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Renting question (non paying tennant)

The_Jobber
Posts: 16 Forumite
Hi all 
I have a house that I rent out, some guy has been renting it without any problems for over 2 years. He paid a month in advance when he moved in, and a small deposit.
A few months ago, he paid £200 short one month (he gets HB) so said can I take it from the deposit. Like a fool, I agreed.
The next few months he paid on time as normal.
This month he didn't make his payment. He keeps fobbing me off, and he has said he only has £150 for some reason, so he's a few hundred short. It now turns out he hasn't even paid the £150 in the bank, and he's ignoring any contact I try to make, so I want to give him his notice.
He used to pay 4 weekly and on time, but now he's taking the mickey.
Can I just issue a section 21 notice for 2 months time (he moved in on the 19th of a month, so I think if I issue it on the 18th then it would be 2 months after that)
I assume he won't pay any more rent to me, can I just take his month in advance and deposit, then take him to a small claims court for the rest?
By the way, I didn't plan on being a landlord (split from ex) and as soon as the market picks up I will sell it. That's no excuse for being so underprepared, but as he paid on time for so long I suppose I got complacent.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

I have a house that I rent out, some guy has been renting it without any problems for over 2 years. He paid a month in advance when he moved in, and a small deposit.
A few months ago, he paid £200 short one month (he gets HB) so said can I take it from the deposit. Like a fool, I agreed.
The next few months he paid on time as normal.
This month he didn't make his payment. He keeps fobbing me off, and he has said he only has £150 for some reason, so he's a few hundred short. It now turns out he hasn't even paid the £150 in the bank, and he's ignoring any contact I try to make, so I want to give him his notice.
He used to pay 4 weekly and on time, but now he's taking the mickey.
Can I just issue a section 21 notice for 2 months time (he moved in on the 19th of a month, so I think if I issue it on the 18th then it would be 2 months after that)
I assume he won't pay any more rent to me, can I just take his month in advance and deposit, then take him to a small claims court for the rest?
By the way, I didn't plan on being a landlord (split from ex) and as soon as the market picks up I will sell it. That's no excuse for being so underprepared, but as he paid on time for so long I suppose I got complacent.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
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Comments
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Yes, and Yes.. though if he isn't paying, the problem you will have is that he will continue not to pay, even when your SCC application is agreed.. then you will have to return to court to get an order for payment, and possibly a thrid time to get an attachment of earnings/benefit.. time consuming, and annoying, but at the end of the day, you have to do it... The other option (if he is working) and depending on the rent, you could consider pursuing him for the full value of the rental contract, assuming it is a fixed term AST, by not paying he is in breach of contract, you dont "have" to evict...
Neither is overly satisfactory, but learn from the mistake, and NEVER take money owed from deposits!! always get the rent, and pursue late payments ferociously0 -
Join the NLA (www.landlords.org.uk) or the RLA (www.rla.org.uk) and use their legal helplines to get advice.
You can issue a S21 if the tenancy started before the 6th April 2007. If it started afterwards you can only issue a S21 if you protect the deposit in accordance with the 2004 housing act. If it should have been protected and was not then protect it now and then issue the S21 although be aware that your T could force you to pay 3x the deposit in compensation.
If you serve the S21 in person make sure you take a witness and get them to sign a statement which gives the date and time of service.
If he fails to pay again this month then you can also issue S8G8, G10 and G11 notice and proceed for an eviction on this route. You can do this irrespective of the deposit protection status and the plus side is that you only need to give 2 weeks notice and can include a claim for arrears in the eviction claim. The downside is that the claim will be defeated if the T reduces the arreas to below 2 months unpaid rent.0 -
Can I just check, what if he doesn't go on the date he's meant to?
So if he is meant to be out on 20th Jan, and I go round on 21st with my keys and he's still living there?0 -
High ho, high ho, its of to court you go.
By the way it is not the date that he is meant to leave, only the date after which you will seek possession. The T does not have to leave at the end of the notice period, only after a court orders the eviction.
PS This is the sort of question that makes joining the RLA or NLA essential. Remember that the wrong wording or dates on notices will be fatal to your possession case.0 -
Someone kind ought to tell him, if he's still getting HB, he'll be in trouble if they find out he's spending the money on other things...
Let the LA know about the arrears asap. You can ask them to pay HB direct to you.Opinion, advice and information are different things. Don't be surprised if you receive all 3 in response.0 -
Btw OP is the deposit not in a protection scheme? Didn't think you could make a deduction before the end of the tenancyOpinion, advice and information are different things. Don't be surprised if you receive all 3 in response.0
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By all means issue him with a section 21.
As he was agood tenant up until recently have you tried talking to him and finding out why things have changed.Now he is in arrears you could get Hb to pay you direct and then maybe tackle the arrears from a different angle.0 -
Provided that no further rent was required until month 3 then that would be fine. If you are saying that you got the T to pay the last months rent or last 2 months rent up front then that is a deposit and must be protected if the tenancy started after 06 Apr 2007.
You can not issue a valid S21 notice if the deposit which should be protected is not protected. See my first post.0 -
No it's not in any scheme. Actually we just told him it was 2 months rent in advance, no mention of a deposit. Can you do that?
Uh-oh... regardless of what you call it, the court can consider any payment in advance above a single month a deposit if it is a requirement to continually maintain it. It's a matter of judgment how much payment in advance you can get away with, but given that you have already indicated that it essentially is a deposit, then you are on very shaky ground.
If the deposit is not in a scheme, you cannot issue a section 21 to terminate the tenancy and you cannot seek eviction on those grounds. Plus you are liable to be sued for the return on the deposit plus a penalty of 3x the deposit.
Your priority now is a damage limitation exercise.0
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