Problem tenant

tany_2

Grateful for your advice. My current tenant has been living at the property for the last 6 weeks. In that time he has only paid me £200 and promised to pay the rest. However for the last two weeks I haven't seen him and the only communication was one text saying he was sorry for this and he is having problems with some people and will meet me with the keys and sort some money out. That was Sunday just gone and he didn't turn up and when I ring him he won't pick up the phone and in his one and only text he said he can't speak on the phone(?). Since then I have been around and he has letters lying around from the council and the utilities chasing him for outstanding bills atprevious addresses he has lived at. Also the house is in a mess and cigarette ends everywhere. It looks like he has had to leave in a hurry as all his posessions (fridge, TV, Cutlery, £20-£30 of food etc) are still there and maybe he is in jail or something.

My question is what should I do as he doesn't answer my calls or texts. I have checked the contract and it does say if someone abandons the house I can get them removed through section 8. Any advice appreciated. As he still has the keys can I can not advertise it for let. Also if I do put someone in and he comes back he could claim he is homeless and I would get in trouble with cops.

N79

First question - where is the property (E&W or S) and how much is the rent.
Second question - did you take a deposit and if so have you protected it.
Third question - please detail the the rent due dates and how much was paid.

This will make things much clearer.

Fourth - do not visit the property again unless for emergency maintainance but you seem fairly clued up on the need to avoid harrassment and illegal eviction.

Jowo_2

In future, remember that you cannot enter a property unless you have given the tenant notice and they give you consent, otherwise you are breaching their right to quiet enjoyment of the property enshrined in housing law and risk criminal charges and payment of compensation to the tenant for harassment.

For all you know, the tenant is in hospital or on holiday. Alternatively, if you are a novice or accidental landlord, the chances are that you didn't undertake thorough tenant screening and have ended up with a 'professional tenant', one who purposely seeks ignorant landlords with the aim of not paying any rent, secure in the knowledge that they can stay in a property without paying a further penny for months before the landlord gets a court order to possess the property.

Unless you received keys from the tenant or have a court order, you must not assume you have possession of the property and the tenant may have a right to return, particularly when their belongings are there. Keep all your communication with the tenant completely professional and in writing, keeping a copy.

http://www.landlordzone.co.uk/Possession.htm
http://www.landlordzone.co.uk/legal/abandonment.htm
http://www.landlordzone.co.uk/uncollected_goods.htm
http://www.landlordzone.co.uk/tenant_screening.htm

Join a national landlords association so you can understand your obligations and the tenants rights.

Landlordzone will have info on a section 8 which is something landlords commonly serve once a tenant owes 2 months rent (if rent is paid monthly) because if at the time of serving it, and at the time of the court case, this sum is still outstanding, the judge will give possession to the landlord (it is a mandatory ground so a judge does not have any discretion if the criteria is met).

tbs624

tany wrote: »

That was Sunday just gone and he didn't turn up and when I ring him he won't pick up the phone and in his one and only text he said he can't speak on the phone(?). Since then I have been around and he has letters lying around from the council and the utilities chasing him for outstanding bills atprevious addresses he has lived at. Also the house is in a mess and cigarette ends everywhere. It looks like he has had to leave in a hurry as all his posessions (fridge, TV, Cutlery, £20-£30 of food etc) are still there and maybe he is in jail or something.

My highlighting. Did you simply let yourself into the property in the tenants absence? If you did, I disagree with N79 that you seem" fairly clued up on the need to avoid harassment"

This sounds like classic amateur LL meets "professional" tenant. Read up on abandonment here

Join the NLA or Tessa Shepperson's Landlord Law - you can set down the membership fees for tax purposes. They can give you explicit guidance on how to deal with this one. You may also want to look at Landlord Action.

If your property is in E or W and let on an AST then you should have scheme- registered any tenancy deposit and given your T the scheme's prescribed information. Have you done this, because if not the T can seek the return of the full deposit, plus a penalty payment of 3x the deposit amount and court costs for pursuing you.

N79

tbs624 wrote: »

My highlighting. Did you simply let yourself into the property in the tenants absence? If you did, I disagree with N79 that you seem" fairly clued up on the need to avoid harassment"

Hmmm - your probably right to disagree. Their last paragraph seemed to be on the right lines but on rereading you are quite right that the OP seems to have missed the need to avoid harrassment and has only dealt with illegal eviction..

PasturesNew

Your tenant has been there for 6 weeks.

You have already broken many important laws with regard landlord:tenant relationship, as others have pointed out.

You shouldn't have harrassed him for the money.
You should NEVER have let yourself in.
If he has a valid AST then you can't assume that the tenant's disappeared simply because his place is a bit of a mess when you let yourself in.

As your first rules of thumb:
- do not re-enter the property at all
- assume that the 6 month AST hasn't been abandoned and he'll walk back in any minute.

You need to find out the full/proper/legal way to take this forward. For starters he'd have to be 2 months behind on the rent before you could do anything, which he isn't.

This could simply be somebody who is disorganised in life and who was at work when you phoned and who has misplaced his phone or forgot to charge it up.

N79

PasturesNew wrote: »

For starters he'd have to be 2 months behind on the rent before you could do anything, which he isn't.

That is not strictly true - application for possession can be made when any rent is unpaid or even when the rent is up to date but the T has a history of late payment and a S8 notice can be served the day after the first missed or partially paid rental payment. However, rent arrears only form a mandatory ground for possession when 2 months rent is unpaid on both the date of service of the notice and the possession hearing so in reality most LL's wait for the "silver bullet" possession ground before issuing proceedings.

RecoveringAlcoholic

Was just wondering if this is the same tenant:

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=2007885&highlight=


P.S.
Professional tenants know how to find amateur landlords.




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tany_2

No this is a different tenant. I think I didn't do the full screening and which I should have as now things are adding up. The property is in West yorkshire and I did ask for a deposit but he assurred me he will get me it in the next few weeks. Also the next day he set up a direct debit into my account (he showed me the slip from the bank confirming payments on the 23rd of each month) and when the 23rd came around there were no payments made into my account. I questioned that and he said he will sort me out with the money asap.

His tenancy started on the 23rd of October and the only payment I have had is £200 and no deposit.

N79

tany wrote: »

No this is a different tenant. I think I didn't do the full screening and which I should have as now things are adding up. The property is in West yorkshire and I did ask for a deposit but he assurred me he will get me it in the next few weeks. Also the next day he set up a direct debit into my account (he showed me the slip from the bank confirming payments on the 23rd of each month) and when the 23rd came around there were no payments made into my account. I questioned that and he said he will sort me out with the money asap.

His tenancy started on the 23rd of October and the only payment I have had is £200 and no deposit.

But how much is the monthly rent?

tany_2

Also I have not harassed him for the money and the only communication I have had with him in the last two weeks is one text message in which he said he was having problems with people and he will give me the keys back.