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Valuable Lessons for Landlords from Recent Rent Arrears Case

We wanted to share some valuable #learnings from a recent #HMO tenant case that involved #rentarrears and culminated in a #courtappearance. The experience has offered us #valuableinsights that we believe are worth sharing with our fellow #HMOlandlords.


The HMO landlords approached us to help due to #stress they were experiencing and the #healthimplications as a result. They had been #selfmanaging this property for around 7 years. We inherited the #tenant who was around £3000 in rent arrears and a #property that was not "#houseproud."


Here are some of the key points from this experience:


  • **Tenant's Professional Background:** The #tenant in rent arrears was a Doctor, earning close to a six-figure salary. #Society often holds individuals in such esteemed professions in high regard, which could potentially lead to certain assumptions about their reliability. It highlighted for me that regardless of place in societies eyes, every one of us has our set of #values that govern our #behaviour and #ethics.


  • **International Placement:** The tenant was on an international placement, which may have contributed to their unfamiliarity with the local #HMOmarket and the norms of shared living in our region. Due to the stress of #relocating to another country, it seems obvious to us that the person will want to get their #accommodation sorted very quickly. With time running out a desperation can occur.


  • **Lack of Shared Living Experience:** The tenant had no prior experience living in a #sharedenvironment. This lack of experience can sometimes result in misunderstandings and conflicts among housemates, especially when expectations about #cleanliness and shared #responsibilities differ. Our #HouseHarmony guide is an essential tool in managing expectations.


  • **The Landlords Never Met the Tenant:** The landlords conducted an #onlineviewing. This deprived the landlords of assessing the non-verbal and non-quantifiable potential #redflags. This is a corner piece to our process.


  • **Housemates' Attitudes:** It's important to note that other #housemates in the HMO were also not particularly "house proud," and the overall #livingenvironment was cluttered and messy when we took over the #management. Our House Harmony charter has always been an essential ingredient in our HMOs. They provide a #framework for what we expect of our tenants.


Eventually the case went to #court, however it was #adjourned due to an unfounded tenant claim. The court's limited time allocation of just 15 minutes per case highlighted the challenges of #pursuinglegalaction.


We have also learnt that there is a significant backload at time of writing of cases for courts, with #judges drowning in the volume of cases. This experience reinforced the importance of preventing disputes from reaching the #legalsystem.


The experience has reinforced our core belief in finding the right tenant in the first place that has #experience of living in #sharedenvironments and has the right set of #values.


Our #TenantCycle guide reflects the priorities we place during the tenant life cycle. Click https://1drv.ms/b/s!AqIQsA5tg6bkgskBQP88M_HsxDfKnA?e=6Ag1mJ to download a copy.


It is important to note that we place importance on all the elements, however the most important elements for us are finding the right people and keeping them.

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