Stressed out landlord!

lilyxpie

Hi,
I'm desperately in need of advice on following options - i'm already struggling financially and now my tenant has decided she is unable to pay the rent for her 2 month notice period (even though she receives housing benefit.

Option 1
She pays her rent on the 25th of the month (in advance) so is 1 month behind now. Am I correct in thinking that on the 26th of next month I could apply for a possession order on grounds rent arrears?
What time scale am I looking at with this? How long do the courts and bailiffs take? I would use a solicitor if this is the route I have to take.

Option 2
As the property already needs a complete overhall as she has allowed her dog to wreck it, i am considering leaving her in there, contacting the council on the 26th of next month and asking them to pay the rent to me directly. Can I do this if I have issued a Section 21? The onus would be then on her to find a property as her long term goal plan is to get a council house.

There is also a her 15 year old son living there and her elderly mother she has moved up from London to get housed in this area.

I'm desperate as cannot personally afford the hit of the bills on the property myself as it only breaks even each month.

Also, If I go down the possession order and she doesn't go, all the annual safety checks are due end August - do I need to continue to have all these in place if she is squatting?

All advice gratefully received,

Werdnal

Contact the council NOW, don't wait until next month. Although it is generally thought that they insist on rent being 2 months behind, before you get direct payment, there is no harm in flagging the arrears with them now. I have heard that in certain circumstances they will pay you earlier, especially if tenant has done this before in another property.

You can issue notice at the 2 month "owing" point, ie 1 day past the next rent day. No experience of how long the eviction route takes, although have seen 12 weeks quoted as an average - depends on the workload of your local court.

If you think this T is after council housing, it is likely that they will sit it out to the bitter end, due to most council's requirement for eviction to be necessary before they will re-home.

A T's non-payment of rent does not excuse you from any annual safety checks or other LL obligations (ie repairs etc). Do not neglect your responsibilities and give the T any recourse for a counterclaim against you.

silvercar

If the council paid the rent directly to you, would you still want her to leave?

With directly paid rent, you have some security and don't have to worry about cleaning the place up just yet.

kmmr

Some questions:

Are you in England or Wales?
When did the contract start and for what term?
Is the tenant out of their fixed term?
Does the HB fully cover the rent?

Option 1:
When did she last pay the rent. Remember it's two month's DUE in arrears, so as soon as the second payment is due and unpaid, it's two months arrears. You don't need to wait until the end of that month. So if she missed the June 25 payment, she is already 2 months in arrears.

Don't know how long it takes in reality, but others can help with the process.

Option 2:
To be honest this seems the most pragmatic solution. The council won't house her though until she is removed by the baliffs. So if you go down option 1 you may end up with her non paying until physically removed, and possibly damaging the property further.

good luck!

slyracoon

lilyxpie wrote: »

Hi,
I'm desperately in need of advice on following options - i'm already struggling financially and now my tenant has decided she is unable to pay the rent for her 2 month notice period (even though she receives housing benefit.

Option 1
She pays her rent on the 25th of the month (in advance) so is 1 month behind now. Am I correct in thinking that on the 26th of next month I could apply for a possession order on grounds rent arrears?
What time scale am I looking at with this? How long do the courts and bailiffs take? I would use a solicitor if this is the route I have to take.

Option 2
As the property already needs a complete overhall as she has allowed her dog to wreck it, i am considering leaving her in there, contacting the council on the 26th of next month and asking them to pay the rent to me directly. Can I do this if I have issued a Section 21? The onus would be then on her to find a property as her long term goal plan is to get a council house.

There is also a her 15 year old son living there and her elderly mother she has moved up from London to get housed in this area.

I'm desperate as cannot personally afford the hit of the bills on the property myself as it only breaks even each month.

Also, If I go down the possession order and she doesn't go, all the annual safety checks are due end August - do I need to continue to have all these in place if she is squatting?

