Tenants could be trying to avoid eviction by damaging property and abusing the new legal system designed to ban revenge evictions, an online lettings agent claims.
The new legislation came into force on October 1 meaning landlords who have failed to remedy legitimate repairs requests cannot use the traditional Section 21 procedure to regain possession of their property.
But research by PropertyLetByUs - an online agency - claims that 10 per cent of tenants have admitted that they have caused over £500 worth of damage to properties.
“While in principle the legislation is a good move, ensuring that landlords don’t evict tenants because of a genuine disrepair issue, it is open to dishonest tenants bending the law to avoid eviction” claims the agency’s managing director, Jane Morris.
“Landlords need to ensure that they make regular checks on their properties and handle tenants’ complaints about damage, quickly and efficiently. If landlords are suspicious that the damage is intentional to avoid eviction, they should seek legal advice.”
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Seriously? If proper records are kept throughout, starting with professional cleaning and inventories in place, this would actually be very hard for a Tenant to get away with. With only 60 listings nationwide, how many people were surveyed and how? If 10% of their Tenants are causing over ÂŁ500 of damage then I know which agent I wouldnt be using! Can we please ask that any cliams and statistics like this are quantified and vetted by you guys before churning them out- like the ÂŁ1Bn claim of easyproperty the other day- nonsense!
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