Tenant left house - has rent arrears and the place is a mess...

macman

Given that the only contact info that the OP has is a mobile no., isn't all this rather academic?
The OP has no means of serving a civil claim without spending more money tracing the tenant, and I get the distinct feeling that the tenant will not be in touch...

BitterAndTwisted

Presumably the OP knows who the agents are for the tenant's new rental as she gave them a reference. In any case the tenant will pop up sooner or later, most probably on the electoral register. People can be found if you know where to start looking.

moneybunny123

macman wrote: »

Given that the only contact info that the OP has is a mobile no., isn't all this rather academic?
The OP has no means of serving a civil claim without spending more money tracing the tenant, and I get the distinct feeling that the tenant will not be in touch...

You're correct - at present all I have is a mobile number. However, I know the area in which her new house is (it's less than a mile away from the house she rented from me). And I know LOTS of other people living in the area, who are also likely to know her as she is a local girl. I imagine it would take less than a day for me to discover where she lives, if the agency who rang me for a reference refused to give me her new address. And, as someone said earlier, social networking sites have some interesting information....

moneybunny123

BitterAndTwisted wrote: »

Presumably the OP knows who the agents are for the tenant's new rental as she gave them a reference. In any case the tenant will pop up sooner or later, most probably on the electoral register. People can be found if you know where to start looking.

Precisely.

may_fair

macman wrote: »

Given that the only contact info that the OP has is a mobile no., isn't all this rather academic?
The OP has no means of serving a civil claim without spending more money tracing the tenant, and I get the distinct feeling that the tenant will not be in touch...

OP says in post #5 that she knows where T works.

OP can either serve the claim in person (she can get a process server to do this, who'll find T going in or out of work), or ask the permission of the court to serve the claim by post to the work address.

There is also a deposit in the DPS, so OP can claim deductions from it.

may_fair

BitterAndTwisted wrote: »

Presumably the OP knows who the agents are for the tenant's new rental as she gave them a reference. In any case the tenant will pop up sooner or later, most probably on the electoral register. People can be found if you know where to start looking.

And tracing agents aren't that expensive, and often do a no-find-no-fee deal, e.g. http://www.findermonkey.co.uk/

I believe you need to wait at least a couple of months for T's new info to trickle down through the system.

moneybunny123

may_fair wrote: »

OP says in post #5 that she knows where T works.

OP can either serve the claim in person (she can get a process server to do this, who'll find T going in or out of work), or ask the permission of the court to serve the claim by post to the work address.

There is also a deposit in the DPS, so OP can claim deductions from it.

.....and, if necessary, surely I (or someone I know) could follow her from work to find out where she lives. I am certain I could find out very quickly where she is now living. My dilemma is more about whether or not to bother. As I've said, I don't have money to throw after this - I'd rather spend the money getting the house straight and moving on with my life than constantly hitting brick walls in a legal battle. And that's my fear. I just worry that the cost to repair damage and write off rent arrears is small apples compared to what it MAY cost to try and pursue it.

may_fair

moneybunny123 wrote: »

.....and, if necessary, surely I (or someone I know) could follow her from work to find out where she lives. I am certain I could find out very quickly where she is now living. My dilemma is more about whether or not to bother. As I've said, I don't have money to throw after this - I'd rather spend the money getting the house straight and moving on with my life than constantly hitting brick walls in a legal battle. And that's my fear. I just worry that the cost to repair damage and write off rent arrears is small apples compared to what it MAY cost to try and pursue it.

Court fees in the small claims track aren't very high (look on the HM Courts website) and are added to the claim. No legal fees as you would be a litigant-in-person. Get a library book on the small claims procedure.

A claim for unpaid rent is fairly straightforward - there's a good chance you'd be awarded at least up to 4th July (up to 6th June at the very minimum). And if you have good evidence of before and after condition, and evidence of the cost of putting things right, then again, I see no reason why your claim should fail.

If you want to keep things as simple as possible and don't want to get into more complex arguments (i.e. claiming up to 4th Aug), then firstly gather your evidence, sort the house out (i.e. take possession), then claim for rent in lieu of notice up to 4th July plus cost of repairs etc.

BitterAndTwisted

I dunno, the satisfaction of ensuring that your ex-tenant has a CCJ on her credit-file might be worth spending a few bob, even if you choose not enforce collection.

moneybunny123

BitterAndTwisted wrote: »

I dunno, the satisfaction of ensuring that your ex-tenant has a CCJ on her credit-file might be worth spending a few bob, even if you choose not enforce collection.

Ooohhh....harsh.... I see where your username comes from now :rotfl: