Alness tenants left pensioner £20,000 out of pocket and ‘forced out next-door neighbours’
A pensioner’s nightmare Ross-shire tenants left him £20,000 out of pocket and “forced their next-door neighbours out” while causing “distressing” damage to his property.
David Edes (70) has been a landlord for over 20 years but says he never experienced tenants as “horrendous” as recent occupants of his Alness property, bought as a part of his retirement planning.
He was prompted to tell his story on the back of a piece we ran earlier this month involving an Invergordon landlord left £50,000 out of pocket and on the verge of quitting the private rental sector because of the difficulties faced in evicting antisocial tenants.
That prompted the Scottish Association of Landlords to call on the Scottish Government to “bring in appropriate safeguards for those providing much needed homes for rent”.
Mr Edes says that for her first 14 months of staying in the Alness flat, the occupant was a good tenant and paid her rent.
“Everything was fine until she moved her boyfriend in with her,” said Mr Edes. “We only discovered he had moved in when he overflowed the bath, and flooded the two shops below quite seriously. The owners of the shops were very unhappy, particularly with water in all their electrics.”
“Their antisocial behaviour, noise and parties, forced out the next-door neighbours because they couldn’t put up with it.”
After giving the tenant her notice due to the antisocial behaviour , Mr Edes says that the tenant stopped paying rent altogether.
He continued: “I was only charging her £500 for a two-bed flat, which was beautiful before she moved in.
“I had to go through a first tier tribunal process, and I had to employ sheriff officers to deliver her notice, and then I applied to the tribunal on January 5.
“They told me the tribunal would be on July 29.”
According to Mr Edes, damages caused by the tenant included: a smashed bath panel, holes punctured in all the walls, smashed French doors, smashed and filthy toilet, kitchen cabinet doors pulled off and smashed, carpets covered in paint and takeaway food. However, the most concerning damage of all were slices through the doors, thought to be caused by a machete.
“I found the machete when I was emptying the flat, which I handed in to the police. Every door needs replaced because they’ve kicked a hole it in, or it seems like they put the machete through it.
Mr Edes says that between the damage to the property, loss of rent over ten months, sheriff court costs and losses from the landlord next door, the saga has left him around £20,000 out of pocket.
“The first tier tribunal system is not fit for purpose.” stated Mr Edes. “It needs to be changed so that they have to make a decision within, say, 28 days. The bias towards tenants is ridiculous.
“I tried arresting her wages — but her wages were already arrested by The Highland Council for not paying her council tax.
“The amount of work involved is horrendous — it’s the first time something like this has happened to me.
“This is the last property I have, which I had planned to keep — but not now. It was so distressing to see the flat like that, I’ve had enough. I honestly don’t think it’s worth being a landlord in Scotland anymore.
“I’m sure there are bad landlords out there, but I’ve always been good to my tenants and kept my properties in good condition. Landlords should be able to recover their properties within a few months — not ten.
“If you need your property back, you should be able to give notice and have a vacant possession two months later.“
