Evicting Tenants

N79

rapid82 wrote: »

The wife has now authorised me to speak to the housing benefits department direct about her application which is good news, going to call them today to discuss and check how the application is progressing.

If the council don't give me confidence about her application I'm going to issue a section 8 grounds 10 & 11 but was also thinking of including ground 14 due to the injunction she has taken out on her husband and requesting to get the locks changed etc.

Ground 14 - The tenant or someone living with or visiting the tenant is causing or is likely to cause a nuisance to neighbours or visitors to the area, or has been convicted of using the property for immoral or illegal purposes, or has been convicted of an offence in the local area.

Would adding 14 on be a wise idea?

Thanks,
R

No - it would be a bad idea. You fail to meet the test to operate S14a and do not want to get involved in proving the S14 part a test, which is only a discretionary ground anyway.

Jowo_2

rapid82 wrote: »

The wife has now authorised me to speak to the housing benefits department direct about her application which is good news, going to call them today to discuss and check how the application is progressing.

Tell me if you encounter any issues with this, as I thought under the old system of HB, a tenant could authorise contact for the landlord with the local authority but assumed that this ended in the switch to LHA where communication and payment to the tenant is prioritised. It's my assumption, I don't know if this is the case but would be interested in whether the council would cooperate with the tenants request.

Jowo_2

rapid82 wrote: »

The wife has now authorised me to speak to the housing benefits department direct about her application which is good news, going to call them today to discuss and check how the application is progressing.

Just to add as an observation - the purpose of the switch to LHA (where payment is generally made directly to the tenant instead of the landlord) is to make the tenant responsible for paying the rent and dealing with their finances instead of being so passive about it, to empower them.

If your tenant is of the mindset that the non-payment of rent is just an issue between you and the council, this attitude won't help matters.

If an LHA applicant has provided sufficient information to the council but they haven't processed their application after 2 weeks, the tenant can apply for an interim payment (payment on account?). They have to ask for this, it's not automatic.

This forum is helpful for you to understand the issues/risks involved with LHA tenants, including the difficulties in evicting them (as if they seek advice from the local council, the local council will tell them to ignore any notices issued by the landlord until a court order is in place)

http://www.landlordzone.co.uk/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=18

This particular thread provides info on how to get payments made directly to the landlord when the tenant is in arrears.

http://www.landlordzone.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=25100

rapid82

Just thought I would update,

Decided to hold off issuing 10 & 11 notice straight away. Basically she's waiting on a letter regarding employment which was posted this week but ended up being the wrong one, so we're now waiting for another letter to arrive..

The HB department are waiting for this letter to be forwarded to her before they will even look at her application.. It seems they 'process' the batches of applications every friday.

It's driving me a bit mad how long this early bit of the process is taking, basically all that has happened since the 3rd of this month is she has filled out an application and asked for a letter..

This time next week she will be 2 months in arrears. I'm thinking of issuing the full S8G8, 10 & 11 on Tuesday, I'm hoping it will kick the council up the !!!! to get going on her application.

Once served can the notice's be withdrawn easily?

Thanks,
R

N79

rapid82 wrote: »

Once served can the notice's be withdrawn easily?

Thanks,
R

Yes - just do nothing and fail to action them. The notice is only notice that you may go to court. If you don't go to court then so be it. You can leave the notices active and if they get into rent arrears again you can go straight to court.

rapid82

Another update, I've just found out the husband is still in the house! The wife had previously told me he moved out and non-contactable, she's now said he is 'supposedly' moving out at the end of this month.

This has hacked me off big time, he works and is on the AST but wont pay.. the wife said 'we're not talking'..

How does this change the situation? The wife is going to the council tomorrow and is going to get them to call me so I can advise them I'm going round on tuesday to issue the S8G8,10&11..

I'm just really angry at this situation, their domestic and 'not talking' shouldn't mean the rent isn't paid! So when he does finally move out he's had a nice rent free month..

Any thoughts on this?

Thanks,
R

Jowo_2

Do the tenants have a guarantor? Did you perform full tenant screening - take up previous landlord references, verify employment details (employer reference, payslips, bank statements), perform a credit check for CCJs, check the electoral registers, take copies of photo ID and the like?

Just get them out. Be businesslike and professional - only correspond in writing with them and that way, you don't need to listen to lies and sob stories which have influenced you to date.

Issue an S21 now which will not apply until the end of the fixed term.

The S8 should be served when the tenants are 2 months in arrears (i.e. the day after the second months rent is unpaid). To secure eviction under this mandatory ground, if the rent is paid monthly, the tenant has to owe 2 months rent at the time of it being served and at the date of the court case.

If you are overwhelmed by the process, look at the Landlord Action site as they have good experience in this area.

muskoka

Without being cynical, sounds like they may want you to kick them out, so they can apply to the Council for a home.....Good luck

BitterAndTwisted

Being evicted for non-payment of rent is making oneself "intentionally homeless" and they won't qualify. I wonder if they are aware of that? Or perhaps they're professional tenants skipping form property to property preying on unwary landlords...

N79

Start acting professional and just evict them. Don't get involved in their squabbles and disputes - it is not your business.