UK Landlord Forum / Life

Hi this is my first post any advice would be gratefully received.

I have been renting out my first floor maisonette for over 6 years the last tent has just moved out and after a lick of paint we are ready for new tenants to move in, unfortunately the feed back from the agent is of the unsightly frontage (the front garden) of the property which belongs to the downstairs maisonette.

Since our last tenant moved in so have new tenants in the maisonette directly below. They unlike their predecessors have not kept either the front or back garden in good condition.

When I say overgrown I am talking weeds and brambles that are as high as the picket fence that surrounds the garden at the front.

Their rubbish is not kept in an orderly fashion which we have been on to the council about and this seems to have improved to a degree, but because of the properties close proximity to a railway station I can only imagine its a wild animals dream - something I believe prospective tenants also feel.

I have tried to knock on the door of the neighboring tenants to try and talk to them about clearing, but they do not answer the door to me.

I have been in email contact with the management agency that looks after the freeholders interests they have forwarded to the lease owner our photos ect but he has not replied to them.

I am currently have an empty flat.

Anyone have any ideas what I can do?

Consider how much the cost of having that flat empty for just one month more than you have to. How much will that cost you? £600-£1000+??

Would that money be better spent to get a gardener in to tidy it up and pay them a day or two to do the job? Consider it a dressing up charge that you can offset against the taxman anyway

Quote from: Dannielle on August 01, 2018, 02:07:43 PMAnyone have any ideas what I can do?

Invest money yourself to rectify, pragmatically.

Lower the rent you're asking, pragmatically.

Either approach should get you good results... I think... but they amount to you spending something. This is about you not having an empty property at the end of the day (and all the associated costs / lack of income) - it's about you taking matters into your own hands, and not waiting on others. You can write as many letters as you like, you can wait for people for weeks, and for months... but, if you are able to act, then act. If not, then your hands are tied... but if you can, do.