Landlord-tenant relationship can easily go sour when both parties fail to understand each other. Allowing a tenant the use of your property even when he/she owes some arrears can be a tricky situation to handle especially if the tenant has always been good and timely with the rent.
As is the situation in every sphere of life, there will always be some bad eggs that would contaminate the whole crate. Landlords in the U.K are becoming more cautious and wary of tenants owing many months of rent or mismanaging the property due to the weak laws that attempts to protect the tenants’ rights of occupancy and not the landlord’s right to evict as may be necessary.
Right of access to your property in a situation where the tenant has violated the contract is not clearly stipulated in tenancy laws. Present eviction laws would normally take months – and free usage of the property by the tenant while the landlord is made to suffer for it.
That may not be the case any longer if steps being taken by the Landlord Action and backed by the Landlord Association and RLA is anything to go by. When the new law(s) goes into effect, county courts and other such courts would deliver judgments in such cases quickly and landlords would get injunctions to eject the erring tenant much faster.
This is indeed a good development for landlords – whether single-property owners or large estate owners. Local councils should, at this juncture, work with landlords and help sensitize tenants about the consequences of not paying rent on time or not using the property accordingly. All in all, only time can tell how this new legislation would affect all parties involved.
