Letting agent shares £35K error landlords often make when trying to boot you out of your home & how to catch them out
A LETTING agent has revealed some of the biggest, most costly, mistakes landlords make – and how you can use them to your advantage.
Dan said he’d had a phone call from a tenant who said her landlord was threatening to kick her out of her home.
And, after doing some research, Dan soon found out that the landlord had made some pretty big errors, which could end up costing him.
“First of all, the landlord has texted the tenant giving them two months notice,” he said in a video on TikTok.
“And on an assured short hold tenancy, which is probably our minimum notice, is six months.
“And has to be done by section 21 form 6a.”
This one was disputed in the comments section, and it seems to be that two months’ notice is legally sufficient.
However, next up were the big ones – two missing safety certificates on the house.
“The rental property has no EPC (energy performance certificate) on it,” he said.
“An EPC has been needed since 2008 and not having one can result in a fine of £5000.
“Thirdly, the landlord hasn’t given the tenant an EICR (electrical safety certificate).
“The maximum fine for not having an EICR now is £30,000.”
The enforcement of these fines comes under the jurisdiction of local authorities, according to the Housing Act 2004.
While the landlord was already up to a potential outlay of £35,000, the bad news just kept on coming.
As the landlord hadn’t registered his tenant’s £800 deposit, he could be forced to pay them back three times this as compensation – £24,000.
“All in all, the grand total for this landlord is £37,400 and the tenant doesn’t actually have to leave,” Dan concluded.
He added in the caption: “4 things a landlord has done wrong, massive amounts of money they could owe!”
People were quick to weigh in on Dan’s video in the comments section, with one writing: “Thanks for sharing… ppl don’t pay the rent and landlord is in the wrong.
“Good I’ve seen this before renting out … NEVER !!!”
“What’s the bet there’s no rent being paid by the tenant?” another questioned.
As a third commented: “This is just one side of the story.
“When tenants don’t pay, then what? Can you move them? No.
“Do you ever get unpaid rent back? Soo difficult.”
But someone else argued: “As tenants we really aren’t protected in any way, often we don’t have the confidence to fight back!
“Thank you!”