Taking tenant to court for repossession but problems with house

Isatou

Our tenant has not paid rent for 5 months and we have served him with 2 months notice to quit (repossession) and are also in the process of doing an on-line claim for back rent etc. However, just had a text message from him (the first time in months - he has ignored OUR phone calls and letters asking him to contact him about arrangements for paying rent) saying that the electrics have 'gone' and could we get an electrician out asap?
What do we do - he has broken the terms of the agreement but we will also by not getting the electric problem sorted I guess. Also, we have not had the yearly elec check done for over a year - just forgot about it - and maybe could cause an even bigger problem if something happens as a result of this and need to claim on insurance. Help please!!! Is there anyone else that can help? Its all causing me a lot of stress.

kissjenn

Get an electrician out and get the annual check done at the same time.

If you're taking him to court make sure you have the moral and legal high ground. Longer term you need this done to relet and although it will choke you just now (:mad:let him sit in the dark the little !!!!!!:mad:) the longer term pragmatic approach is to fix it and keep yourself in the right.

Then have a bottle of wine and a good moan.

Edinburghlass_2

It could be that they haven't paid the electricity bill either ?

missile

I would ignore his "request"

clutton_2

ask him to write to you with more detailed explanations of what "electric gone" means - what happened ? when ? which parts of the power work which dont? has he paid the bill ?

since you will need stuff in writing if he shows up in court, a fast response in writing (because he wont reply to you calls of course) will delay his repairs a little and cause a little bit of grief ...

unless you are in Scotland (?) i dont believe you need an annual electric report

Geenie

We get an electrician to check our properties every year, but it is not a legal requirement in England, so if the OP is down this way they have nothing to worry about.

My initial instinct would be to contact the electricity provider, and state you were the registered owner of the property, and find out if there are any billing issues with the supply to the tenants. They may be helpful, but it wouldn't be a surprise if they declined any information.

As to the getting the electrician out..... my first reaction is don't after not receiving rent for 5 months, but my sensible head says speak to legal advice, as to not do so may make it more difficult for you when trying to evict. As unfair as it may seem after what your tenant has done, the rights are on their side far more then yours.

I can't recommend enough joining a LL association if you don't have an au fait solicitor to call on when dealing with letting. They have all the facts and advice for situations like this. Good luck OP.

sandraslice

Get the non paying idiot to hold a red wire whilst you whack on the electric up full !!!!

amz84uk

Just ignore his request for a while. If he continues to bother you, say that the house is in the process of being repossessed by your mortgage lender as you haven't been able to pay the mortgage, so you don't want to pump in money for an electrician.

Or last resort is to tell him to sort out his own electrician if it's bothering him that much, but stress that you will NOT pay anything towards it, as he hasn't paid rent! The b*stard should get electrocuted or made to suffer, for failing to pay rent!

Isatou

Thanks for all the replies - some helpful, some not! I have received a text saying he needs me to sort out this problem (no elec at all) urgently, but I'm going to make him wait until I can speak to my solicitor on Monday - will cost me a fortune to get someone there Sunday. Says he will lose all the food in the freezer and they are not there Monday! Could I make him pay for it himself and tell him to take it out of what he owes me in rent?

Emmzi

Isatou wrote: »

Thanks for all the replies - some helpful, some not! I have received a text saying he needs me to sort out this problem (no elec at all) urgently, but I'm going to make him wait until I can speak to my solicitor on Monday - will cost me a fortune to get someone there Sunday. Says he will lose all the food in the freezer and they are not there Monday! Could I make him pay for it himself and tell him to take it out of what he owes me in rent?

Only if you want to confuse the repossession proceedings.

I would be inclined to call round in person, with your mate as a witness, and check the fuse box and ask if the bill is paid. Do it quite late on today when there is no point in getting a callout before the morning.

But, you may as well fix the leccy if it is a technical fault; you will have to anyway at some stage.

zzzLazyDaisy

Also, electricity is an essential utility. Failure to act may be viewed as harassment / unlawful eviction which is a criminal offence

http://www.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!/index.php?page=bible&id=140


EDIT: I have no idea why MSE has edited out the URL, the site is landlordhawk, but if you google 'tenancy electricity harassment uk' you should get some information