Tenant said would leave at the end of the fixed term: UPDATE WINDOW SMASHED

lizzielondon

UPDATE post #9: window smashed

Hi all, I am writing this on behalf of a family member who rents out a few properties and now has his first 'problem tenant'.

The tenant has been in the property for almost 6 months the FT will come to an end on the 15th May. During this time rent (paid entirely by LHA) has been consistently late and always has to be actively chased up but she is now up to date. The LL has recently received complaints from the neighbourhood watch acting for a few neighbours who can't cope with her noise anymore- apparently there are loads of people going in and out and all hours and really loud music throughout the night, despite her having 2 kids living with her

Because of the above the LL was very happy when a few months ago the tenant said she would not be staying past the FT- she said this in a phone call to him and he sent a letter confirming he knew she was doing this & it was recorded -does this protect him at all is she doesn't move?

He is now worrying ( as complaints are increasing from neighbours etc) that she will not leave at the end of the FT.

He did not serve her with a section 21- his dilemma is not whether or not to serve the section 21 now as obv it would be notice to leave for the 15th JUNE and he would like her out as soon as poss

What do you think he should so? I suggested to him to serve the section 21 for the 15th June and also include a letter saying if you like to leave, as you said you would, on the 15 May (as obv she is allowed to do this without any notice) then you can have a 'reward' of £x for returing the property in a good condition

He is worried she will the trash the place

On top of this, when she moved in to the house (unfurnished) she turned up with very little furniture so the LL lent her £300 to buy some and she hasn't paid him back- he knows this is a lost cause

I know this might seem like he's a bit naive, and maybe so in this case, but he's never had a problem with any other tenant (others are on HB)

Does anyone know what he should do re: section 21? are there any other grounds to evict based on the noise problem, the LL is feeling v. guilty about the neighbours, and also i've read on here about the council's policy of 'gate-keeping'- i'm worried this could happen with this tenant- in which case how long does it actually take to get someone out?

Thank you if you've got this far, i'm just worried the LL has got used to nice tenants and he's been too lax with this one

thank you in advance for any replies- much appreciated

lizzie

lizzielondon

Oh and just realised first question will be re: deposit

There isn't one- she couldn't afford one month's rent as deposit, so he reduced it to £150, then said no deposit cuz she turned up with 2 kids and no stuff

lizzielondon

bump?

i know the op is long, just wanted to get in all the relevant info

would really appreciate some advice

x

jdturk

Wow, how long till the end of the tenancy, couple of weeks by the sounds of it, personally I would sit and pray she leaves at the end of the FT, as soon as he realises that is not the case then send the Section 21 of.

Like you I fear if he sends one now she will see that as a green light to stay longer than required

lizzielondon

thanks for your reply

prob i see is if he waits to see if she leaves then he won't be able to serve the section21 until after the 15th May.. meaning it will require posession for the 15th July!

olly300

lizzielondon wrote: »

thanks for your reply

prob i see is if he waits to see if she leaves then he won't be able to serve the section21 until after the 15th May.. meaning it will require posession for the 15th July!

Tell him to log on to the internet himself and do go the site landlordzone* and get advice.

He needs to be proactive in sorting this out himself.

Also if the neighbours:
1. Have problems with the noise they need to keep noise diaries and send them to the environmental health department of the local council
2. Feel that the children are in danger due to the number of visitors then they need to contact social services.

Unfortunately as he doesn't live in the neighbourhood and is the landlord he can't report the tenant.

However the neighbours bothering to complain about her officially could help him. So he needs to write nice letters to the neighbours via neighbourhood watch telling them to take it officially to those people.

*I'm not allowed to add the proper link so you can google for the site

lizzielondon

olly300 wrote: »

Tell him to log on to the internet himself and do go the site landlordzone* and get advice.

He needs to be proactive in sorting this out himself.

Also if the neighbours:
1. Have problems with the noise they need to keep noise diaries and send them to the environmental health department of the local council
2. Feel that the children are in danger due to the number of visitors then they need to contact social services.

Unfortunately as he doesn't live in the neighbourhood and is the landlord he can't report the tenant.

However the neighbours bothering to complain about her officially could help him. So he needs to write nice letters to the neighbours via neighbourhood watch telling them to take it officially to those people.

*I'm not allowed to add the proper link so you can google for the site

thank you for the advice re environmental health will advise him

i think he's going to check things out with a solicitor after the weekend just thought i'd get some opinions on here- the main point i assume is trying to make sure she leaves-

does anyone know how long it takes to get someone out if they choose to stay after the section21 says to? all paperwork being correct etc

Blacksheep1979

are you sure there wasn't a S21 in that recorded delivery letter he sent ;)

lizzielondon

no it wasn't he's never had to use one before- he has really good trusting relationships with the rest of his tenants and the majority are long term

UPDATE:

just heard from him, a neighbour has called him to let him know that last night the police were called to the property last night- the neighbour thinks it was a big party that went a bit wrong and someone put it the downstairs front window :eek:

obv the tenant would be responsible for the repair costs but the LL is pretty sure there no way she would be able to/ be prepared to pay for it

soooo next question- are they any other grounds (i.e. not just posession) she can be evicted on taking into account she's allowing people into the house and them smashing it up?

obv not in a 'tenant like manner'...

would really appreciate any help/ideas on this

thanks

lizzielondon

she hasn't contacted him about the broken window- when the neighbour phoned to tell him it was broken, he contacted a builder he knows in the area to board it up to make it secure- she wasn't in so the builder had to let himself it with a key

will he get in trouble for this- does this count as an 'emergency'?

if he hadn't have secured the window all her possessions would have been at risk- she seems to have just wandered off!

BitterAndTwisted

I suspect your relative's tenant won't be in a position to know that the landlord or anyone appointed by them has no right of access UNLESS in an emergency. I would probably classify this as an emergency under the circumstances in any case.

Your relative should serve a Section 21 notice immediately notifying their tenant that they should quit the property at the end of the fixed term. They have just less than a fortnight to get this served. The most efficient way to serve it would be to send two copies by first class mail from two different post offices, getting proof of postage for both. That way, no court in the land would accept on the basis of probabilities that the tenant did not receive either. Don't bother sending the S21 by recorded delivery as by the sounds of it, this tenant might be the type to decline to sign for or collect mail from the sorting office.