problem tenants

blahbob

Hi, I have a some tenants who will be two months in rental arrears as of mid June if they don't make the next payment.

My estate agent who is managing them has made efforts to contact them, but they have refused to answer the door even thought its is obvious that they are in. I have made every effort to work with them. They have been there for 18 months and missed another payment 6 months ago. As a compromise for non payment for January rent I said they could decorate at their own cost, which they did satisfactorily. I have a 6 month short hold tenancy agreement that comes to and end in October (I made the mistake of renewing it and not booting them at the first sign of trouble.. - Nice guy gets screwed over yet again..- ).

My next step is to get a solicitor and peruse eviction and CCJs. Can anyone offer any advice? What are the chances of recouping costs and arrears?

Thanks

amz84uk

Hi, I'm going through the same process with my problem tenants who haven't paid for the past two months, and they don't have any intentions on paying up either. They are clearly inside the house, yet make no effort answering the door.

Serve your tenants the Section 8 Notice, giving them 14 days to vacate the Property, or bring the rent in line. You can only serve the Section 8 Notice if they are two-months in arrears, so you'll have to wait until mid-June, when (and IF) they fail to make the payment.

sooz

Do not go to their door again. They aren't answering because they don't want to see you, or sort out their arrears. Do not call either. Write to them, via with proof of postage from the post office (they may stop accepting recorded delivery). Keep a copy of all letters sent, & staple the proof of postage to your copy.

Make sure all your paperwork is up to date. Have you registered their deposit. Serve a section 8, & a section 21 at the same time. The section 21 is your back up for the end of the fixed term, incase they decide to pay off a small amount of arrears & invalidate your section 8.

You do not need to use a solicitor. Join a LL's association like the NLA. They will talk you through the process, & provide you with all the necessary forms.

Fire_Fox

Have you actually written to them yet, or simply attempted face-to-face contact?

PasturesNew

You can't go randomly knocking on doors you know ... it doesn't work like that these days.

blahbob

Apparently, the estate agent phoned previously to arrange a face to face discussion to try to resolve the issue. But it seems the tenant then wasn't up to it. I take the point, everything else goes via my solicitor (I'll have to take the fees on the chin)....

sooz

fees will be offset against your profit, or carried over if you make a loss. But you don't need to use a solicitor. join the NLA for about £80 (tax deductable) & they will help you through the whole process. They are also experts at this, which a general solicitor may not be.

blahbob

I'm out of the country as well, making the travel expenses greater than the solicitor fees. I think I'll use a solicitor this time, but then next time (if there is one) I'll be able to deal with it my self.

PasturesNew

blahbob wrote: »

I'm out of the country as well, making the travel expenses greater than the solicitor fees. I think I'll use a solicitor this time, but then next time (if there is one) I'll be able to deal with it my self.

Can the person in the UK who is acting on your behalf not do some of this work?

What are your agents doing?

blahbob

>What are your agents doing?

Advising me to use a solicitor.

I think they have sent a warning letter. But I see your point, they should be qualified to do all this if it's run-of-the-mill landlord stuff. Also, they are not getting paid at the moment as they take a percentage of the rental income

Fire_Fox

I don't think there should be any phone calls or face-to-face discussions. Your agent could be accused of trying to intimidate your tenants. I find it very worrying that you 'think' they have sent a warning letter. You should have been copied in, either by post or e-mail if out of the country.