Advice - Regulated Tenants

paulkirb

Hi,
I own a flat & up until 16th Dec had regulated tenants. On the 31st Dec I received a letter with two keys to the flat, having visited the property it was completely bare including the carpets, due to the amount of belongings it must have taken a number of days to empty. I have spoken to the council who confirm they have been re housed & have a new signed tenancy agreement in place.
I wish to refurbish the flat & re let however I'm concerned that the tenants may turn up & still have some hold on the flat as I have received no end of tenancy or any communication from the tenants.
In this circumstance do I need a possession order form the courts - if so how does this work if tenant has left with no forwarding address?
Any help would be most appreciated

chris_m

Well, if they've returned the keys I would have said it was a pretty safe bet that they've gone and won't be wanting to return - especially to an empty flat.

paulkirb

Thats my thinking however;
Tenants have been extremely awkward since day one, something telling me to be wary of spending a lot on full refurb just for them to return & expect to continue tenancy.
As a regulated tenancy they have protected rights & not sure if correct channel is a possession order - seems strange if I needed this as tenants have left & flat empty.
Just not sure legally where i stand

BitterAndTwisted

What did the tenants' letter say? Have you taken dated photographs of the stripped and empty property? Do you have it writing from the council that they have been rehoused? Do you know whether there are any laws which allow a Regulated Tenancy to be inherited?

kmmr

I think you should post this on http://www.landlordzone.co.uk/forums/forum.php. There seems to be a few more people on there with experience of this kind of thing.

I think you are right to be cautious. Regulated tenants have a lot of rights, and you may well not be able to prevent them from coming back once you have done the work.

tbs624

It's not clear from the OP whether that letter was actually from the Ts themselves.

Clearing out your worldies from a property and handing keys back is a pretty good indication that the T wants out of the tenancy but the OP says there has been *no* communication from the T.

OP you say that Ts have "been awkward from day one" - just wondering if there were any disrepair issues at the property?

If all is squeaky clean on that front then I think I would ask the Council to confirm in writing (they are likely to charge a fee) that they have provided a new tenancy, and then apply to the courts seeking re-possession of your property on the discretionary basis that the Ts have chosen to obtain alternative accommodation.

You may want to seek confirmation from an experienced LL&T lawyer

G_M

Read this advice on abandlonment here.

"You need the agreement of the tenant that he/she has actually abandoned her tenancy rights, preferably in writing in the form of a deed of surrender. You also need the return of the keys - this is an important point as returning the keys is a clear indication of the tenant's intent. Try to get a witness to this."

Who was the 'letter' from and what did it say?

paulkirb

I have tried to receive a letter by contacting council tax & eon so they force the issue through a bill to T at new address - they both have received no response to date

Letter said return of keys to property, you can now carry out works

tbs624

So, as I asked before, have there been any disrepair issues whilst the T was in the property, specifically those of the non-resolved variety?

paulkirb

Sorry,
We had a letter from the council to rectify;
Bathroom tiles
Bathroom light
Electric extraction fans to kitchen & bathroom

It was agreed with the tenant back on 1st November they would contact my contractors directly to arrange works as the tenants had many appointments (no landline nor mobile for T available). They had not contacted any prior to the 16th December but the note states you can carry out works?

I truly beleive the T is playing games here?

G_M

paulkirb wrote: »

I have tried to receive a letter by contacting council tax & eon so they force the issue through a bill to T at new address - they both have received no response to date

Letter said return of keys to property, you can now carry out works

The question was

Who was the 'letter' from and what did it say?

Was it from the tenant(s). Was it signed by him/them all? Does the signature match the signature on the contract?

What exactly does it say? Just
"Dear Mr X,
return of keys to property, you can now carry out works
Yours sincerely
xxx"

???? or what?