Friend who rents my house & problems?

Question

I moved in with my partner last year and rather than sell my house I rent it to a good friend. We both signed a tenancy agreement (witnessed by another friend) which I produced myself (not through a solicitor). Anyway although she pays the rent on time every month problems have arisen:
I went to the house last week whilst she was away (she knew I was going) and I was shocked at what I found. The bath (enamel) was badly stained and looked like it hadn't been cleaned in months, the garden was over grown with weeds and there was rubbish which had fallen out of the bins all over, grass was growing out of the top of the drains, the washer (mine) was full of wet clothes even though she was away for a week (stank) and my neighbour (well, her neighbour!) told me that the back steps of the house are always covered in *** ends (I will not allow smoking in the house) and she never opens windows/curtains even in the very hot weather.
What do I do ??? I don't want to kick her out

Answer 1

Raise your concerns to her

Answer 2

Several observations:

1. Never mix friendship and business. When you do, business will often ruin the friendship.

2. Doing a self-help tenancy agreement is never wise. Without a copy to review, it's not possible to say if there are any violations or not.

3. The bath will need to be cleaned prior to her departure. While it would behoove her to keep it tidy, your complaint is probably not valid unless she leaves it that way when she moves.

4. I left a load of washing in the machine by accident when leaving on a 3 week business trip. It stank! So what?

5. Does your tenancy agreement address the lawns? You may have a complaint here if it looks untidy from the road or the neighbours' homes. Ask her to tidy it up.

6. No excuse on the bins, you need to ask her to sort this out and keep it tidy.

7. Cig-ends (Why do Yahoo blank out f-a-g?) on the back steps. You didn't see them, but the neighbour's comment is evidence that she's not smoking in the home. I'd call that a plus, if an untidy one...

8. Never opens the curtains or windows? Neither do I. I walk around my home in the nude all the time. The neighbours would really have something to complain about if I opened them!

Have a solicitor review your agreement to see what, if anything, you can do. You should send her written notice regarding the condition of the outside, the lawns and bins in particular, and ask her to tidy it up.

At the end of the day, you may have to decide which is more important -- your friendship or your home. Tough choice!

Answer 3

Welcome to the lovely world of rental income and property management. 1. Bathroom enamel and caulking easily get blackened from water (the same you drink). She obviously just has not cleaned as detailed as you. 2. If you did not put "care for the garden that I planted and love" in the tenancy agreement, I think you need to be over there more often. 3. The grass can be mentioned to her, but she may be busy. 4. She obviously forgot her clothes in the washer and is just that simple minded of a person who is careless. The best you can do is ask her to respect your personal property.

I don't actually see any real grounds for being upset, except that the house is starting to look like you moved out...which you did. These are things you prefer to have done, not things that must be.

Answer 4

Like another poster put it, Welcome to the wonderful world or being a landlord. I'm afraid, from what you have seen, you got nothing, so she's a filthy pig, that's not against the law. I hope you got a damage deposit, then you can refuse to give it to her if the house is left in a messy state when she moves out, so you can have it cleaned. I wouldn't try to kick her out, you will find that VERY DIFFICULT. Believe me, the law is on the tennents side. I have had tennent that didn't pay rent, and it took 8 months and 3000 quid in legal fees, before they were finally forced out. My solicitor told me it could have taken alot longer. Not to mention the 500 quid a month rent. You will also lose your friend. What do you do, so long as she pays her rent, nothing. When the lease is up, up the rent.

Answer 5

have a business discussion with her. let her know that the upkeep of the property is pertinent to you. if she does not maintain it you as the landlord might have to exhault some burden of the cost to upkeep the proeprty. the best thin go do would be to hire a landscaper to come over, clean the rproperty up, and put it on the market. let it be sold, make ur money and be done with this problem. if ur not ready to sell than make some rules pretty clear. whatever she breaks will be deducted from security friend or not, theres not smoking in the house, she must keep up with the outdoor upkeep bc the neighbors have been complaining to you. sh emust reflect a good reputation of herself and you. good luck.

Answer 6

If the domicile gets foreclosed on, your pal has ninety days to discover a clean place to stay. with the intention to purchase this place, she might ought to qualify for a private loan. possibly she ought to speak to the owner and spot if the owner might qualify for a short sale of the valuables? that's anyones wager if the owner basically needs her to go, yet I tremendously doubt it particularly is the case. Why? because of the fact, if she does no longer have a protracted term hire and is barely on a month to month tenancy, each and every of the owner has to do in the event that they wanted her out is supply her a 30 day word.

Answer 7

you have made the fatal mistake of mixing business with friends.

you have to look at this as a landlord and not her friend. deal with it, tell her to sort the place out or move on.

if she paid you a deposit, you are entitled to keep it to sort out anything she leaves.

Answer 8

thats the problem with renting you have to realize that not everybody has the same values and clenlyness as you..as long as they arnt wrecking the home there is nothing you should do..unless you want to wreck a friendship..

Answer 9

She's a s l u t and showing no respect for your home. I wouldn't have a mucky cow like that living in my home. She will cost you thousands in repairs and devaluation.
Give her notice to quit.