Great Landlord Cleans Up Dirty Tenants
PDPLA member, Warren Somerset had an HMO with a serious bin problem and a bunch of tenants who all denied responsibility for the mess in the forecourt. After investing in CCTV and doing a bit of conscientious landlording, problem solved.
What Happened?
Warren said, "I had a large Portsmouth HMO which was below the standard one expects of a well managed property. I had excess rubbish not making it to the bin, smoking in the rooms and people throwing cigarette butts on the utility room roof, people non resident unofficially living in the property and various other issues.
Everyone always denied responsibility or blamed someone else in the house and nothing ever improved - am sure you know the routine.
So I bit the bullet and installed CCTV complete with hard drive and cloud recording, watching the bins and the front and back doors. Lo and behold the perpetrators where flushed out and when they did not change their behaviour they were given notice. The best £350 I ever spent / best bang for my buck."
Next?
We wish to categorically state that there is absolutely no truth to the rumour that Warren is now planning to find the guilty party who seems unable to put the toilet seat down....
About the author
Martin began his landlord journey 30 years ago, while working in an international role for a global telecommunications company. Since retiring he has extended his portfolio, which he manages with his wife, but has always focussed on the ‘small student HMO’ sector preferring to offer homes in the community for small groups to the more common ‘pack them in and take the money’ mentality. He has chaired the PDPLA for the past 12 years and has overseen the Associations transition from small local self-help group to a much larger and more professional institution which is recognised and listened to nationally. Alongside his PDPLA role, he also has leadership roles in a number of other local organisations – bringing his unique perspective, driving for change and increased use of technology while respecting the history that brought us here.