help please tenant won't leave !

sillywoman

Thank you for reading - I will keep this brief !

My tenant is 6 weeks in arrears monday and cannot pay me fully until 2 weeks time ! then he won't have any money for the month of 25th august -22nd sept until the end of september ! so he is always late ! He signed a shorthold secured tenancy agreement in june which the contract stating 2 months notice to be served within that period to move out.

I have hust been to the rental property and handed him his notice and explained I need rent on time I have no other option to move him out I was very polite with my young children sat in the car.

He was very rude ripped up the notice in my face and and said he's not moving out and he has squatters rights.Slammed the door in my face and his girlfriend came out and started shouting abuse at me that she "was not threatening me but she has a big family"

I said I will come back in a few days and talk to him.

I have asked him 3 times previously to contact me regarding rent and he always said "next week" but next week never came.

I have to get him out as I cannot afford to keep him there as the house will be repossesed if the mortgage payments arnt up to date.The rent just covers the mortgage.

I want to know what I should do next and if I do indeed have to serve him with 2 months notice ?

thanks !

no abuse please some people on here are scary !! thanks

robpw2

you do have to serve 2 months notice.
if he refuses to leave after two months you will need to apply to the court for eviction notice, if he still refuses to leave you will have to have a court appointed bailiff to remove them .

however if you make an agreement with him to leave early then that would be better but sounds like he wont agree.

BARGAINHUNTER!

Surely the fact that you have given him the notice (even though he ripped it up!) still counts? Im sure someone here will be more knowledgeable about what you can do. Did you go through an Agency to get this tenant or did you find him yourself? If through an Agency surely they should be sorting all this out for you?

robpw2

if you have given him notice then that would stand however i suggest you send it by post recorded delivery so that way if he rips it up again then at least you will have record he has recieved it

planemad

You have served notice correctly - next thing to do call in a firm of bailiffs and solicitor.

Then take proceeding thought a court to get back what you are owed.

The above may cost your money to instigate but as a prudent and careful landlord you should have factored in the cost of turfing a rouge out every now and again.

Acting quickly will minimise risk to yourself.

Good Luck

maninthestreet

You may find this website useful:

http://www.landlordzone.co.uk/

tbs624

sillywoman wrote: »

My tenant is 6 weeks in arrears monday and cannot pay me fully until 2 weeks time ! then he won't have any money for the month of 25th august -22nd sept until the end of september ! so he is always late ! He signed a shorthold secured tenancy agreement in june which the contract stating 2 months notice to be served within that period to move out.

I have hust been to the rental property and handed him his notice and explained I need rent on time I have no other option to move him out I was very polite with my young children sat in the car.

If the Fixed Term is for 6 months, then generally the S21 notice requiring possession can only be used towards getting the tenant out on the expiry of that FT - not before. The existence of rent arrears give you other options - you need to served under Grounds 8,10 and 11. Ground 8 is a mandatory one - where the tenants is 8 weeks/2 months in arrears (rent paid weekly/monthly) at date of notice and the court hearing. Grounds 10 and 11 are discretionary and for use where a tenant is persistently late with the rent & there are arrears. You need to have correctly worded notices.

sillywoman wrote: »

I said I will come back in a few days and talk to him.

It sounds as though you have a tenant who probably knows how to play "the game" . You really need to get some qualified help if you have not had to do any of this before.

Don't visit him in person to try to talk this through, and don't try to take shortcuts on any eviction - he'll be claiming tenant harassment & illegal eviction next, which can result in criminal charges for you as LL and also a civil claim from the tenant himself.

Do everything in writing, keep copies. Refer in a letter to the efforts to reach resolve to date, keeping only to the facts, no drama:

1. I phoned you on ....(date) and it was agreed that x,,y z.
2. we spoke again etc
3. I called to serve X and you refused further discussion.

and so on.

Generally, you should serve the right papers at the address by posting them through the door with an adult witness present or pay a bailiff to serve: you should get a signed statement from your witness to say that they saw you serve the papers at the address.
What clause do you have in your Tenancy agreement about the valid service of Notices relating to the tenancy?

Go over to Tessa Shepperson's site http://www.landlordlaw.co.uk/. You can join as a a member and buy a pack to help you through the process.

Alternatively, join up asap to one of the local or national LL Associations who can also give you plenty of guidance on the wording and timing of Notices..

You can get a fixed fee appt with a local solicitor for around 40 or fifty quid to go through it all but make sure you ask fro someone with LL & T law experience..

Do you have a deposit from these tenants and have you registered it with one of the 3 schemes?

sillywoman wrote: »

no abuse please some people on here are scary !! thanks

Don't be put off - use the " ignore poster" function when necessary. At least one poster will come along & tell you to change the locks & dump the tenants' stuff outside in black bin bags. Don't do it.

barnaby-bear

tbs624 wrote: »

If the Fixed Term is for 6 months, then generally the S21 notice requiring possession can only be used towards getting the tenant out on the expiry of that FT - not before. The existence of rent arrears give you other options - you need to served under Grounds 8,10 and 11. Ground 8 is a mandatory one - where the tenants is 8 weeks/2 months in arrears (rent paid weekly/monthly) at date of notice and the court hearing. Grounds 10 and 11 are discretionary and for use where a tenant is persistently late with the rent & there are arrears. You need to have correctly worded notices.


It sounds as though you have a tenant who probably knows how to play "the game" . You really need to get some qualified help if you have not had to do any of this before.

This was an excellent post. It sounds like professional tenants, to be honest you need to be prepared for this to take a long time with no rent so should probably be prepared to cover a rental void and legal fees. If they know what they what they are doing with a section 8 they will have to just pay a fiver just before the hearing to break the process. A section 21 is easier for the end of the fixed.... but if they don't want to go it's formal legal eviction process and without a reference etc / poor cash flow/credit unlikely to find anywhere easily... it maybe worth paying them a couple of grand to get shot and cheaper unpaltable as it sounds...

sillywoman

Thanks for all of the information and advice it is much appreciated.

He came to my home and apologised for the "bad behaviour" and handed me half the rent owed this morning and said he would pay me the rest this week. I took it ! He was not in the mood to talk about situation and that we can chat later in the week about what happened and what to do next.I get the feeling that he wants to stay.I don't really want him too.

I forgot to mention his 6 year old son lives with him - will this complicate matters if it does go to court in the end ?

Also is it very expensive to go through the courts ?

What would you do if you were me ? give him another chance ? or go ahead and send a 2 month notice to him recorded delivery.

Thanks again - this site is a godsend

tbs624

Good to hear that you got some of the rent arrears paid to you.

There was no response from you to this part of my previous post:

tbs624 wrote: »

Do you have a deposit from these tenants and have you registered it with one of the 3 schemes?

(This assuming that you are in Eng/Wales) If you haven't yet registered the tenants deposit you cannot serve a valid S21 notice for repossession at the end of the fixed term until you have done so.

[Deleted User]

I am glad that he apologised and you are on speaking terms again, but I would not give him another chance. Yours is a business, not a charity. Good luck!