A Rant

FingersCrossed_2

Hi all,

Feeling frustrated so thought i'd come on for a rant - a problem shared is a problem halved and all that!

Short story is - Bought a house with my partner a year and a half ago. His old house sold and mine didn't. Did get a buyer but he pulled out day keys were due to exchange - grrrrrrrrrr. No interest for months and then end of last year started renting it out. Local girl wanted to buy it but couldn't get a mortgage so asked if she could rent and house could stay on the market. She moved in the end of December and paid one months rent in advance plus one month rent as deposit. All fine, until...

Rent was due week past Monday (19th) and didn't come in. Been in touch daily and story she is giving is that bank took it out her account and have 'lost it'. Have spoken to her on the phone today and she maintains bank can't find it so she is waiting on them sorting it. If they don't she will pay me 'a bit' this Friday and 'a bit' next Friday!

Spoke to bank and solicitor who basically both confirmed she is talking rubbish. Bank wouldn't simply lose money for a week and a bit without refunding or knowing where it went. Looks like she just hasn't paid it.

So called her again and got answer phone. Left a message saying bank said her story isn't possible so i'm in a difficult position. Said that if she is simply skint and can't pay to phone me and we'll discuss. Also said if it is the bank she needs to get in to a branch and not leave until it is sorted. Haven't heard anything back yet.

Further annoyed by the fact that my mortgage went up £100 a month as now a let to buy mortgage and that I had to pay £60 landlord reg fee. Luckily I have her deposit so worst comes to worst I can use that this month. Really hope I don't have to go down the eviction route - sounds like the tenant has all the rights!

Ahhhhhh. I know there probably isn't much you guys can say but I am sitting here going mad with frustration and annoyance so thought i'd let it out to my MSE buddies.

Thanks all - another mammoth post!

Premier_2

FingersCrossed wrote: »

...Spoke to bank and solicitor who basically both confirmed she is talking rubbish. Bank wouldn't simply lose money for a week and a bit without refunding or knowing where it went. Looks like she just hasn't paid it....

It could happen ... but I suspect you're right on this occassion.

My bank simply lost some money I paid in once. They debited it from my account but they had no idea where it went to. They tried to trace the money but never did find it. In the end they simply wrote it off.

They asked me to get details of the intended recipient again (it was a utility bill, so they needed bank account, sort code, plus details of my utility account number) and they sent the money again, from their own reserves, about 6-8 weeks later.

If the tenant really did pay the money in, she would be able to provide you with some kind of proof, e.g. receipt from bank, evidence of a debit, etc.

sarah_elton

FingersCrossed wrote: »

Luckily I have her deposit so worst comes to worst I can use that this month.

Isn't the deposit meant to be held by one of the deposit registration scheme things, not by the landlord?

clutton_2

"2Isn't the deposit meant to be held by one of the deposit registration scheme things, not by the landlord?""

there are 3 deposit schemes - at least one of them allows teh LL to keep the deposit themselves - as l ong as it is available to the tenant when they leave the legal requirement has been met - but it aint ideal that a LL has no "spare" cash

moneysavinmonkey

hopefully you are just joking about using the deposit and you are keeping it safe and have registered it with one of the tenancy deposit schemes - if not you might want to do that asap as without details of the TDS scheme you can't serve a possession notice on your tenant.

Also given that you are quibbling about having to pay £60 landlord registration fee, you have me worried,, there's a bit more to being a landlord than that. Again, hopefully i'm just being unduly anxious and you have really go gas safety certificates, the proper buildings + legal insurances, legal stuff all sorted etc etc.

--

At the moment the tenant is less than ten days late with the rent, which isn't ideal, but I 'm not sure the OP should be at 'rant' stage yet! It's only been say 5 working days as far as the bank is concerned so I wouldn't be overly concerned yet. Even if you don't give the tenant the benefit of the doubt that their bank story is true (and given this is presumably the first rent payment by standing order I'd be inclined to believe them, very easy for the first payment to be cocked up if you set it up with the wrong bank account number) hassling them daily at this stage is only going to get you both more worked up and you need to as far as possible maintain a good professional relationship.

If you've got yourself a professional tenant who knows how to work they system, then calling them demanding money on a daily basis would give them ammunition to accuse you of harassment.

If you don't have enough money to cover your outgoings if rent is paid late you should look into rent guarantee insurance, unless there is 2 months rent owing you can't evict the tenant for non-payment so you should really have cash reserves to cover 2 months at least.

