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[Deleted User]
Posts: 0 Newbie
Hi
I am new to the forums but am in desperate need of advice.
I stupidly rented my flat to family of a friend. They were on housing benefit at the time and paid as the council paid them. Only problem is they did not pay a month's deposit. This was 2 years ago.
Last December one of them got a job so the council payments went down. And the tenants decided to pay me at the end of the month, so in arrears rather than advance. They did this without letting me know - I only found out when I called them to ask where the rent was.
During that phone call I told them that they must work towards paying in advance and that I needed the 1 month rent security deposit.
They have made no effort to sort these finances out.
In September I carried out a flat inspection and sat both tenants down and explained that they must get to a place where they have paid a deposit and are paying in advance. They made all the right noises.....but did not get back in touch. Whilst they have been tenants I have attended to all their emergencies immediately; replaced dishwasher and fridge as soon as they reported they were broken, and have just spent £2k on replacing windows. But the irony of me paying everything instantly seems to be lost on them.
Today I sent an email to them saying that as discussed numerous times I require the rent to be paid in full in advance and for a holding deposit to be paid as security. I received an email back from my tenant confirming they had received my message and that they were awaiting legal advice!!!!!
I replied that it is a shame they feel they need legal advice as I was hoping we could sort this out without the need of the legal route, but reiterated that my main priority is rent and deposit payment.
My question is....what do I do now? Do I wait 7 days and then seek legal advice on starting the eviction process? Any advice very gratefully received
I am new to the forums but am in desperate need of advice.
I stupidly rented my flat to family of a friend. They were on housing benefit at the time and paid as the council paid them. Only problem is they did not pay a month's deposit. This was 2 years ago.
Last December one of them got a job so the council payments went down. And the tenants decided to pay me at the end of the month, so in arrears rather than advance. They did this without letting me know - I only found out when I called them to ask where the rent was.
During that phone call I told them that they must work towards paying in advance and that I needed the 1 month rent security deposit.
They have made no effort to sort these finances out.
In September I carried out a flat inspection and sat both tenants down and explained that they must get to a place where they have paid a deposit and are paying in advance. They made all the right noises.....but did not get back in touch. Whilst they have been tenants I have attended to all their emergencies immediately; replaced dishwasher and fridge as soon as they reported they were broken, and have just spent £2k on replacing windows. But the irony of me paying everything instantly seems to be lost on them.
Today I sent an email to them saying that as discussed numerous times I require the rent to be paid in full in advance and for a holding deposit to be paid as security. I received an email back from my tenant confirming they had received my message and that they were awaiting legal advice!!!!!
I replied that it is a shame they feel they need legal advice as I was hoping we could sort this out without the need of the legal route, but reiterated that my main priority is rent and deposit payment.
My question is....what do I do now? Do I wait 7 days and then seek legal advice on starting the eviction process? Any advice very gratefully received
0
Comments
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You cannot really demand a deposit 2 years down the line when it was not demanded originally.
However, presumably their fixed term has completed and they have continued on a periodic tenancy?
In which case serve s21 notice and be prepared to go to court to regain possession.0 -
wait 7 days for what?
there is no letter before action in respect of tenancies, you serve the relevant notice and then you go to court once the relevant notice period has expired.
the fact there is no deposit works in your favour as they cannot counter sue for failing to protect it.
do you have a signed tenancy agreement anyway?
as you have titled this thread "schoolgirl errors" have you read G-M's guides to being a LL, as by implication, you still need to learn...
how to end an AST: http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showpost.php?p=67759913&postcount=4
how to be a landlord:
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showpost.php?p=67759929&postcount=70 -
If you wanted a deposit this should have been sorted before they moved in, you can't now go back and demand one from them.
Do you have a written tenancy agreement in place?0 -
Surely the housing benefit was paid in arrears not in advance? So why are you trying to change this now? They don't get paid for working in advance. When you gave them the tenancy agreement what did it say about a deposit?
There is nothing special about you paying for repair promptly. This is what you have to do if you want to be a landlord.0 -
Stop acting as a friend and start learning how to be a landlord. Then act as such. Read:
** Tenancies in Eng/Wales: Guides for landlords and tenants This thread is intended to provide information to both landlords and tenants relating to Assured Shorthold Tenancies (ASTs) in England and Wales.
Topics covered:
* Repairing Obligations: the law, common misconceptions, reporting/enforcing, retaliatory eviction & the new tenant protection (2015)
* Deposits: payment, protection and return
* Ending/renewing an AST: what happens when a fixed term ends? How can a LL or tenant end a tenancy? What is a periodic tenancy?
* Rent increases: when & how can rent be increased?
* Repossession: what if a LL's mortgage lender repossesses the property?
* New landlords: advice, information & links
* Letting agents: how should a landlord select or sack?0 -
Thanks for the replies! I had a 12 month agreement with them initially which spells out deposit and rent in advance, we then signed an extension November 16 which has now run out so presumably is now a periodic tenancy.
The mistake i obviously made is making allowances for friends. The council pay every 2 weeks so it was like pay as you go which was ok when the council paid the lot. The rent is 1250 per month, the council now only pays 2 payments of c.185 and the tenant is responsible for c.850.
When one tenant got the job I was sympathetic to their problems with regard to getting to a point of paying in advance but 13 months down the line we have moved no further.
Am I right in presuming that if they seek legal advice they will be advised they don't have a leg to stand on?0 -
Thanks for the replies! I had a 12 month agreement with them initially which spells out deposit and rent in advance, we then signed an extension November 16 which has now run out so presumably is now a periodic tenancy.
The mistake i obviously made is making allowances for friends. The council pay every 2 weeks so it was like pay as you go which was ok when the council paid the lot. The rent is 1250 per month, the council now only pays 2 payments of c.185 and the tenant is responsible for c.850.
When one tenant got the job I was sympathetic to their problems with regard to getting to a point of paying in advance but 13 months down the line we have moved no further.
Am I right in presuming that if they seek legal advice they will be advised they don't have a leg to stand on?[/QUOTE]
I'm not clear what you want to achieve?
* get payment for the rent arrears?
* evict?
* both the above?
* take a deposit retrospectively?
* adjust the rent in the contract?
* or what?
* or don't you know?
Until you decide, we can't advise if/how you might achieve it.0 -
Ideally I want the rent arrears and retrospective deposit as security in case they do a runner.
If that is not possible then eviction seems the only option0 -
I th8nk you already been told you got no hope of insisting on a deposit. So you have to decide how to go on from here. Do you want to oeep them or not?0
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[QUOTE
I received an email back from my tenant confirming they had received my message and that they were awaiting legal advice!!!!!
[/QUOTE]
I expect that getting rid of them will be a long process if they've had their rights explained to them.0
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