How to Evict Tenants for Causing Property Damage

Unfortunately there will always be tenants who, either accidentally or intentionally, cause unnecessary damage to your property – by this we mean damage beyond what could be considered general wear and tear.

This can be a frustrating situation for any landlord, as you are often forced in to the position of either paying for the repairs yourself, or having to sit back and watch as your investment deteriorates.

We can help you deal with this problem, efficiently and cost effectively using the legal court process as far as is necessarily to either ensure the tenants fully repair the damage at their expense, or if that is not a viable option, to evict the tenants and apply for a money order to meet the costs of the required repairs. The legal costs can be added to the claim and the money order on the tenant.

Property damage - who pays for what, landlord or tenant?

When it comes to property repair as a landlord you have clear obligations to your tenants regarding the maintenance of the property.

One of the most effective ways of covering the cost of tenant damage is through the retention of the tenant’s deposit – however it is not uncommon for the damage to far exceed the amount of deposit held, or for the tenant to also be in rental arrears, the result makes the deposit inadequate.

Under Section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, which sets out the reciprocal rights and responsibilities of both parties, tenants are expected to keep your property clean, free from damage (either by themselves or anybody that visits) and smoke free (unless mentioned otherwise in the contract). The tenant is also expected to complete basic maintenance, for instance changing light bulbs and fuses, keeping sinks draining and using the heating system responsibly.

Damage caused by unauthorised changes to the property

If your tenant were to make changes to the property, without your permission, they would become responsible for maintaining those changes and if they were to damage the property you have the right under the Act to charge the tenant by deducting the money from the original deposit.

Damaged caused to furniture supplied with the property

This also applies to any damage to furniture that you may have supplied with the property, dampness caused by tenant negligence and redecorating that is needed at the end of the tenancy that is not the result of normal wear and tear. Therefore the Act ensures that basic damage can be recouped by retaining a portion or all of the deposit, however there are also options for you should you find that the damage exceeds an amount stood by the deposit.

Even if the tenant is up to date with their rent payments eviction is still possible for damage that has been caused to your property. We deal efficiently with the process, often serving a Section 8 notice, which is a 14 day notice seeking possession, and a Section 21 notice, which is a two-month notice to terminate a tenancy contract and then possess the property. Often this is enough to remedy the problem, however if not and eviction goes ahead we can also help you to obtain financial damages if the tenant fails to pay.

Applying for a Money Order to cover the costs of the damage

Through the court we can ask for a ‘money order,’ which means that the tenant will have to pay the damages, regardless of whether they live in the property or not, and could affect the tenant’s credit rating. You can ask for an immediate payment, payment by a certain date, or payment in instalments and failure to pay would mean that you could return to the court and have the money order enforced. This could be done by instructing a bailiff, an attachments of earnings order or a third party debt order (which involves freezing money in the defendant’s bank account). 

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Evictions SouthEast has a dedicated team of legal personnel ready to help you with your tenancy problems. We offer a free initial case review to give you some helpful information on how best to proceed with the case and what the likely outcome will be. Should you wish to proceed we will take on your case immediately with our transparent 3 step eviction process all based on a fixed fee pricing structure.

Evictions South East have a 100% success rate to date.