unpaid rent and theft from property

[Energise]

The tenants were only obliged to give one months notice no matter what your agreement says.

[Jennifer_M]

If you didn't have an inventory I'm afraid you won't be able to sue for any item missing or any damage.
Wasn't your agent supposed to get the inventory done ?

If you're missing one week rent you can always take the tenants to small claims court but it's not guaranteed that you'll ever get the money.

[janston]

We let our property to tenants 18 months ago. We agreed to a £200 month reduction in rent and gave the first month free so tenants could repaint the inside. We left a washing machine in the property which broke down, so we felt obliged to rent a new machine for them. They complained the bathroom taps were dripping so we had new taps put in. After a year the ast agreement reverted to a periodic tenancy. We were paying agents to collect rent but the tenants were regularly 2-3 weeks late , which the agent seemed relaxed about as they knew the tenants. Although the agreement stipulated 2 months notice period, the tenants suddenly gave 1 months notice to end on 7th december- their rent due date was 25th of each month- and at this stage they were already owing 5 weeks rent. The agent said we could deduct the rent from the deposit even though the agreement specified it should not be used for this. We reluctently accepted we had no choice. The deposit covered rent up to 3rd december, but the tenants didnt hand back the keys and the agent eventually got them on 10th december, When we finally accessed the property, the gas cooker and cast iron wood burning stove had been removed, and a mature monkey puzzle tree dug up and removed from the garden. A large amount of rubbish had been dumped in the garden and a fish pond liner dug up, tho not removed. Varios other items were removed. The agent says we cant do anything as we didnt have an inventory done, although the agreement said nothing must be removed from the garden. The agreement stated the deposit was £975, but the agents had only retained the deposit from their previous let, which was in fact only £850, so we didnt even get the full amount. Do we have a leg to stand on, or just put it down to experience. We are not re-letting.