Problem with Tenants

anewbe4u

Fire_Fox wrote: »

Deposit protection has been mandatory since 2007! If the deposits are not lodged in one of the three schemes within 14 days of the start of the tenancy then your mum could be taken to court for three times the deposit plus costs. Seriously she needs to get professional and fast.

Rightio. Thanks!

anewbe4u

Jowo wrote: »

From 6 April 2007, all deposits (for rent up to £25,000 per annum) taken by landlords and letting agents for Assured Shorthold Tenancies in England and Wales, must be protected by a tenancy deposit protection scheme.

If this applies, she needs to sort this out first and then issue the notice to the tenants. Also, get on top of the gas safety regulations before she kills the tenants or gets reported to the local council environmental health.

As she seems highly disorganised and a complete novice, perhaps she'd be better off employing someone like Landlord Action to serve the notice. If she completes the notice incorrectly, the tenants remain in the property and she goes to court, the judge will throw out the court case and she has to begin again from scratch, ending up with many more months delay.

Fair enough. There is no Gas though.

Jowo_2

anewbe4u wrote: »

Also, she is seriously considering selling the place.

I have rented before and was given my notice to leave, due to the owner wanting to sell and I moved out without issue. Are you suggesting I could have stayed and waited for a court order to chuck me out?

Are your mothers tenants working or are they receiving Local Housing Allowance?

Tenants have the right to occupy the property until a court order is gained by the landlord or they leave of their own volition.

Many tenants move without resisting, simply because they know its futile and they want to secure a good reference and would prefer to seek onward accommodation in good time.

However, many tenants also ignore the notice because they hope that the local council will give them social housing. Tenants know that one of the few ways they can get a council property is to present themselves as homeless to the local council - local councils are required by law to help the homeless and treat them as a priority. Because demand is high, the local council tell the tenants to ignore the notice from the landlord, telling them that if they leave of their own volition when they did not have to, this means they aren't entitled to any help from the council (intentionally homeless). Many landlords with LHA tenants find that they do indeed have to take the tenants to court to regain possession - that's one reason why landlords won't take benefit claimants who are most likely to seek assistance from the council and be told by them to ignore the notice.

Jowo_2

anewbe4u wrote: »

Fair enough. There is no Gas though.

This will not cause any problems with the eviction process, just that she risks prosecution and fines.

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

Landlordzone is an excellent source of information.

http://www.landlordzone.co.uk/hmo.htm
http://www.landlordzone.co.uk/tenancy-deposit-schemes.htm
http://www.landlordzone.co.uk/Possession.htm
http://www.landlordzone.co.uk/notice_to_quit.htm
http://www.landlordzone.co.uk/section-21-notices.htm

anewbe4u

Jowo wrote: »

Are your mothers tenants working or are they receiving Local Housing Allowance?

Tenants have the right to occupy the property until a court order is gained by the landlord or they leave of their own volition.

Many tenants move without resisting, simply because they know its futile and they want to secure a good reference and would prefer to seek onward accommodation in good time.

However, many tenants also ignore the notice because they hope that the local council will give them social housing. Tenants know that one of the few ways they can get a council property is to present themselves as homeless to the local council - local councils are required by law to help the homeless and treat them as a priority. Because demand is high, the local council tell the tenants to ignore the notice from the landlord, telling them that if they leave of their own volition when they did not have to, this means they aren't entitled to any help from the council (intentionally homeless). Many landlords with LHA tenants find that they do indeed have to take the tenants to court to regain possession - that's one reason why landlords won't take benefit claimants who are most likely to seek assistance from the council and be told by them to ignore the notice.

Some excellent informtaion there. Thank you. One borrows money off his dad now, he was claiming housing benifit but due to some unatended meetings, it was cancelled. One of them works and the other guy has £30k of inheritance money he uses to pay the rent.

Fire_Fox

I wouldn't be evicting any tenants at the moment, at least they pay eventually. Your mum is clearly an amateur, all she needs is a professional tenant who doesn't pay at all, trashes the place and won't move out until there is a court order and she is really in trouble. Give these boys a warning, join a landlord's association, attend some courses and then worry about whether to evict the boys.

Jowo_2

Does your mother have a signed inventory/schedule of condition? If she doesn't, there's little she can do to recoup any damage done to the property as if deductions are contested, the court usually favours the tenants in the absence of these documents.

This is because the landlord is unable to prove the condition of the property and the contents at the outset of the tenancy, and thus that the tenants are responsible for any changes to them.