Problem tenant

Fire_Fox

You are missing the point entirely. You are not going to get money out of this tenant in the usual manner, so you will probably end up having to evict or claim abandonment through the court system. You will be laughed out of court if you say you have attempted to communicate with your tenant by text!!

Don't ask a forum how and where to issue notices, what are you going to do if we are wrong?? We have pointed you in the right direction, it's down to you to put in the legwork:
"Please please join a landlord's association, appraise yourself of your legal rights and responsibilities, start behaving like a professional - communicate in writing by recorded delivery."

N79

tany wrote: »

I have been stupid I know and will learn the hard way. The reason why I am communicating with him by text (only 1 text message in two weeks) is that he definately does not live there as I have family near by and they have confirmed the tenant has not been seen for the last two weeks and nor are the lights on. I do not know where he is living and where would I issue an eviction notice given that he definately does not live there and he acknowledged that fact in his text and was sorry.

Who cares where he actually lives, for the purposes of serving notices in relation to the tenancy you are entitled to assume that the T lives at the property. This will be sufficient as far as any court is concerned (and is the reason why I advised against using registered post for notices in my previous post).

N79

Fire_Fox wrote: »

You are missing the point entirely. You are not going to get money out of this tenant in the usual manner, so you will probably end up having to evict or claim abandonment through the court system. You will be laughed out of court if you say you have attempted to communicate with your tenant by text!!

Don't ask a forum how and where to issue notices, what are you going to do if we are wrong?? We have pointed you in the right direction, it's down to you to put in the legwork:
"Please please join a landlord's association, appraise yourself of your legal rights and responsibilities, start behaving like a professional - communicate in writing by recorded delivery."

Firefox in cases of suspected abondonment it is often best to drop the recorded delivery and use normal mail with proof of posting. This is because if there is no T to sign for recorded delivery then Royal Mail will return it to sender. This does not comply with the requirements for "serving notice".

Normal mail (first class) with proof of posting creates a rebuttable presumption of service (ie T would have to show that the notices did not reach the property, on a balance of probabilities). Even better is hand delivery by a third party with an independent witness (the method I use when a tenancy is in dispute). Of course, if this method is used it is important that the notices are merely "served" and the LL's agent does not conduct any other business at the property.

Fire_Fox

N79 wrote: »

Actually Firefox in cases of suspected abondonment it is often best to drop the recorded delivery and use normal mail with proof of posting. This is because if there is no T to sign for recorded delivery then Royal Mail will return it to sender. This does not comply with the requirements for "serving notice".

Normal mail (first class) with proof of posting creates a rebuttable presumption of service (ie T would have to show that the notices did not reach the property, on a balance of probabilities). Even better is hand delivery by a third party with an independent witness (the method I use when a tenancy is in dispute). Of course, if this method is used it is important that the notices are merely "served" and the LL's agent does not conduct any other business at the property.

Fair point, I'd perhaps consider sending one copy recorded and one copy standard first class.

PasturesNew

I didn't know it was a tenant's responsibility to turn lights on. I never turn my lights on ... OMG, maybe I've abandoned my flat.

When you live alone, you don't need lights on. You know where you dropped your stuff on the floor.

theartfullodger

Normal mail (first class) with proof of posting creates a rebuttable presumption of service (ie T would have to show that the notices did not reach the property, on a balance of probabilities).

For cast-iron proof the advice is, post the same letter twice from different post-offices, keeping copy, with proof-of-postage from both POs. Judge just might believe someone saying they never got one envelope: very very unlikely to believe they never got either of them...
- people who want to avoid knowing about things (bad Landlords, bad tenants) have been known to refuse to sign for any recorded post items,....

The alternative ploy is to pack something nice (chocolates, wine..) very visibly as chocolates/wine, enclose the letter & send to-be-signed-for: Naughty but it usually works

Cheers!

Lodger