Tennant claiming housing benefit but im not getting paid

1927

Basically im a new ish landlord, tennent moved in mid august and although we asked for 1 months rent and £500 bond we got only a fraction of that, £100 to be exact (alarms bells should have started ringing i know)

i have not had rent for 2 months with the tennent saying shes having problems getting the money off the council as she's recently had a baby and its changed her circumstances..... iv contacted the council and they state she had been paid both in nov and dec and there are no problems what so ever .........

i want the rent and want her out asap

whats best course of action please guys and gals

Fire_Fox

Why did you let the tenant move in without paying the rent and deposit? Didn't you take up references, if not professional tenant meets amateur landlord? Are you a member of a landlord's association? This should be your first port of call, as if you attempt any action to evict and make a mistake in the paperwork you will need to start from scratch. Do not make the classic mistake of going round to the house unannounced, this can be seen as harassment or breaching the tenant's right to quiet enjoyment.

You can apply to the council to have the local housing allowance paid directly to you on the grounds the tenant is in arrears. If the tenant is eight weeks in arrears you can issue a S8 notice to quit and then start proceedings through the courts BUT if the tenant catches up to under eight weeks arrears you will not be able to evict. Alternatively you can issue an S21 notice but this will not take effect until the end of the AST fixed term (usually six months).

adg1

I'm sure you know this already but you'd been 'ad sir.

You should never have passed over the keys to your largest asset without the full deposit and rent in advance. There was a very similar thread on here recently (...link anyone?...) where a landlord had let a tenant move in on just £100 and a promise.

As the HB office has been paying the rent to her regularly you have to assume your lovely tenant is holding it back and supporting a more lavish lifestyle.

As she is now over 8 weeks in arrears, you can either apply to the housing office to get the LHA paid directly to you though I think you have to get your tenants permission.

Her excuse of a baby interrupting things would only increase her allowance from the LHA as she'd move up to rung (depending on the make up of her family though).

I'd be prepared to start eviction proceedings and for a court case. Make sure you have the funds available as it'll be costly for you to evict the tenant and will probably take about 3-4 months.

Welcome to the fun (and expensive) world of landlording!

simpywimpy

My tenant ended up owing me 5wks rent in a similar situation to yours, the council paid them the money and they spent it then sodded off to another poor landlord.

Get them out asap, the chance of getting money is next to nil

Jowo_2

Have a look at the HB/LHA forum on the landlordzone website to see the fairly common risks and issues related to having benefit claimants as tenants, exascerbated when a landlord is an accidental or novice landlord and is therefore seen as a sucker by rogue tenants that tend to target them.

If you don't feel confident about serving notice and taking legal action against them, then have a look at Landlord Action who do this for a fixed fee.

Be aware that if the tenants approach the local council housing dept, they may be told to stay where they are until you gain a court order for possession otherwise they will be defined by the local authority as having made themselves intentionally homeless. Councils undertake this filtering or gatekeeping function to try and cut down on demands for its services as they have an obligation to help the homeless and can't afford to spend resources helping those who have merely been given notice rather than fully evicted. (The council won't help those who are responsible for being evicted because of rent arrears, either). This is one reason why some landlords won't consider LHA tenants - they can be harder to evict and are more likely to get into arrears.

sjcollett

As stated above the key thing you need to do is contact the council immediately and state that the tenant is more than 8 weeks in arrears and that all future rent payments are to come to you. You are obliged to get these payments so make the phonecall today

clutton_2

As she is now over 8 weeks in arrears, you can either apply to the housing office to get the LHA paid directly to you though I think you have to get your tenants permission.

you do not need your tenants permissoin to do this

write to the council (LHA office) with a rent schedule showing rental due, rental paid, rental paid date, arrears, and ask for your tenants LHA to be suspended immediately pending inverstigation.

Council should then write to tenant giving them 2 weeks to disprove that they are in arrears.. When tenant cannot prove they have paid, council should pay you directly from the 8 weeks in arrears date. .. so get a spreadsheet done and see if tenant is 8 weeks in arrears - eg


Tenancy start date 1/9/2009 - £0 rent paid
1.10.09 £0 rent paid

2/10/09 write to council

tbs624

Be aware that if the LHA is paid direct to you for future rent and the T has made a claim that is in any way fraudulent then it is you who will be pursued for repayment by the Council.

Some tenants need to see formal paperwork before they realise that you are serious about them paying on time. Send a formal rent statement to her, remind her that she is legally obliged to pay her rent in full and on time as per her tenancy agreement.State that the LHA office has confirmed that she has received her LHA payments for the rental periods to date.

You may want to remind her that should she lose her home due to rent arrears she is likely to be deemed to have made herself "intentionally homeless".

Read up on Section 8 of the Housing Act 1988 - Grounds 8, 10, and 11. The first is a mandatory Ground , the other two discretionary.

You also need to read up on S21 Notices.

You say that you have a deposit - have you scheme-registered this and given your T the prescribed information? If you have not done this, you cannot serve a legally valid S21 and the T can pursue you to court for repayment of the deposit in full plus a penalty payment of 3x the deposit , plus court costs.

As FFox says, join a National LL association , or local affiliate. You could also take a look at Landlordlaw - members can use Tessa's Rent Arrears Kit. Membership fees are tax deductible and you'll get discount LL insurance premiums.

Do everything in writing and keep copies.

tbs624

Jowo wrote: »

.....Be aware that if the tenants approach the local council housing dept, they may be told to stay where they are until you gain a court order for possession otherwise they will be defined by the local authority as having made themselves intentionally homeless....

Eviction due to rent arrears = "intentionally homeless" so they would probably stay to the bitter end anyway unless they managed to find themselves another private LL who would be happy to take them on with LHA paid direct ( and previous rent arrears would be grounds for him/her to insist on direct payment)

Jowo wrote: »

.This is one reason why some landlords won't consider LHA tenants - they can be harder to evict and are more likely to get into arrears...

LLs who operate at this end of the rental market tend to do so because they prefer to buy up cheaper, lower quality properties and are able to balance the risks against the potential returns on their investment.