It is a story that is keeping one regional newspaper on its toes. The big question is, are the police interested in someone described as a serial fraudster – and someone who could perhaps show up in a lettings agent near you?
Michael Kenny was facing eviction from his rental home in Bradford. But, claims the Northern Echo, he produced a document, allegedly from Marie Curie Cancer Care, to convince a court he was suffering from Hodgkin’s lymphoma.
After what LAT has established was a little detective work from the agent concerned – Ian Hind, of Whitegates – the charity said the document was a forgery.
Eventually the agent secured a possession order. But when Hind went to check that the tenant had left, he found Kenny still in residence. Hind later had a visit from the police to say that they had received an allegation of assault. Hind said this was a fabrication and police took it no further.
In fact, says Hind, Kenny had cost the landlord some £10,000 in unpaid rent and legal fees.
After leaving Bradford, Kenny convinced Bolton-based Simply Residential that he would be a good tenant for a flat in St Helens, Merseyside. Four months later, he has apparently paid no rent and Simply Residential is taking legal action to evict him.
Once again, local police have been informed.
Agents might like to note this for future reference.
Comments
According to Property Wire, The latest Tenant Arrears Tracker by Templeton LPA, the specialist practice of LPA Receivers and part of the LSL Property Services Group, shows that in the second quarter of 2012, an average of 100,400 tenants in England and Wales were in severe arrears, an increase of 24% compared to a year ago and the highest number on Templeton LPA’s records, which extend back to 2008.
And according to Inside Housing, it says 1 in 4 tenants are in arrears, so that would make the number of problems tenants in excess of 400,000 if we use data from the Government figures for total private landlords. That figure is scary yes and let’s be honest any landlord needs to do their checks properly, so where a landlord claims they were convinced they were taking on a good prospective tenant, what checks were made, and where was the investment in such to safeguard payables for the property? Where it appears that an agent, landlord or property management company make limited costs to boost their own profits, it increases the errors and problems that can come into play with tenants. So let’s accept the common phrase we all know, you have to speculate to accumulate, thus safeguarding the rentable property and payables against it during any tenancy agreement.
Where we have in the UK cost effective solutions from companies such as rentchecks, tenant sure, tenant verify, tsci to name a few and of course the assistance provided by the National Landlord Association, and even our own Landlord Insurance Companies such as Endsleigh, as landlords, agents, or property management companies must take blame partly ourselves, as costs for county court action to evict a tenant is not only expensive, especially where a solicitor comes into play, appeals, etc, etc, and then of course the cost of our own time being taken to attend court, deal with statements, records and the like.
Let’s be brutally honest, who on earth would manage a name and shame list for landlord, agent and property management companies? Who would hold this information? How could we be assured it is up to date? How do not encounter issues and potential fines from the Information Commissioner and others involved in Data Protection? And above all that, the about of hammering we would face from consumer groups, the likes of shelter, and of course government who of course believe in tenant protection, we just have to view the Housing Act, the now Landlord Tenant Act, along with Human Rights within England & Wales as well as the EEC? The idea of name and shame is one which we all should be very careful about using as could lead to agents, landlords, property companies and of course our employees facing legal action that could damage us even further.
Surely we all need to recognise that with the economy being in the state it is and the fact we are seeing more and more tenants from both LHA benefit, and of course those who are direct payers who are employed, we need to get our house in order to ensure we minimise loss for both ourselves and where revenue to a property owner is involved, the loss to our reputation. While I appreciate the issues and problems agents, landlords and other property companies are facing, and the increase in arrears through to evictions, I need to state clearly that by fellow directors and I run a property management company and we have less than 3% bad payers, an arrears list that is less than 2% of our monthly gross, with over 400 properties on our books. So not wanting to preach, but we do a major amount of checks at the application stage to prospective tenants, including identity, bank reference, at least 3 personal references who stand responsible should a tenant fall into arrears of 4 weeks or more, and of course employ 2 separate external tenant check services. Along with actually visiting the prospective tenant at their current address ahead of accepting them to our property, and checking employment status in person, not email or telephone, and as a further step we gather records to the prospective tenant for 10 years plus, this all minimises our loss and improves the status we deliver to our portfolio. Yes I hear your reading this and thinking, that would take up too much time at a prospective tenant stage, and would result in costs, however when you consider the loss as a result of arrears, eviction process, and legal costs, etc, then there is no question this process delivers the best outcomes, and if there is a possible problem with a prospective tenant it is eliminated and a con artist would not take the risk with us, so they walk away.
I do not want to have a pop at fellow property management companies, agents, and landlords, but come on, we all should wake up to the reality here and see our own errors, as Check, Check, Check and Check more, is by far the best advice if we want to see a reduction in arrears, evictions and problem tenants, and where we have not done this, then we must take some of the blame here.
And one final point every time I read online an agent, landlord or property management company being named, this just seems to provide a negative effect upon their own standing, we live in a digital age, so let’s step carefully here as we want good clients, both property owners and tenants, so this publicity relating to an agent, landlord or property management company can result in further loss to our business, I would not put myself into such a position and I think the named parties, both the agent, the director to that agent and the other property company, have in fact now become listed to search engines and loss we all don’t want to see to our business, so such listing or search results can only serve as a damaging.
At the next NLA function regional/national or NLA forum organised, perhaps this matter needs to be explored further, not in the public arena, gain cross company support, gain support from within government whether that be lobbyist and/or MP’s who could assist in a change to the law and deliver valuable action to ensuring issues, problems, arrears and evictions with our tenants are greatly reduced as it is fact we are seeing a year on year increase, we all have a duty to progress together in closed format so we can minimise the influence from consumer groups, shelter, etc, who would slow any such movement if discussion was to continue in the public arena.
FOX
over 25 years of property management experience,
having worked for 3 of the UK's biggest estate agent groups at director level, and has a simple approach to the property business, we reap what we sow!
FCC Paragon keep a register of bad tenants, so thats one tick in the box, however referencing has to be more than the sum of its parts. If you have any suspicion at all that you are being fed bogus information to beat the referencing it has to be looked at. The key here is if they are living at home or with family and friends, this avoids the landlord reference and frankly you can get a SKYPE landline and pretent to be HR. Generally you can tell who you're dealing with the moment you pick up the phone. Referencing starts there people, its not all about the fee. If in doubt, don't rent it out.
Perhaps he could get a room with one of the Shelter Directors?
What was "Simply Residential" doing by letting this bloke into a property?
Do they not make thorough checks?
I agree 100% Scott but there is a major problem here.
Which is that the majority of fraudsters like Kenny - and there are an awful lot of them - do not know right from wrong, or if they do they don't care. They have no conscience at all as to how their actions impact on others - no matter how miserable they make others lives - which is why they can sleep at night.
They simply have no moral compass in life.
Naming and shaming sadly would have no affect whatsoever, because they simply don't care. Indeed within their own circles sometmes such people are admired - look at that recent gun and grenade case where the teo policewomen were killed.
When police tried to investigate many locals on the estate refused to help and actually said the bloke was a hero round those parts.
Sad
Scum like this make me sick. Its time for a name & shame register to publish all known details including photo(s). An afternoon at a hospice would maybe open his eyes. B*st*rd.