Premier_2

moneysavinmonkey wrote: »

hopefully you are just joking about using the deposit and you are keeping it safe and have registered it with one of the tenancy deposit schemes - if not you might want to do that asap as without details of the TDS scheme you can't serve a possession notice on your tenant. ....

As already noted, the deposit may already be protected even though it is being held by the LL.

Even in the event the deposit is not protected, a notice to quit can certainly be issued once 2 or more months rent is not paid ... and on many other grounds too. Only a s.21 notice (which needs to reason for possession) would be invalid but a s.21 notice couldn't be enforced until at least 6 months into the tenancy anyway, perhaps more dependant on the fixed term agreed.

scrummy_mummy_2

Even if the deposit is held in myDeposits (LL holds it but it is protected) it cannot legally be used as a rental payment whilst the tenenacy is valid and it is still protected....the LL can only take monies owed/due to him/her once the deposit is formally unprotected. This means that:
1. LL and Tenant sign unprotection instruction and agree deductions
2. Tenant does a runner and LL notifies myDeposits that a deduction is being made and the deposit is now unprotected.

Even before these new rules came into force, taking tenants deposits as rent DURING the tenancy is bad practice anyway because, should they then trash the joint, you have no deposit money 'left' for reparations.....

Work with her to get the rent in dribs and drabs if necessary. DO NOT USE HER DEPOSIT MONEY, if you do you are a fool.
If she cannot pay, serve a S21 and prepare court docs....no-one said being a LL is easy!...Sarah Beeny and all her lovely chums on telly make big play about making money out of property, but fail to enlighten the populus that being a LL is mainly about managing people!!!

FingersCrossed_2

Thanks all.

Firstly, I probably should have mentioned that I am in Scotland so I know that makes things a little different.

The deposit is held in a personal account of mine. However, this was checked with the solicitor and I have been assured this is perfectly legal. The lease also states that should any due rent remain unpaid, the deposit will be forfeited.

'Also given that you are quibbling about having to pay £60 landlord registration fee, you have me worried,, there's a bit more to being a landlord than that. Again, hopefully i'm just being unduly anxious and you have really go gas safety certificates, the proper buildings + legal insurances, legal stuff all sorted etc etc.'

The property was bought as a shell and has been completely refurbished with pretty much everything being completely new. I have done everything legally and above board and have the paperwork (and solicitors bills) to prove it.

I don't mean to sound tight moaning about the landlord reg and extra mortgage costs. It's just frustrating after the house being on the market for so long. We have been ridiculously skint and the set up costs for renting were really tricky to find at a time when we couldn't have been poorer. We never wanted to rent it out but this girl wants to buy the house and this was seen as a middle ground while she tries to get a mortgage.

I take the points that banks can mess up - I know this. However,the cash as being transferred from the accounts at the same bank and branch. Plus, the first months rent and deposit was paid in on the same day as the standing order was set up and the details were right for that.

Maybe I am being too hasty and shouldn't be getting worked up. It is just difficult when you think you are finally making progress and then suddenly you have another headache to deal with...

FingersCrossed_2

Still no rent - ahhhhhh

I heard nothing from the tenant from Tuesday until yesterday. This was after she advised (again) that she would sort it with the bank immediately on Tuesday.

Double checked lease and it clearly states if rent is 2 weeks late then eviction proceedings can begin. Solicitor confirms this would be the right action but clearly a route I want to avoid. So I called the tenant yesterday and left a message saying she needed to tell me what was happening or I would have to begin taking action.

Call yesterday saying money had been paid to wrong person and is being recovered. She advised she would pay in half the rent yesterday afternoon and the other half Monday or Tuesday. Phew - or not! Still no money has come in. She insists that she paid it in and bank insists she hasn't. So I asked her to send me details of the account number and sort code she paid it to and confirm it was cash over the counter. No reply!!!!!!!!

I know I probably sound like I am going over the top here and I totally understand being a landlord isn't easy. However, we have been trying so hard to sell this house and are really suffering financially. Renting it out to a potential buyer whilst keeping it on the market seemed like a good move and a blessing financially.

I just feel if someone says they will pay the rent on the 19th they should. If they can't they should tell you why! If only life was that simple. Pity I can't tell either of my mortgage companies that the money I owe them is 'lost'!

Sprintz

did you ask her for an employer reference?

the reference letter sometimes states the salary and this you can see whether she can afford your rental amount?

if you have not been greedy charging her for an amount she can't afford, then it sounds like she is pulling a fast one...

...she tastes like fish to me and she definitely smells fishy

socrates

Dont flaff around just go through the procedure to evict. Your tenant has crossed a line and will continue to do so as long as you allow them to.