Landlords are wrong and tenants right? The two sides of the eviction story

January 30, 2019

Tenant evictions are a thorny subject. On one side tenants say they are often evicted illegally, without reason, and far too often. On the other, landlords complain that ousting troublesome tenants is expensive and time-consuming. We've looked at two evictions – one from a landlord's point of view and the other from the tenant's, and offered a guide to your rights – whichever side you are on. The landlord Landlord Janet Beardsley endured a "year of hell" over a tenant who currently owes more than £20,280 in unpaid rent – and still has possession of her property. Beardsley, who lives in the US, used a letting agent to find and check references for a tenant for her three-bedroom property in Fulham, west London. It was let to a man we'll call "Dr X" in November 2012. Dr X signed a two-year tenancy agreement with a one-year break clause, paid the first month's rent of £2,700 and a £3,750 deposit, and moved in. But almost every month since then he has paid less than the agreed monthly rent, or no rent at all. Just six weeks after moving in, Dr X emailed Beardsley with a long list of repairs he said needed to be done before he would pay rent. The list has been seen by the Guardian and it is easy to see why Beardsley found the demands totally unreasonable.