Tenants from Hell!

RAS

KevinM2k wrote: »

The people in the house where meant to be claiming benefits, but 'forgot' or couldn't be bothered to fill the forms in.... hence this entire mess in the first place!

She needs to ring the Council and check whether they have claimed as if they are 2 months in arrears she can get the LHA paid directly to her.

They may be hoping to pocket the LHA and not pay rent since they have worked out they have an amateur LL.

BitterAndTwisted

KevinM2k wrote: »

I appreciate the help guys! I still think the law on this one is pretty messed up!

The only thing that's pretty messed up is your friend's lack of understanding of the laws in question. That's not the tenants' fault.

The deposit needs to be protected pdq. It's going to cost a fair bit to evict these people legally so your friend had better find the money from somewhere asap.

A Section 8 Notice for non-payment of the rent and a Section 21 Notice as a safety back-up plan to end the tenancy at the six months mark should the S 8 fail in court.

lynzpower

KevinM2k wrote: »

She rang the council and they confirmed that they were not claiming the benefits at all... everyone was an amateur LL at one point, its learning from mistakes that makes you improve.

whaqt a crock of you know what.

There are many many people who come on here- and LLZ along with many other places and ask for advice as to being a LL. Not everyone dives in first without considering their legal responsibilities.

As others have said your friends "amateur mistakes" could well land her in court, with a nice fine to boot! Can she afford that? Can she afford a criminal record ? Has the house got its gas safety cert? If any of the tenants become injured or ill the fines can be severe?

lynzpower

tenants not paying the rent is an occupational hazard that comes with running a buisiness.
Like many businesses there will be people who get away with not paying up- from the shoplifter to the customer not paying an invoice for supply and so on. Again these are natural costs that come along with running a business, that is why landlords who at least slightly plan would have a few K sat aside for this potential eventuality.

robpw2

KevinM2k wrote: »

No but what is the tenants fault is... not paying the rent! I understand everyone needs protection but when it is so clear cut it shouldn't be so difficult.

I think we have already established the she hasn't done things right though, what we need is information on how to legally go about everything.

Would you sent a Section 21 and a Section 8 at the same time? Where do you actually get these notices from?

landlord zone will have section 21 and section 8 notices
yes you can send them at the same time , the section 21 says they will have to leave at the end of the tennancy this is the date that was agreed in the contract ..
the section 8 notice will be for non-payment of rent requesting imediate eviction

no one is disputing the tenants not at fault .. however the landlord has not from what you describe done anything that should have been done many of these being fairly simple things hence why its so difficult

robpw2

KevinM2k wrote: »

I think if you believe that everyone that is LL knows all the legal implications you are very naive. I know a LOT of LL who don't know a lot of the things I know, and I am no where near clued up on everything. Yes I know there are people that know a lot and research everything before starting but not everyone does.

I dont think you can blame everything on a landlord, information isn't that easy to find for beginners, especially if you dont have the ineternet.

The law seems to help the tenant a LOT more than the LL in my opinion, its easy to point the finger when things go wrong... but we are looking for solutions here not more people to point fingers.

you wouldnt just start driving a car without researching before hand what it is that is required in this country to drive would you - you do not need the internet to know these things there is a perfectly good librbary with books on being a landlord as well as copies of statute laws that you can read

BitterAndTwisted

KevinM2k wrote: »

I think if you believe that everyone that is LL knows all the legal implications you are very naive.

I don't think that anyone is saying that they do. But they SHOULD. It's a business and if they don't understand the laws then they only have themselves to blame. No-one in their right mind would enter a field of business where they don't understand anything about how it operates or the risks involved..

I know a LOT of LL who don't know a lot of the things I know, and I am no where near clued up on everything. Yes I know there are people that know a lot and research everything before starting but not everyone does.

I don't think you can blame everything on a landlord, information isn't that easy to find for beginners, especially if you don't have the internet.

Beginners should do the appropriate research just like any other business. Anyone who dives headlong into a business they have no understanding of only has themselves to blame when or if it all turns to !!!!!!

The law seems to help the tenant a LOT more than the LL in my opinion, its easy to point the finger when things go wrong... but we are looking for solutions here not more people to point fingers.

The laws protecting tenancies is this country are pretty weak compared to a lot of others. But no law will protect those who will not or can not seek to protect themselves. Your friend is patently a fool who chose to enter a business they had no understanding and it's now going to cost a decent amount of time and money to put right.

Your friend should not delay in protecting the deposit and then issue both a S8 and a S21 Notice.

lynzpower

But that would be your opinion- wouldn't it? You are trying to collude with your friend who has done zero to protect her own business. Many LLs do understand their obligations. I'm afraid you have been given the advice, but its like you want someone to advocate the baseball-bat approach. Did she read the protection from eviction act?

I know that there are many amateurs in the market,one issue repeatedly is when push comes to shove they never have any money to pay for repairs/solicitors and the rest.

Logging onto landlordzone costs absolutely nothing. Its easier than ever to get free information! You can also goto the library and get books out for free or even use the internet in the library for free. She could have called into her local council and asked for some advice from the private lettings officers- even if they signposted her somewhere else.

The more you are trying to defend her, the worse it seems.

If she wants to evict then as youve been advised she must protect that deposit asap. As long as she hasnt spent it!

RAS

KevinM2k wrote: »

She rang the council and they confirmed that they were not claiming the benefits at all... everyone was an amateur LL at one point, its learning from mistakes that makes you improve.

Hi

I appreciate that people have to start where they are and learn.

BUT and BIG but, your friend has put herself in jeopardy because she has not researched her legal responsibilities properly. She could be facing a criminal record and serious penalties on several counts.

If she cannot afford the mortgage, she cannot afford the sort of fines that she is risking.

The problems is that her tenants know more about the law than she does (or now have access to people more informed than she is).

So from now on she has to do everything right because she faces much higher losses if she gets it wrong.

Her tenants probably realise that she knows very little and has very little power to move them; they may well have spotted her lack of knowledge very early on. Certainly given how difficult it is for anyone on benefits to rent, she must have appeared to be either very trusting or very lackadaisical to them.

Did she do any back ground checks (previous landlords, bank accounts, credit check) or get a guarantor?

eamon

Ok I think the OP (and his gf) have now had a good kicking and advice. In slightly more helpful tones get yourself unto Landlordzone.
http://www.landlordzone.co.uk/
They will have something akin to a checklist that can be used. From your GF get all the information that she has using the checklist as a guide. Compare what you uncover. Your GF needs to act immediately on all missing action points that have legal implications (by that I mean things that your GF may end up in court over).
In essence you and your GF need to do damage limitation. It will cost time and money.