With talk of proposing a Tenancy Act, some are concerned over the lack of protection landlords have against the actions of bad tenants. No matter how good the screening process, it is just sometimes unlucky to get bad tenants. Despite a comprehensive and airtight tenancy agreement with the relevant terms and conditions spelled out clearly and concisely, it tends to be the landlord who suffers in the end. Poor tenants can hold the landlord at ransom refusing to move out despite many months of unpaid rental, knowing very well that the process of eviction is a very time consuming process. In the meantime, the tenant stays literally for free. If lucky, the tenant eventually moves out, but the landlord has little recourse to claim long outstanding rental arrears, unpaid utility bills and damages to the property other than wear or tear. In addition, the landlord would not know the next correspondence of the tenant to deliver the lawyer’s letter of demand, which will then lead to a summons if the former tenant does not pay. Tenants already have inherent protection and therefore they do not need any additional protection.
