using deposit for rent arrears?

amjustagirl

Hi,
Ive issued my tenant with his s21. He is now in £700 rent arrears. If and when he moves can his deposit be used to cover the arrears if no damage is done to the property? The deposit is registered with TDS.
Thanks

G_M

Yes. But it's worrying that you need to ask. Have you got the S21 right?

DVardysShadow

Another thread? OP, if you insist on a new thread, please post a link to the old one.

amjustagirl

sorry dvardy, will do next time.
Yes s21 is definitely right

G_M

Oh my god i just looked and yes there are loads of threads whats that all about 'justagirl'?

Read back through your previous threads to find the answers. I'm certainly not going to!

poppy10_2

DVardysShadow wrote: »

Another thread? OP, if you insist on a new thread, please post a link to the old one.

Previous threads:
housing benefit claim
serving notice/tenant arrears
giving tenant notice and HB claim
issuing s21 and rent arrears

OP sounds like a fairly harsh landlord. It was only on the 18th Nov that the tenant informed her that he had been made redundant and was going to apply for housing benefit. It's been barely a month and she has posted five times asking how she can kick him out, just in time for Christmas.

Seasons greetings to you, too. :beer:

DVardysShadow

poppy10 wrote: »

Previous threads:
housing benefit claim
serving notice/tenant arrears
giving tenant notice and HB claim
issuing s21 and rent arrears

OP sounds like a fairly harsh landlord. It was only on the 18th Nov that the tenant informed her that he had been made redundant and was going to apply for housing benefit. It's been barely a month and she has posted five times asking how she can kick him out, just in time for Christmas.

Seasons greetings to you, too. :beer:

Thanks for that, I hadn't realised the extent of this. It shows how you really do need the whole story ...

Perhaps this board should have a moratorium on advising on getting tenants out until after the 12 days of Christmas are up??

BitterAndTwisted

I'm disappointed to read that the OP hasn't issued a Section 8 as well despite being advised to more than once.

It appears that there's just no helping some people.....

Morglin

Not much seasonal goodwill here then, from the landlord.

Lin

amjustagirl

I want to sell the house though and can't afford to keep paying my own mortgage and my tenants. He has until Feb 18th to move out. I did only promise the house to him for 2 years and he's been in nearly 2 and a half years now. I don't see what everyone's problem is? When you rent it's your home not your house, so you can't guarantee that you will be living there long term! I hav'nt done anything illegal here?!

poppy10_2

amjustagirl wrote: »

I hav'nt done anything illegal here?!

No, you haven't done anything illegal (not yet, anyway), but there's a difference between illegal and unethical.

You say you only promised the house to the tenant for two years and he has stayed two and a half - that's irrelevant, if you wanted him out at the end of the two years you should have served a section 21 at that point. As you didn't, he was reasonably entitled to expect that you were happy with the tenancy continuing on a periodic basis. He's not a squatter.

Nobody is suggesting that you carry on letting him live there for free, but he has only just got his housing benefit claim in - it takes a few weeks to get this sorted out, particularly at this time of year. You will get the money backdated. His rent is more than double what you are paying for the mortgage, so you have been making a tidy profit out of him for years. For someone that has been a good tenant to you for over two years, you could at least have done him the courtesy of waiting a couple of weeks so he could spend christmas without having been served eviction papers.

Of cource, it's your property, so you have the right to evict your tenant if you want to, (assuming the proper legal process is followed). But it still doesn't make you a nice person.