Far too often, I've heard cases of tenants who, when asked to leave, or after being give notice to vacate the premises that they were renting, decided to "lose their minds" on the property. This means that instead of maintaining their duty to vacate upon being given the relevant notice, they've decided to make the whole issue a personal one, and to launch their destruction on the property they signed a contract to respect. This "destruction" usually includes taking away appliances/furniture that was attached to the property, and removing other fixtures. So, have you ever encountered this issue yourselves? If so, what's the best resolution to the matter? Especially when it appears that the tenant is "untraceable" or "has disappeared"?
Thankfully, no. I use an agent that does all the vetting and so far, at least, I haven't had any problems. But I do remember on the last day of university some friends were having a party at their house. Everyone was extremely drunk and one of the tenants thought that he would leave his mark. So he got a hammer and started bashing the dining room wall. At the time we all thought it was funny. Now, I feel really sorry for any landlord that chooses to put up with that kind of behavior.
While I'd never condone that type of action, I think a lot will depend on how you treat the tenant and what sort of relationship you will have along the way. Communication is important during a tenancy and then I think when it ends, it will usually end amicably.
Wow, that's really a sad story, and I hope your friend has learnt his lesson by now! As it relates to the idea of communication, that's a definite must, and it really does impact how a tenant behaves if the relationship between him/her and their landlord is good, bad or ugly! However, I do also believe that there are some instances where it doesn't really matter much whether the landlord tries to communicate with the tenant or not. At times, even if there had been a good enough relationship between both parties, it seems that the thought of the dismissal is taken by the tenant almost like a "break-up" in a long-going relationship! So, that tenant decides to react like an emotionally lovestruck individual who's had their heart broken, and then just "leaves their parting words"...on the furniture or somewhere else on the property... And then, there are just those cases where the person did something reckless and caused damage and didn't do the necessary repairs to that damage before he/she left, and basically left it as a sign of "good riddance" to both the property and the landlord. Whatever the reason, the result is tragic...at least for the landlord.
There are some tenants who will damage property deliberately so they can "get back at" the landlord for some perceived slight. Even if the landlord was to sue it would be hard to prove that the tenant is responsible for the damage because most of the time the law protects the tenants more. It's why when renting a house/apartment/etc you should trust your instincts. If someone projects a negative vibe from the time you meet them then that person might not be the best tenant . . .
In my case, the tenant smashed the windows, damaged the sockets, left me an outstanding electricity bill, threatened to kill me...its was horrible, I've been picking the pieces since then, vowed to never manage the house by myself again, called in professional property agents to walk in my shoes and help me out....currently rebuilding from an ash heap and I have no time for drama no more!
I am really sorry to hear about that diane. Did you get the police on the case or what was the outcome? He can't simply do that and disappear...
I was born and raised in an apartment. We were fortunate that my father's friend owned the apartment. But with the other tenants, they have a problem because one daughter of the owner was so strict with the payment. A day of delay would cause that daughter to come banging the door of the apartment. When that particular tenant left for good, the owner was aghast to find that a bucket of wet cement was poured in the toilet bowl. So they had to replace that bowl.
