One Tenant left

jangor_2

A relative and partner have been renting my house. After less than two months the partner moved out with her children taking some of her belongings with her. The relative cannot afford to pay the rent and is trying to find cheaper accommodation. However the partner has returned to collect some clothes etc. and each time a row has ensued, during the last row considerable damage was caused to the bathroom wall. The neighbours have also been upset with the rows. The partner is not living in the property but has left her furniture there and is refusing to move it. My relative wishes to leave. Unfortunately I am not quite sure what steps I need to take now as my relative wishes to leave the house shortly and I am concerned about leaving the property empty as his partner still has her keys and her possessions remain in the house.

tek-monkey

Is there a tenancy agreement?
If there is an agreement in place, can you chase her for the rent?
If she's not paying rent, can you just change the locks? Especially if the other tenant (your relative) agrees?

jangor_2

Thankyou. Yes they had an AST for six months. I am serving an S21 but not sure if this will be sufficient as there is still another three months to run before the actual end of the contract and during that time I will not receive any rent and the house is likely to remain empty although, as explained, his partner has retained the keys. Unfortunately my relative's partner does not have any money and I am unlikely to be successful in chasing her for rent.

Jowo_2

Is it just your relative who wishes an early surrender of the tenancy who is on the AST? And did you accept any rent directly from the partner whose belongings are still there?

Did you have a signed inventory/schedule of condition in place and, if the property is in England/Wales, did you protect the deposit by putting it in a tenancy deposit scheme?

Landlordzone is an excellent source of information and here's a link on how to deal with uncollected goods if this is the case in the future.

http://www.landlordzone.co.uk/uncollected_goods.htm

jangor_2

Thankyou. They are both named on the AST but the only person who has tried to pay the rent is my relative. I have not received any rent from his partner. I have a signed inventory and photographs of the condition of the property. My relative confirmed that the damage to the bathroom was caused during one of their arguments. The neighbours are quite annoyed understandably. As it is my relative living in the property I did not take a deposit from them. I will look at the site suggested for advice.

theartfullodger

Both original tenants are still tenants. One surrendering their rights does not get rid of the other's tenancy rights.


You need to get written agreement to early surrender of the tenancy. Otherwise it is S21 (or S8 if more than 2-months behind with rent) and when those notices have expired then going to court for possession then getting bailiffs in. Realistically this may take 4-9 months (courts & bailiffs are busy these days..,.)

Any other route may turn out to be illegal & very very expensive. (eg other tenant comes back, demands "his home" (it still is his home) you refuse/have already sold/let it, he sues you for unlawful eviction....

You may be best trying bribery to get an agreement.

As said above have a look at Landlordzone....

Cheers!

Lodger

Jowo_2

When one of joint tenants ends a tenancy, it ends for all as the law sees only a single tenant. Therefore, you could accept an early surrender. The problem here is that if the other tenant does not wish to leave and take their belongings, the tenancy continues until you get a court order. Despite their non-occupancy, having their belongings in it indicates they live there.

As lodger says, perhaps you need to coax the other person out, pay for the removals of their belongings (carrot) and/or stick - a letter outlining the arrears that are due which you will take them to court for but which you are prepared to write off if they give you written notice and the key by x date. Take expert advice on this strategy first in case it carries unnecessary risks.

Jowo_2

Do look into the S8 route which should be quicker than the S21 route if there are already arrears.

if the rent is paid monthly and there are 2 months rent arrears, serve the S8 and if at the time of the court case 2 months is still owing, the judge will always give possession to the landlord - it is a mandatory ground and there's no discretion on this.

you don't need to wait until 2 months in duration have elapsed, just 2 months worth of rent arrears, therefore if paid monthly, the day after the 2nd rental payment should have been made, serve this notice. For example, rent due on 1st of month, not paid on 1st November, not paid on 1st December, serve notice on 2nd December.

make sure you serve both the S21 and S8 correctly - many landlords reach court and find that they haven't completed the paperwork properly and the judge throws it out.

EDIT - word (negative) missing in original post - highlighted above in bold.

G_M

Also make it clear you will pursue both parties for the rent arrears (what you privately tell your relative is up to you!). Remind the partner he/she is 'jointly' responsible for the full rent. Even if the partner has no money, he/she will end up with a court record and it will stay on their credit file.

mlz1413

Stop stepping round this couple, relative or not!

Fix an appointment to view property and back up visit with a letter afterwards stating the damage that needs repairing and give a time that you would like to revisit to inspect repair - say 14 days.

Also tell them in writing that the tenancy is joint and so both are responsible for the rent until the end of the 6 month contract, this can be with the S21 / S8 but rent is due whilst they have keys.

If they write requesting early surrender then this gives you the chance to get back all keys and make an agreement about the furniture.

tbs624

Jowo wrote: »

...if the rent is paid monthly and there are 2 months rent arrears, serve the S8 and if at the time of the court case 2 months is still owing, the judge will always give possession to the landlord - it is a mandatory ground and there's discretion on this.

you don't need to wait until 2 months in duration have elapsed, just 2 months worth of rent arrears, ...

(My highlighting). 2 months rent unpaid The Grounds used to seek repossession of the property are either Mandatory or they are Discretionary - one Ground cannot be both, although you can use a Mandatory Ground alongside a Discretionary one