A Cautionary tale

[NormanH]

This account (in French) tells a horror story:

for those less sure in the language, I will explain briefly.

A working  woman bought a house to let so she would later have a retirement income.

She let it at 564 €, but the occupants stopped paying in November 2007, having been in arrears before, and have never shown evidence of insurance.

She went to a lawyer and got an eviction order, but the phrase expelled by 'la force publique' was ommitted, so there was a delay in executing it, until after the beginning of November, when the new 'trève' came into force. Having hoped to recuperate her house a few days ago, she now has no hope before March 15th 2009.

She is owed €7600 and has €2000 legal costs to pay.

[Cat]

The laws preventing the eviction of tenants during the winter months have often been discussed before on the forum

http://www.completefrance.com/cs/forums/1444019/ShowPost.aspx

http://www.completefrance.com/cs/forums/1194845/ShowPost.aspx

What this story appears to show is a delay of a whole year between the tenants stopping payment and the correct eviction order being issued.  What surprises me is not the fact that the tenants can't be evicted during the winter, but the fact that it took from November 2007 until November 2008 to get the paperwork right!

How horribly incompetent.

[NormanH]

The problem is I think that at the beginning you aren't sure that they are not going to pay. It's easy to let it drag on so the first serious steps don't get taken for several months.

I know that there are all sorts of arguments about the rights and wrongs of property, but it's clear that there are bad tenants as well as bad landlords.

In my area I see lots of evidence of both (you can see the comments at the end of the article).

It is a bit of a minefield even for French people of modest means, let alone for British people unsure in the language and not totally aware of the various laws.

[Callie]

There is an organisation called the CLCV (a bit like the Citizens Advice Bureau) which specialises in problems with renting properties. They have a team of lawyers who are fully conversant with the law.

They have a website which will show where the nearest office is. You can join them for a very small fee and they will then give you free legal help. We used them ssome years ago when we had trouble with one of the well-known French insurance companies.......we won !

www.clcv.org

I have no idea if they have any English speakers working for them.....

[Frederick]

I have years of experience or dealing with tennents .....I never rented out to a tennant in the past years of everybody having computer use on the strength of references......too easy to forge by re creating letting agency letter heads...   previous landlords etc   they do it  . I had one tennant introduce me to a woman she said was her mother who she was moving  to be near as she was ill .......it was not her mother !

Never take what you are told at face value..all sorts of bovine excrement will come out to pursuade you to rent the property to them.....You have to check out tennents closely and talk to as many people as you can find  .... Those  who know  the people and have rented to them and check out and talk about their  payment record with previous landlords ...rental agencies ..find out  and why they left them.....If you rent out to some person whocame over as very nice and you later found out they led you up the garden path.....its no good wishing you had checked up on them....too late .

[Iceni]

[quote user="NormanH"]The problem is I think that at the beginning you aren't sure that they are not going to pay. It's easy to let it drag on so the first serious steps don't get taken for several months.
[/quote]

The moral of this being that letting property is a business and should be approached in a business like manner. I would not have sympathy for someone who steals my purse so why should I have it for someone who steals my accommodation ?

John

[NormanH]

[quote user="Iceni"]

The moral of this being that letting property is a business and should be approached in a business like manner.

John

[/quote]

I think that you have a very good point which is not always appreciated, certainly not by the French lady in the article, and possibly not by some of us.

Letting is a business, and certainly not easy money. Neither has everybody the right character to approach it with your hard-headedness.

It's easy to be tempted into thinking that you will 'just let out a studio' without really understanding the ramifications.

[ams]

In fact one year to get an eviction order is actually quite quick. No children must have been involved, normally when young children are involved 3 years is the norm to get an eviction.

 

I have been told by our local representative of UNPI that the Government has or is about to reduce the time scale for an eviction to a maximum of 12 months.

 

ams