeared from my flat, unsurprisingly (they may have been illegal immigrants – I have no idea) There is now the question of unpaid bill s, I don´t even know who the providers of the services will have been and will be watching what comes in the post at the flat to try and find out (people change the providers these days, and if not, the tenants have done a flit anyway, the illegal ones and also the original ‘legal’ (lying) one!
I´m worried about what is going to happen re the bills if they´re unpaid. I also have no idea in whose name they could have put them in so I hope I don´t get any nasty surprises. I know the tenant tried to put the council tax in my name but then changed her mind about a week later. (The council tax people sent me a bill which is how I found out) I´ve found it very hard to get any joy out of the DPS re deposits with the last bad tenant who wrecked some of the contents of the flat and the money is still in the DPS account a year later! I´m going to have fun with this next tenant if the bills become a problem, getting the money from the DPS. I´m very disillusioned with the lack of help the DPS give in disputes, they just say if you can´t !resolve things between you then go to court.
Let this be a warning too, to other people letting out their flat because they like to travel. Get someone to visit the flat regularly and check on the condition and on the bills and whose name they are in! I do have a copy of the signed and witnessed Assured Shorthold Tenancy Agreement and hope this will stand me in good stead if this bad tenant has messed around with names in the bills.
Has anyone got any info on this? I will be happy to supply names to this wonderful new Landlord Referencing Service. Although it´s the only flat I have let out and I don´t have that many tenants to mention, I think this is a fantastic new venture and thank you for setting it up.
I agree that landlords are far too vulnerable the way things are set up.
Louisa Livingstone
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In my experience, you need have no worries about the utility accounts if you were not the signatory or person who contracted with them for the supplies. The utility companies have their own means of tracing occupiers who have done a “flit”.
Chris is correct – when you take on a new tenant, read the meters with him, then inform the utilities of date of move-in with readings and tenants name. At end of tenancy read meters together (if possible) then inform utilities of closing readings – get tenants new address for final onward bill. You are not responsible for any bills he accrues whilst in your property as long as the account name is in his name.Instruct the tenant he is not to change the supplier at any time. thats all you can do! good luck!
As long as the bills are in the tenants name then its their responsibility.
I always write it into my tenancy agreements that the tenants are responsible for all bills. i.e. telephone, sky, gas, electric.
When tenants move out I make sure that i take a meter reading with them if possible for the gas, because I am on the isle of man we only have one gas provider, and i notify them when tenants are due to move out and when tenants are due to move in. The gas company normally like to come and read the meter each time, but i also note down the figures when tenants leave. I used to put the gas in my name in the inbetween times, now i dont, i just wait for the new tenant to take on the gas it easier this way and you get no gas bills. with the electric for the last few tenants i have had a pre paid meter system with a little key that electric is loaded onto. here on the island the electric is the same price this way and no big deposits are needed to take out the electric.
i make sure that the tenants know that all day to day bills are their responsibiltiy. i also point out that they need to take out a tv licence and their own contents insurance.
if the bills that are coming are in the last tenants name dont worry, what i tend to do is mark the enveloped no longer here moved away and put them back in the post. if you know which companies they are coming from without opening them as you are not allowed to open them unless they are address to the occupier, then i email and just say that i am the landlord and that these tenants have moved away on such and such a date.
hope this all helps.
A very important anti-fraud measure is to contact the council tax dept and confirm the status of the occupants every 3 months.
You should advise tenmants that you WILL be contacting the council tax dept at regular intervals to verify the status of the occupants of the property.
That will ensure the tenant knows it will be difficult to commit council tax fraud.
If you know there are are other people contravening the AST then you inform the the CTAX dept and she will lose her single persons discount.
If she is on LHA then fraud is occurring and you must inform the local council.
I have a non-rent paying tenant who since moving in has not paid a single utility bill since 4.10.10.
I am not liable as I informed the utilities of the meter reading and the new tenant’s details; so I am not liable at all.
Did you know that the energy companies HAVE to supply energy even if you are a criminal.
They do not credit check you.
My wrongun tenants have ripped of the utility companies for thousands of pounds; not a penny of which I have been liable for!
But only because I carried out all the aforementioned.
I also make it a requirement that before they sign the AST they have to sign the electoral roll form.
I get 2 signed copies; 1 for them to keep and 1 for me to send off to the council.
If they are dodgy they won’t want to register for the electoral roll as even if they don’t there is supposed to be a £1000 fine for not doing so; but no councils enforce this law.
Obviously being on the electoral roll enables them to be tracked down by debt copmanies and enables court documents to be served.
It is also worthwhile informing all parties that you are the landlord of the property and give your contact details as this is not done usually.
It has assisted myself and these other parties to take action against these wronguns.
My situation has flushed out a tenant criminal who is now due to my details being known about being arraigned for a criminal and civil prosecution.
This was only caused by me contacting the council tax dept 4 months after the criminal tenant moved in.
Consequently anything unusual councils talk to eachother via computers and guess what I had a investigator contact me about whether the tenant I knew as XXXXX was known to them as XXXX.
I confirmed via passport photo they were correct and she will hopefully be deported back to Poland where the police want her for art crime as well as the benefit fraud etc. over here!
Also ONLY use the mydeposit.co.uk service.
That way you get to keep the money to help your cashflow and it only costs about £30 per AST.
But remember VERY, VERY IMPORTANT
ANY CHANGE TO THE AST MEANS THE DEPOSIT HAS TO BE PROTECTED AGAIN
It does not matter whether it is the same tenant and the same deposit.
If the tenant reqires a change to the AST or wishes to have another AST then I normally say yes providing THEY pay the cost of protecting the deposit again.
Obviously if you increase the rent then you generally have another AST which you the landlord would pay for.
However it is my understanding you do not have to have a new AST if you do increase the rent whilst the tenant is on a SPT.
It might also be a good idea to give your details to the adjacent flats incase there are any ‘issues’.
It can be frustrating for other occupants not be able to contact the owner of a property.
Particularly the flat below yours if you have that situation.
This as you can advise the flat below what SHOULD be the situation with your flat and if anything untoward like other visitors who seem to stay longer than a normal ‘visitor’ would , they can contact you.
I would also take photo id irrespective of any credit checking.
Also if as you seem to have experienced in the supposed tenant not being seen entering the block or the flat would be a little suspicious.
Most flat residents meet; puting out rubbish; post, entering block etc.
If you tenant does not enter block and is not ssen it is worth your while requesting the adjacent occupants if they wouldn’t mind contacting you regarding these circumstances.
This really answered my problem, http://www.landlordreferencing.co.uk is really good. thank you!
Sadly the whole private rental sector falls victim to some particularly shite UK legislation and social practice which doesn’t reflect the well known and easy to adopt common sense of much better legislation and social practice in places like Belgium and Germany. Countries where property letting is almost a national institution. I have a government and property background dating back to the 1970s. The UK was actually beginning to make some ground in its lawmaking to do with property, tenant criminality, and tenant civil wrong, in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s. Unfortunately as soon as they lost all of the in house expertise in developing consistent legislation, didn’t execute the all important powers of legislative enforcement and then let clerks write further legislation instead of experts from a relevant professional discipline the world came to an end for the modern landlord – what a mess – the 2004 Housing act refers!
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Paul Barrett. Just read this article. I never thought of getting them to sign the electoral role. I will keep a note of that. Very good advice all the way through
Re: Gas bills. I have been told by the gas company that they now credit check customers and if they fail the credit check they get a prepay meter.