The Landlord Association backs campaign to speed up eviction

My husband I have rented out a property through a letting agent. The letting agent did not get credit checks done on the guaranteer for girl moving into our property. The girl had never worked had no reference at all. The guaranteer is her step father who is letting properties out himself. And since she moved in to ours we have found that she was living at one of his properties. We had not feeback from the agent as to whether she was paying rent or why she left that property. However, her stepfather guaranteed he would pay were she to default then the agent took him on. This has nulled our insurance on the basis of their criteria was that guarantees were to have credit checks done. We have a solictor attached to the claim, who is working on our behalf. However, the agent is being really unhelpful making it difficult to get information requested by the solicitor. The mortgaged is now in arrears of nearly 4 months. They are meant to move out on Monday 15th october, 2012. But, we were told by our solicitor that we could enter the property as we had heard from a reliable source that she with a drug dealer boyfriend had moved out. We were anxious to get in to the property to access damage as we had been informed that drug dealing was being carried out there and a number of people were seen going in and out all times. There were two young children there as well. We went to the property, knocked on the door, looked through the window. Not a stick of furniture could be seen. The neighbours who are also renting the property next door to us told us they had moved out, and were coming back to collect just a few bits!! They turne out to be a druggie friend of our tenants. We did not realize till too late that he had rung the tenants, but by the time they arrived we had got a number of photos and video evidence of the extreme damage to the property. damage to window wooden window frames broken at the edges. All doors were broken damaged walls, holes in the walls, shed broken right accross one side padlock missing. chair leaned up against the door. toilet seat broken off, side panel of bath off. broken banister, now coming away from wall. Holes in the corregated hard plastic roof on extended part of building. Broken fence panels, plates smashed and broken down ally way. Pre payment metre put in cos they did not pay the elec (surprise) then we got stuck with a bill when the guy from national grid would not turn the electric on because something to do with a sleeve required on a pipe. (our engineer said it was not necessary, national grid going over the top) However, that cost us £165 for the engineer to go in to put the sleeve on. Each time she has not paid the rent, our account was charged with £35 to both mortgage and bank. Also no, money the insurance became late payment as well. We had to put our own money at times to cover her debt. Carpets filthy and walls painted in very dark colours and not painted property, paint on picture rail, did not meet into the corners of the room. Loads of bags of rubbish inside and out. The list goes on, and I am sure we have missed some problems. The tenants came as I said, he jumped over a wall at the back of property and climbed over the fence bursting in the back door kung fuing, throwing his legs, screaming what are you doing in my house, and knowing we were the landlords. His threatening behaviour and threating behaviour resulted in him saying I will show you this my house until the 15th, so the wall paper they had put on the wall, look awful, but he grabbed a peice and tore it down in front of us. My husband took a picture, then the tenant got violent and attempted to smash the camer, which my husband prevented. Then we we were standing outside where the tenant lets call her Danielle, began looking me up and down lashing out insults about her personal view of my physic, intelligent conversation, (not) but she began to become agitated when there was not the response she wanted, so she decided to grab my neck, whereby I in retaliation grabbed her neck, with her boyfriend pulling my hand off her neck and spinning me round. My husband has a video of this. the police arrived previously she had been videoed hollering and shouting at them on the phone. Now they were here, and took aside said they understood, but we did not do ourselves any favours as we put ourselves in danger. They were very pleasant and I do believe that they were helping, as they told us they did not intend to press any charges, despite the tenant(squatter to us) cries and demands. By this time her mother had arrived, who knew has an aggressive nature through the letting agent who confronted and the letting agent threatened to call the police. The mother was screaming up the road, so you just going to let them walk away after she assaulted my daughter?????!!! Anyway the police managed to get them into the house, while we got into our car. The druggie boyfriend had informed us they had got another property and it was better than ours, as ours was skanky!!!??? Did we want to see it, suggesting it is not that far away?? He said it was clean and lovely. I said it is right now, but its when you move out, it changes. They are not very clever people, and that is being kind, they know the laws about tenancy and are using them to the full. He threatened to burn the house down, and also threatening that would not be the last we saw of him. A vile character. He told us we would be repossessed. That we going down etc. Yet he supposedly has another place they are occuppying but dont want to give up our place until the due date, even though they have not paid a bean in rent for nearly 4 months. We believe that drug dealing is continuing at our property which is why they wish to keep it. We also know again from a reliable source that they were sub letting.
Anyway we are now thinking of walking away from the property giving the keys back. There has been no back up for a landlord who is only renting out his own property in order to keep head above water. The government has failed us, yet again. Has anyone got any advice