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How to evict a tenant
Comments
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If you also live in the same apartment then the person is a lodger not a tenant and has very few rights. Check your contract for minimum notice period, though it seems that you are evicting for a breach of contract, so there is probably little notice required.
The errent tenant may be able to report you for various breaches of HMO legislation, but this doesn't stop you evicting him.
He only "has you over a barrel" in the sense that he could threaten to report you, if you evict. By the far the best strategy is to start to comply with the legislation and still get rid.I'm a Forum Ambassador on the housing, mortgages & student money saving boards. I volunteer to help get your forum questions answered and keep the forum running smoothly. Forum Ambassadors are not moderators and don't read every post. If you spot an illegal or inappropriate post then please report it to forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com (it's not part of my role to deal with this). Any views are mine and not the official line of MoneySavingExpert.com.0 -
cross posted with Silvercar - I agree with them
however, please can you clear up what exactly is the nature of your apartment since, as others have noted, this has critical implications to your current situation, which potentially is rather exposed basaed on the info so far.
Rooms
does each person have a separate bedroom (how many bedrooms? ie do you have any couples sharing or is it 6 single people) and do all 6 of you then share the common facilities (critically the kitchen and bathroom), ie you all access the flat thorugh one front door from the central staircase /lift lobby.
Alternatively does each person actually live in a self contained "flat" where they have access via their own door to their own separate bedroom, their own kitchem and their own bathroom, ie there are 6 flats on the 3rd floor of the building with each person having access via theor own front door off the central staircase/lift lobby. (You cannot access their rooms from yours without going via the front door).
People
how many persons are paying you rent , ie is it 5 people who have no family or other legal relationship to you? As a minimum if you have yourself plus 2 other persons, who are not married to each other, nor is one of them your legal partner, yet all 3 share common facilties then, depending on your local council, you are almost certainly running a HMO and will be subject to whatever are your council's regualtions (eg: fire alarms, escapes etc etc)
If all 5 people are legally unconnected with each other then you may have a mandatory HMO and must register it as such - failure to do so is a serious offence.
TAX
you can only use the rent a room scheme where you live in the apartment as your main home and your lodgers (by definition they cannot be tenants) share the facilities with you. They cannot be in self contained flats as then you are not resident with them, in that case they are nortmal tenats and you are taxed normally
If the rent a room scheme applies you will pay tax on your total income over £4,250 per year - you must physically opt into the RAR scheme if your income is >£4,250, otherwise HMRC will use its default method which is to tax all income less expenses
Eviction
until we have ascertained the exact status of your "apartment" then the formalites of how you serve notice and evict remain uncertain. You may actually have formal tenants not lodgers and their rights will be quite different, not the least being as a landlord with tenants you have to do the gas cert and deposit protection etc0 -
I was totally unaware that a 6 bed flat existed!
As a live in LL then your flat mates could be lodgers, but as there are so many of you and you have given them contracts you are a HMO which I thought implied tenants rather than lodgers.
Either way the block of flats insurance is only for the structure of the building. I guess you don't have home insurance to be invalidated by the large number of people so as long as you can afford to put everything right in the case of a fire or flood cross your fingers and hope no one is hurt. (PS if a fire destroys the building and it started in your flat you will be sued by the flat management company for the rebuild costs.)
http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/MoneyTaxAndBenefits/Taxes/TaxOnPropertyAndRentalIncome/DG_4017804
above link is about the rent a room scheme but quite frankly I think that is the least of your worries.
I'd check your flats lease conditions, your mortgage conditons and then read up on HMO.0 -
I was totally unaware that a 6 bed flat existed!
Same here! I remember visiting a house near St Marys that had 7 bedrooms many years ago, but that was the student area of Southampton and nobody there even had proper agreements! Can't remember any flats that large in Southampton, but its been a while since I was there.0 -
Just to clarify, I have four bedrooms - with two couples, myself and another tenant. The apartment is accessed through the same door and we share all the facilities.
Fortunately for the past year the repair expenses have been quite high so I do not have any tax worries for this year.
Thanks for all the advice. I will call my local council to determine my position before I hand her the notice - I knew it was a good idea to ask here first!0 -
I will call my local council to determine my position before I hand her the notice - I knew it was a good idea to ask here first!
your starter for 10!
The council has set up an HMO licensing enquiry line on 023 8083 2735 for advice and information and licensing application forms are now available on the council’s website at www.southampton.gov.uk/housing
http://www.southampton.gov.uk/housing/privatehousing/landlord/hmos.asp0 -
Just to clarify, I have four bedrooms - with two couples, myself and another tenant. The apartment is accessed through the same door and we share all the facilities.
Fortunately for the past year the repair expenses have been quite high so I do not have any tax worries for this year.
Thanks for all the advice. I will call my local council to determine my position before I hand her the notice - I knew it was a good idea to ask here first!
Repairs are not tax-deductable on the rent-a-room scheme
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Just to clarify, I have four bedrooms - with two couples, myself and another tenant. The apartment is accessed through the same door and we share all the facilities.
Fortunately for the past year the repair expenses have been quite high so I do not have any tax worries for this year.
Thanks for all the advice. I will call my local council to determine my position before I hand her the notice - I knew it was a good idea to ask here first!
http://www.themovechannel.com/guides/Letting/Letting_property/Rent_a_room/
If you want to dedut expenses you have to be outside the rent-a-room scheme and doing a tax return.....0 -
Just to clarify, I have four bedrooms - with two couples, myself and another tenant. The apartment is accessed through the same door and we share all the facilities.
Fortunately for the past year the repair expenses have been quite high so I do not have any tax worries for this year.
Thanks for all the advice. I will call my local council to determine my position before I hand her the notice - I knew it was a good idea to ask here first!
How many bathrooms and toilets do you have? How many cookers?0 -
Just to clarify, I have four bedrooms - with two couples, myself and another tenant. The apartment is accessed through the same door and we share all the facilities.
Fortunately for the past year the repair expenses have been quite high so I do not have any tax worries for this year.
Thanks for all the advice. I will call my local council to determine my position before I hand her the notice - I knew it was a good idea to ask here first!
I think it has been established you cannot use the rent a room scheme, but be careful to keep receipts for everything so you can prove expenses.
I would also urge you to get insurance sorted out.0
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