My Tenants are being threatened and abused by neighbour.

[sbw]

Good Afternoon.

Im hoping someone can help,i have recently found new tenants for a property that was previously unoccupied for sometime,they have been in the property less than a month and have now been threatened on numerous occasions by an alcholic lady living below them.

They and i have both called the police regarding her threatening behaviour,last week she threatened to stab me and burn the flat down because of noise caused whilst new carpets where fitted.

Last night boxing day night she was arrested by the police after forcing her way into the property and threating my tenants and there children with a knife.

I would like to know what action i should take in regard to having her removed from the property,the police seem unconcerned about the criminal damage and i have today been told she would only recieve a caution as she has long term mental health problems and alchol depenedency.

Your thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

SBW

[MSaxp]

IMHO you cannot remove a neighbour from a property. Whether she rents or owns the property is irrelevant since you are not her landlord.

What you need to do is to keep talking to the police about threats / abusive behaviour. Obviously you can also talk to her landlord if she is renting and see what you can work out, but obviously he is under no obligation to evict. If she is in receipt of benefits, you can speak to the council about it.

[Snorkerz]

If it is a leasehold property then you could approach the freeholder - is 'antisocial behaviour' specified in the headlease? Other than that, there is little you can do. You are not given power/authority because it is not your responsibility.

Your tenant should (as she has done) liaise with the police and you may want to review the security of the flat.

[Claymore]

It sounds like she needs sectioning.

Surely the police should arrest and charge her? When it goes to court, the judge could order her to have a mental health assessment. This woman sounds incredibly dangerous.

[mind the gap]

A call to Social Services may help move things on, especially if she is already known to them.

[gavin777]

IMHO you cannot remove a neighbour from a property. Whether she rents or owns the property is irrelevant since you are not her landlord.

What you need to do is to keep talking to the police about threats / abusive behaviour. Obviously you can also talk to her landlord if she is renting and see what you can work out, but obviously he is under no obligation to evict. If she is in receipt of benefits, you can speak to the council about it.

I believe landlords are in fact responsible to take action, as according to this government site refusal to do so can result in the local council taking over the management of the property and acting on the Landlord's behalf. It's worth looking into, but definitely continue involving the police as well.

[nxi]

If the property is owned by a housing association or similar body they will have policies in place to deal with antisocial behaviour by their tenants. Ownership of the property can be found by checking land registry details.

[vicks]

Ask the Police about taking out an ASBO (believe this has a new name now)

Or you could possibly take out an injunction against the female to stop her from entering your property or contacting your tenants. If you went for this I would also put an arrest attachment on the order as if she broke the injunction she could immediately be arrested and put before the Court and then possibly committed to prison.

Good Luck,

[PaulF]

This is more scary than it should be!

What again you should all realise is that you the landlord are responsible for disclosing any such similar information to a prospective tenant before they take up the property. You didn't know? Then I'm afraid you have to be more diligent than that and make enquiries. If she is a known alcoholic and especially if she has been troublesome to other neighbours before then you have a lawful duty to disclose.

I can hear you all saying but that's ridiculous. Well you are going to hear me banging on about the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 rather a lot this year, and when the Property Misdescriptions Act 1991 Regulations is repealed in October they will take on even more significance. Get to know the fine detail everybody because it affects us all.

Fail to disclose by ommission is just as much an offence as making a false statement, and "I didn't know your Honour" will not be a defence. Start asking questions because if your tenant finds out something that would have made a material difference to their taking a tenancy you could be acquiring a criminal conviction.

Another example would be if somebody in the road where you are thinking of letting or buying was an habitual thief who has been convicted, has an ASBO or has a Community Service Order for 200 hours unpaid work, and you could be living near to them. You MUST disclose this.

It's all in the Regulations and they have been law for over 4 years now. The first court case has just been heard but is subject to appeal - the buyers were not told of mining several hundred feet below where the property stands, and although there is apparently no evidence of subsidence there was a hefty fine for the agent and owner. Nobody asked the question see, but you must. Solicitors acting for the owners/landlord will be bound by the same laws too although they think they aren't, but I'm assured that is not the case.

