no rent for 3 months on commerical unit, what now? advice asap

ANNIEHAHA

Hi, we rent out a commerical unit and have not recieved the last quater of rent which was due in January 7th this year, the next quater is due on April 7th.

The tennant has strung us along saying he sent the cheque twice and it has not arrived, then that he had paid it via the bank several times and no money has arrived.

He has used the excuse of his dog dying so that he cant talk now! he asked to meet tonight but left a message last night and he returned the call saying he was in hospital with chest pains.

I would like to know where we go from now the unit is in Essex, we live in Norfolk and he lives in Manchester, this income is our main source and we would like to know where we go from here without it costing us a fortune.

He never returned the tenancy agreement and he is now causing us a lot of stress.

N79

ANNIEHAHA wrote: »

He never returned the tenancy agreement and he is now causing us a lot of stress.

What do you mean by "he never returned the tenancy agreement". Are you saying that there is no written tenancy agreement for this let?

Conrad

Annie

You need him out immediately. I've been around commercial mortgage clients for years and from what you say he's simply not going to change his spots. I hear of cases like this a lot. The Dog death - I've heard that one used before!
I've had pets die but I still pay my mortgage and still pay my staff thier wages. People using those sorts of exuses are pathetic.

Finding a new tenant is your new focus, but obviously times are hard.

My shop is in Essex btw.

Conrad

BTW, you need to register a county court judgement quickly. This wont necessarily cause him to pay you, so youre next step is to seek a charge over his assets, hopefuly his house such that when it is eventualy sold you get paid. It's quite complex but there is a fantastic Government helpline ' BUSINESS DEBTLINE' 0800 197 6026 you can call and we found they guided us all the way, although the final part getting a charge registered at the court was burecratic. As an example we had to serve notice on the property - which I did myself and videos as evidence.

N79

Conrad wrote: »

Annie

You need him out immediately.

Agreed, but if there is no written tenancy agreement.......could be tricky as first the terms of the tenancy will need to be determined.

mlz1413

Surely if there is no contract signed then this guy is squatting?

Annie have you been to the premises, does this guy go there everyday and run a business from it? If so you need to go there and meet with him, if he can't pay you there and then you need to cut your losses, let him out of the contract early if need be, get the keys back and get new tenants.

Ensure next time you have all the documents in order, deposits, rent in advance, inventory etc. Times are getting hard for businesses and you need to ensure you protect yourself and your property.

ANNIEHAHA

Tennancy agreement found, agent has it thanks for all the advice we have given him until tomorrow
No money then his out

ANNIEHAHA

He sells dry food goods so the unit is used as a storage base for this so what can we do with this?

Are we allowed to change the locks with this inside?

AlwaysWorking

Annie
I assume you have an agent handling the property if they have the lease? If so, I would question what they have been doing to get the rent? One of my duties in my former job (was made redundant in January) was collecting rent from commercial properties. I would send the tenant a letter (sent recorded delivery) giving him 7 days to pay the amount outstanding or the matter will be passed to a solicitor and all legal/court fees will be added to the amount the client owes.

Good luck!