By Craig Smith
The Chancellor of the Exchequer made his budget announcement a fortnight ago and the general consensus is that it has affected the poor for the worse. Perhaps the biggest news at the moment is how the reduction in certain benefits is affecting households around the country with many losing out and finding it even harder to make ends meet.
It isn’t just being able to afford the mortgage or rent that is an issue, the cuts can have had a knock on effect on general living costs and with ever increasing fuel & heating bills, some households can feel their finances running out of control.
Everyday Living
Managing more than 300 properties can have its ups and downs but it does give us a broad spectrum of scenarios to deal with. The properties that we deal with can vary greatly in size and condition, although none that are too bad we hope! There have been instances where even the tenants who seem almost perfect can fall foul to the ‘credit crunch’ and end up in a very quick downward spiral. All it takes is for one person to lose their job, for example, and have no money coming in to provide for their family.
We don’t just see this from tenants, we have had situations where Landlords have had to sell or even had their rental property repossessed as they hadn’t kept up with mortgage repayments.
Tenancy Disputes
The most common example of a dispute arising is when a tenant has left a property which is judged to be in need of works. We have written posts previously on how best to avoid disputes with tenants’ deposits and also the poor condition that some properties have been left in. We seem to live in a blame game culture at the moment where the slightest little niggle or problem results in compensation of some sort to an injured party. This has also found its way into the lettings world where issues that often arise are disputed as being someone else’s fault.
Quite commonly when a tenant leaves a property, and more so now when a problem comes up during a tenancy, it can turn into a game of tennis with neither the Landlord or tenant wanting to take responsibility. Something as simple as a broken door handle can be made into a big issue. The Landlord might think that the tenant has leant on it too hard and needs to pay for the repair themselves, whereas the tenant might think it is a cheap fitting and not made to last!
Of course, there are genuine reasons for wanting to hold back some of a tenants deposit. Maybe the property hasn’t been left as clean as when it was at the start of the tenancy or the garden hasn’t been looked after. (The time of year is a common argument with gardens which should always be taken into account but it is no excuse for extra weeds or damaged items!)
Rise in Deposit Disputes
If no agreement can be reached at the end of a tenancy then the costs can be taken through dispute. They can also be taken through the courts but this is less common as it costs a lot more this way!
Over the past year or so in particular, we have seen a steady rise in the number of people looking to dispute their deposit costs. For larger expenses this is understandable but some can be for smaller amounts, which does sometimes feel a bit like penny pinching!
The Future
It looks as though there is more financial uncertainty to come and we cant see a light at the end of the tunnel just yet. The points mentioned above are becoming common practice so the lettings road ahead could be bumpy!
Recent Comments