Sorry for the delay in my response - the lovely Chinese workmen cut through the international internet cable on the main road mis last week so we had to wait several days for them to realise!!!!! Thanks for all the info Gemspan - they are looking into the details now so I should hear something at the close of this week!! It has been passed to the area manager who is useless:mad: Demon-X-slash - your words made sense and again I have asked the letting agents for all the details and am now waiting for them to get back to me:o I am thinking a visit home to the UK is necessary to try and resolve this quickly as now I am faced with the 90 day unoccupied clause for the buildings insurance!!! The letting agents have been advised of this! We are off on a well deserved holiday (friends wedding in the Philipeans!!) on Thursday so will have some answers by the time we come back mid April - I will keep you posted and once again thanks for all the info you have given me!! Taf:grin: PS thanks to all you guys I am smiling again!!

hummm not sure about that one... The letting agents initially said I could not change the locks because they had not contacted her and they would have to serve her notice that could take about one month. However, I sent her an email and she responded saying she had left the property because she could not pay the rent and she was sorry.. etc etc. I forwarded this to the letting agents and they advised that since she had advised in writing she was not coming back that they could change the locks, they gave her two weeks to come back and collect her posessions and clean up as per her promise.. she did neither.... Although I am currently unsuccessfully trying to ascertain if they gave her written notice of this fact - they had her sisters contact address, tenants email and telephone number at this time. You know the more I look at this the more annoyed I get with the letting agents.. am I allowed to mention their name on this website so would be landlords know that one of their offices is incompetent?? Taffy

Hi - the deposit was taken in May 2004 & increased in October 2006. Strange we had the locks changed over a week ago and the tenant has just contacted me asking why this has been done and also that she was going to leave the house spotless as promised. I get the feeling she needs access to the house for some more items - I have seen photos for the first time yesterday she has left a lot of things in there!!!! None are of any monetary value, just aged fridge, freezer, washing machine.... she has also left a kitchen full of clothes I think maybe she wants to do her washing for free - that is what she is like!!!!! Legally do I have to give her access? My other half has suggested if she wants access she has to pay an additional bond that she will get back as soon as she fulfills her legal obligations to the contract - ie leaves it as it was when she moved in. We just want to protect our property and also try and make sure we don't have to pay more for additional damage I have sent her an email asking her for a telephone number to talk to her and also that she should contact the letting agents if she needs access to the property - I just hope they do the right thing and make her clean up! Help again please!! Thank you Taffy!

Nei how:) The tenant left mid tenancy without my knowledge - I found out by accident as the letting agents never informed me until I contacted them with another house query (we have two houses on the same street with the same letting agents!) My mother is concerned that if I take the legal path I will end up with more debt as the tenant has now become unemployed...... The tenancy began June 2004. I think that she should be responsible for the mess of my house and also the costs to rectify the damage. Also to add insult to injury, the letting agents have advised that our other house's tenant has left owing rent of £163 but as this is below their rental protection insurance mimimum claim of £220 - they failed to mention this 18 months ago!! Do you think, there is anything I can do to make the letting agents take responsibility for their mistakes? Thanks again for all your help and advice ! Taffy

Josh IOU - I managed to access the site as I have a UK laptop - still cannot access BBC news though!!! Censorship city over here! Do you know if I can obtain a 'data protection act' from the letting agent or if I need to get a solicitor? I asked for the locks to be changed one month after I found out she had left, the letting agents have been awful, not responding to emails etc and one of my old neighbours advised she had been in and out of the property taking my posessions!! I was told that legally I was allowed to have the locks changed as she had said in writing that she was not coming back to the house - hope I did the right thing!!! A problem with being so far away!!! The thing that confuses me is how do I get her to live up to her side of the contract? She is now DSS and has nothing to give? Of course I feel she should be made to pay, but the letting agents say there is nothing I can do (well that is when they respond to my emails and telephone calls!!!) Demon X Slash - I think I have photos of the property before she moved in - it was beautiful the day I left it (not just saying that because it is mine!!!) Also I think I can find out where she lives quite easily I think she is still in the same village! Do you know how I go about making a civil claim against her? Aequites - Thanks for that, I had nightmares that she would be able to get her deposit back!!! Do you know if there is anythig I can do about the letting agents not monitoring this situation, I did tell them about it, but they keep changing team members so all my records have conveniently been lost and having checked again I only have one interium report from them when I should have three!!!! Sorry for all the questions and thanks for your responses and details - I look forward to your responses. if you have any questions about China - fire away!

I should at this point advise my definition of trashed. New carpets 18 months old mst be replaced, all floor coverings, new bathroom suite & tiling, new doors, whole property deep cleaned and redecorated (2 skips worth of rubbish I am told) Aparently her boyfriend has a bit of a temper and smashed up a few things in rage I believe! To date I have still not had official photographs/quotations from contractors and it is over a month since she left!

I am currently living in China, so figured I would be safe with a national estate agent managing my property and also collecting the rent - it is a bit far for me to come home each month;) However, since the event, that I only found out about by accident, they have managed to defelct any responsibility they have with 'the I am sorry we have lost all the paperwork and are too busy to sort out the issues' approach..... It took a month to get the locks changed even thought they had in writing from the tenant she was not coming back - this was at my assistance All repairs that needed to be done were done in timely manner and at my expense if the letting agent advised I was responsible (whilst the tenant was in the property) It just seems to me that the tennant can walk away from the contract owing me rent & repair costs and I cannot do anything as the letting agents advise the laws are stacked in her favour To add insult to injury, they have also advised that my files, itinery etc when I left the UK 18 months ago have been mislaid - the management and full team there seem to change every week!! Yes I am in the process of making a formal complaint, but feel there must be additional action I can take mitigate my losses. I have also contacted my insurance company.

Ironic isn't it... she breached her tennancy agreement, took my posessions, her boyfriend trashed my house to the extent of £4.5K, she owes rent and I should request her permission to draw on the deposit that is not even a 10th of the damaged caused... You have to admit that is pretty funny given the circumstances... Thanks for your posts guys, but are there no laws that protect the Landlord, in circumstances such as these?? Having Laws in place to only protect the tenant does not seem balanced to me??

Thank you but she paid a deposit!!! She is now DSS so no chance of her getting a job in the near future Thanks again for the response!

My tenant of three years recently vacated my property in a moonlight flit. The letting agents have quoted £4500 to get the property back to a rentable state. The tenant has also taken some of my posessions and also owes a substantial amount of rent.. The property was looked after by a letting agents who seem unmoved by the damage and loss to me - they have just advised that I cannot really do anything as the law gives power to the tenant.:o Has anyone out there had a similar experience that has a happy ending or am I supposed to just let her and her boyfriend get away with it?