Rogue Tenant Eviction Costs Can 'Cripple'
When it comes to evicting a rogue tenant, landlords are facing costs that can be 'crippling'.
That's the verdict from letting agents Benham and Reeves who looked at how much the financial impact an eviction will be for landlords.
The firm has calculated the cost of lost rent and refitting the bathroom and kitchen plus potential legal fees and having to pay their mortgage payments from their own pocket as no rent may be coming in.
Their findings reveal that it can take up to nine months to evict a rogue tenant from a property which, on average, will equate to £6,111 of lost rent.
Properties usually require complete renovation
The research also highlights that properties usually require complete renovation once the tenant has been evicted since they either remove items or leave the property in a state that requires repair.
In addition to lost rent, the two rooms that usually see the most damage are the kitchen and bathroom, which will see costs of £4,875 to refit the bathroom and £8,000 for the kitchen.
On top of this, landlords will be facing £2,900 in redecorating costs, £7,000 for new windows and £3,000 in legal fees.
However, should a landlord need to make nine months of mortgage payments from their own pocket, then this could add another £8,412 means the total bill could be a whopping £40,298.
For landlords in London, this total amount may increase to £58,091.
A director of the agents, Marc von Grundherr, said: "A rogue tenant is the worst nightmare for a landlord with the time and stress to deal with them – and the financial impact can be crippling.
"We are not kidding when we talk about the complete refurbishment of the property as tenants may take everything or destroy what's left."
Regions with the largest influx of new landlords
Meanwhile, the regions that have seen the largest influx of new landlords have been revealed.
According to property portal Zoopla, Stockton-on-Tees in the North East has seen the biggest spike for new landlord activity.
Using its own data, their research reveals that the portal delivered 75% more lettings to its letting agent clients over the past year.
Landlords in the town enjoy average yields 5.8% and the new investors are bringing more rental homes to the market.
Their research also reveals that tenants and new buy to let landlords are favouring three-bedroom terraced houses in the town with a growing number of sales and letting leads being delivered to agents.
