Rise In Malicious Damage To Rental Property

Being a landlord in the UK is a very desirable financial position that many people would like to be in. Some tenants even think that landlords are made of money, not realising that Buy To Let is a business. The landlord is a businessman and the property is his income source.

However, most landlords will face some issues with property and tenants eventually, and those who rush into things without doing thorough due diligence will probably face this sooner rather than later.

There have been a number of reports in the press of landlords that have had evicted bad tenants in severe rental arrears, only to discover that as well as owing thousands of pounds in unpaid rent, the tenant had also trashed their property.

At the end of a tenancy, landlords are often be faced with any number of minor repairs, often caused accidentally through general lack of care by the tenant, but as recently reported by the news media there have been a few extreme cases where disgruntled tenants have caused thousands of pounds worth of malicious damage to properties, costing landlords dearly.

Some tenants do not appreciate the landlord’s mortgage payments or financial position as their problem and view the landlord’s decision to evict as a personal attack on them, striking back at the landlord by trashing the property.

With LHA housing benefit cuts due on 1st January 2012, the pressure for tenants claiming the housing allowance portion of the new Universal Credit payment is set to increase further.

Legal4Landlords advise all landlords to carry out the correct tenant referencing checks and to use a reputable lettings and property management agent when seeking tenants.

Landlords who wish to avoid being faced with a hefty financial outlay having properties repaired after damage has been caused should consider taking out a comprehensive landlord insurance policy, where damages can be taken care of quickly and with minimal stress as the cost of the repairs are likely to be covered.