The value of good landlord insurance was once again highlighted this week when a property owner from Lancashire found himself £4,000 out of pocket because of a nightmare tenant.
Gill and Grierson Properties have a portfolio of half a dozen houses in the Burnley area of Lancashire and this week saw one of their former tenants given a 12 week custodial sentence after stealing from a house he rented from the company. Jordan Pickford admitted smashing a double glazed window as well as stealing items from his former home when he appeared before Burnley Magistrates Court this week.
However, the sentence he received left landlord Edward Gill outraged and he is now warning other landlords to be more careful when they select a tenant. He said: “I would warn other landlords to check out their tenants carefully, and be mindful. We have to jump through hoops as landlords. It is completely one-sided. What message does his sentence send out to others? I just despair with the legal system. He had not been paying rent, and we had been more than reasonable with him. He’d said he would catch up with it, but he never did. We went through all the correct procedures, and gave him his month’s notice. The theft was clearly premeditated, as he had isolated the water before doing it. To add insult to injury, he then went and started bricking the window when a new tenant came in. We can’t afford this at the moment. Any revenue we are getting, we are having to throw into getting the property back up to scratch. It is disconcerting, and it is frustrating.”
Landlords can often find themselves falling victim to damage caused by nightmare tenants and should always consider cover for malicious damage when they arrange their property insurance.