tenant now nearly 8 weeks in arrears

speedtwin

Serve section 8 grounds 8,10,11 and section 21(1)(b) CORRECTLY NOW ASAP. The section 8 will mean you can apply to the court 2 weeks after service. The 2 months notice needed for the s21 if served now as well as a back-up does not have to tie it with the rent day as long as it is served correctly before the end of the tenancy.

If you wait until the last day of the tenancy to serve s21 you will have to wait nearly 3 months before applying to the court. ACT NOW

dealornodeal_3

bindiboo wrote: »

ok guys, hubby rented out a house to a couple who signed a ast agreement for 6 months, which ends 31st Oct 08. The tenant paid the rent for may, jun, july and aug but did not pay sept. After numerous promises to pay and endless excuses why they couldnt (by letter and text) we chased for the rent and still no joy. When the teneant was 5 weeks in arrears (now sept and oct rent due) we gave her an offical letter stating that she was in arrears and gave her 7 working day to pay.

We still havent been paid the rent and have got fed up of the numerous promises. We have given the tenants ofical notice that on the 31st October 2008, the day the tenancy ends, we will be seeking to take back possession of the house.

Now what do we do? I know that they have to be 2 months in arreas before we can take them to small claims. Any advise from you guys would be appreciated. On the upside, we have potential tenants interested in renting the house.( I have advised hubby to go back to using the managing agent though)

thnx

Sorry to read about your problem.

Did you do an Inventory of the house and take photographs?

Also did your husband do a reference check on the tenant?

Have you sent a letter firstly asking for the arrears, and secondly a letter of eviction by recorded delivery?

paintpot

Even if the fixed term tenancy expires on 31st Oct if you as the landlord want the tenant to leave you need to serve notice.

There are different types of notices.


In a nutshell, there is a non fault notice which is a s21 of which there are two different ones. A s21B notice which is served during a fixed term tenancy which you could just squeeze in and requires you give two months notice.

If your tenants do not vacate on 31st Oct then the tenancy will auomatically become a statutory periodic tenancy and then the notice to be served is a S21A which must give two months notice requiring possession after the last day of a rental period.

However, a S21 notice will be invalid if the deposit has not been protected in one of the deposit schemes. Have you protected yours? If you haven't you cannot use the S21 notice until you have protected the deposit and also the tenant could pursue you for 3x the deposit amount plus the return of their deposit if it is unprotected.
Furthermore, even after the expiry of a valid s21, if the tenants do not vacate then you would need to apply to the courts for possession. If they still do not move out then you would need to apply again to the courts for a bailiff order for possession.

The other notice you can use is a S8 notice. This is a fault based notice. There are numerous ground and if the tenants have two months rent unpaid you should serve it using grounds 8, 10, 11. The most important ground is 8 which awards mandatory possession for two months rent unpaid.

You really need to post back more information on your situation in respect of whether the deposit is protected.

Also, as you appear not to be familiar with the ways in which you can bring a tenancy to an end/obtain possession legally you would be well advised to seek further legal advice. If the notices I have mentioed are completed or served incorrectly you could be waiting a very long time before you obtain possesion of your property if your tenant decides to stay put. There is a process you need to follow in order to gain possession legally. You cannot, and please do not even think that you can enter the property and change locks or anything similar. You can't. However you need to start the legal process sooner rather than later to minimise any further losses.

olly300

dealornodeal wrote: »

Also did your husband do a reference check on the tenant?

And the reference check is useful as...?

All the references will prove is the tenants didn't have any previous problems. As with with investments it is not a predictor of future problems.

speedtwin

At least it weeds out the tenants who have had problems before.
There are no fail safe guarantees with renting all you can you is reduce the risk and getting refs is a big part of that.

Bf109

Pitfalls of being a landlord. Glad its not me.

PasturesNew

bindiboo wrote: »

if the 6 months ast ends next week anyway, do we still have to give 2 months?? they owe £1200 atm and we have been as patient and as understanding as possible, but we still have the mortgage to pay on the house...

Yes because they might stay on into November, still not paying rent.
It is imperative that the 6 months' notice was given on/by the correct date, so it must have been issued on/before 1 September 2008 to give the full and legal 2 months' notice.

PasturesNew

Read/do what paintpot said. But you should get in touch with a landlord's association.

Although they might have just kept the rent because they feared you would not give them their deposit back, you should bear in mind that it is possible they will just stay on.

Brenny

Can I join this thread as I am in a very similar situation so can I add some queries to the answers given please?

The tenancy ends 9 January so I understand that I should serve a S21B.
If the tenant is 1.5 months behind with rent can I still serve S8, or do I have to wait for her to be 2 months behind?
If I serve a S8 can I apply to court for her to leave before 9 January?
I never got her deposit from her!! Does this make any difference to my situation?

To explain the above, I have let this house out for five years to my daughter with no problem. She moved out at quite short notice and arranged for sister of her partner to move in. BIG MISTAKE!

One further bit of help would be appreciated. Please can you advise me of a Landlords Association that you would recommend. And any HELPFUL advice really appreciated.

speedtwin

Brenny wrote: »

Can I join this thread as I am in a very similar situation so can I add some queries to the answers given please?

The tenancy ends 9 January so I understand that I should serve a S21B. Yes Serve now as back-up to section 8
If the tenant is 1.5 months behind with rent can I still serve S8, or do I have to wait for her to be 2 months behind? As soon as the 2 months rent payment is due (1 month and 1 day) serve CORRECTLY SECTION 8 ground 8.10.11
If I serve a S8 can I apply to court for her to leave before 9 January? Yes
I never got her deposit from her!! Does this make any difference to my situation? No

To explain the above, I have let this house out for five years to my daughter with no problem. She moved out at quite short notice and arranged for sister of her partner to move in. BIG MISTAKE!

One further bit of help would be appreciated. Please can you advise me of a Landlords Association that you would recommend. And any HELPFUL advice really appreciated.

www.all4landlords.com All the info, forms and docs you will ever need and a someone at the end of a phone for advice when ever you need it. They will even talk you thro any court case at no extra cost. Speak to Adrian