By the way I'm only the messenger so please don't point the gun.

[Snorkerz]

So 'Buyer Beware' is dead?

[Mrs Mug]

The first court case has just been heard but is subject to appeal - the buyers were not told of mining several hundred feet below where the property stands, and although there is apparently no evidence of subsidence there was a hefty fine for the agent and owner.

Didn't the buyers conveyancer carry out any searches? If it was a mining area, there would have been a mining survey. So surely the conveyancer is to blame.

[jta]

What again you should all realise is that you the landlord are responsible for disclosing any such similar information to a prospective tenant before they take up the property. You didn't know? Then I'm afraid you have to be more diligent than that and make enquiries. If she is a known alcoholic and especially if she has been troublesome to other neighbours before then you have a lawful duty to disclose.

This is beginning to appear 'kafkaesque'

Why and how are we supposed to 'make enquiries' into every possible situation that may arise?

What if a convicted paedophile settles in your street, he/she is not going to be boasting about it, or an ex convict or any number of other convicted and possibly reformed characters, how far back does the trouble have to have been before it can be classed as 'spent'.

I foresee some mighty arguments about this in the future.

[boletus]

What again you should all realise is that you the landlord are responsible for disclosing any such similar information to a prospective tenant before they take up the property. You didn't know? Then I'm afraid you have to be more diligent than that and make enquiries. If she is a known alcoholic and especially if she has been troublesome to other neighbours before then you have a lawful duty to disclose.

I can hear you all saying but that's ridiculous. Well you are going to hear me banging on about the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 rather a lot this year, and when the Property Misdescriptions Act 1991 Regulations is repealed in October they will take on even more significance. Get to know the fine detail everybody because it affects us all.

Fail to disclose by ommission is just as much an offence as making a false statement, and "I didn't know your Honour" will not be a defence. Start asking questions because if your tenant finds out something that would have made a material difference to their taking a tenancy you could be acquiring a criminal conviction.

Another example would be if somebody in the road where you are thinking of letting or buying was an habitual thief who has been convicted, has an ASBO or has a Community Service Order for 200 hours unpaid work, and you could be living near to them. You MUST disclose this.

If (and that is a very, very big if), private landlords are to be prosecuted for failing to disclose the behaviour of surrounding residents, then the courts are going to be chocablock with prosecutions for social landlords.

It's all in the Regulations and they have been law for over 4 years now. The first court case has just been heard but is subject to appeal - the buyers were not told of mining several hundred feet below where the property stands, and although there is apparently no evidence of subsidence there was a hefty fine for the agent and owner. Nobody asked the question see, but you must.

In the case quoted, the estate agent knew full well about the mining as numerous previous sales had fallen through because of it. They were rightly prosecuted for keeping quiet about it.

It has very little relevance to private landlords.

Letting Agents who indulge in dubious practices on the other hand....

[boletus]

I believe landlords are in fact responsible to take action, as according to this government site refusal to do so can result in the local council taking over the management of the property and acting on the Landlord's behalf.

Landlords are only responsible for their own property. Local councils cannot take over management of a property due to a neighbours actions.

[MrJohnnyB]

Good Afternoon.

Im hoping someone can help,i have recently found new tenants for a property that was previously unoccupied for sometime,they have been in the property less than a month and have now been threatened on numerous occasions by an alcholic lady living below them.

They and i have both called the police regarding her threatening behaviour,last week she threatened to stab me and burn the flat down because of noise caused whilst new carpets where fitted.

Last night boxing day night she was arrested by the police after forcing her way into the property and threating my tenants and there children with a knife.

I would like to know what action i should take in regard to having her removed from the property,the police seem unconcerned about the criminal damage and i have today been told she would only recieve a caution as she has long term mental health problems and alchol depenedency.

Your thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

SBW

Sounds to me like a case for Chuck Norris.

Failing that, perhaps you could contemplate civil action (although perhaps worthless) have you contacted Local Environmental Health?

Landlords are only responsible for their own property. Local councils cannot take over management of a property due to a neighbours actions.

I thought the Localism Act or similar brought in certain powers which may give such rights?