All advice gratefully received,

Being a Landlord is like running a business. There are risks and if you can't afford the unexpected costs of non-payment and other risks associated with being a landlord then I suggest you issue a section 21 and sell the house.

lilyxpie

kmmr wrote: »

Some questions:

Are you in England or Wales?
When did the contract start and for what term?
Is the tenant out of their fixed term?
Does the HB fully cover the rent?

We're in Wales. She's been in the property for 2 years on 4x 6 month contracts, the latest due to end on 24th Sept which was when the Section 21 was issued to coincide with.

Think will take the hit this month and approach council next month again - not interested this morning!

Slyracoon - house sale not option as in negative equity which is why has been rented out since i got married!

chrisnasah

slyracoon wrote: »

Being a Landlord is like running a business. There are risks and if you can't afford the unexpected costs of non-payment and other risks associated with being a landlord then I suggest you issue a section 21 and sell the house.

Just felt i had to post on the above unhelpful comment.

Yeah surely there is a risk involved and the OP being unlucky is having to deal with one hence he asked for advice. Your comment basically says oh sod it and try to think it is the risk u took and lost it. God forbid you dont ever get in to that situation and if you did well i would love to see what you do... either live with it and pretend you lost 2 months rent or issue section 21 and sell the house or see what others advise you.

theartfullodger

I agree with slyracoon. If Tenant has been so terrible why do you keep granting renewals?? (Or does an agent want the fee).

You need financial & emotional reserves to be a Landlord - if you ain't got both get out of the business!!!

If in negative equity maybe bankruptcy??

Cheers!!

Artful, Landlord since 2000

pararct

chrisnasah wrote: »

Just felt i had to post on the above unhelpful comment.

Yeah surely there is a risk involved and the OP being unlucky is having to deal with one hence he asked for advice. Your comment basically says oh sod it and try to think it is the risk u took and lost it. God forbid you dont ever get in to that situation and if you did well i would love to see what you do... either live with it and pretend you lost 2 months rent or issue section 21 and sell the house or see what others advise you.

Being a landlord and renting out property is a business undertaking. As in any other business undertaking funds have to be set aside to cover unforeseen eventualities such as in this case void periods and worst case scenario tenant thrashing flat.

This is why it is so important that references are taken up ect.

If a business is not making enough money to be able to cover its overheads and put a a little away for these unforeseen circumstances then it is not a business it is a sinking ship.

The sad fact is many many people have jumped into the amateur landlord business thinking it is a piece of cake.

G_M

Off topic (since the OP's original Qs have basically been answered above) but

whilst I'm (one of) the first to point new landlords at sources of information on what's involved, and highlight the risks/obligations involved, we have o accept that a lot of people go into this with their eyes only partly open.

Some go in as a business venture - they should do all the necessary inital research, and deserve little sympathy if they get into difficulty as a result of taking shortcuts etc

Some do a one-off rental as their 'pension fund' or similar - as above though slightly more excuse for being an amateur.

But some (increasing....) are forced in by circumstances beyond their control: financial problems, sickness, redundancy, job relocation, often combined with, as here, negative equity. Yes, they too should do the research, take the precautions, know what to do, but lets face it - often they don't know where/how to look, or are too distracted/distressed to do so fully, or rush into it in desparation.

So yes, let's point out where they went wrong and how they can learn not to repeat the mistake, but let's also show them how to get out of the hole they're in without kicking them when they're down........

edit: oh and the 'bankrupcy' suggestion if they're in negative equity? Yes it's an option, but not one I'd want to take unless I absolutley had to. I'd do everything possible, including running a rental on a shoestring (though within the law), to avoid bankrupcy.

Too many people/businesses use bankrupcy as a way to get out of their debts/obligations.

lilyxpie

Thanks for some of replies - some suggestions have been helpful!

The house has been sucessfully rented out for 5 years and there have only been problems in the last 8-9 months when she bought a German Shepherd, in breech of her contract and invalidationg my house insurance. I've since been informed that for a landlord to specify no pets is a breech of the tenants human rights (? haven't researched this as dog now firmly in situ and had caused significant damage to house). She reassured me that she would repair all damages - hence latest 6 month contract issued. This co-incided with me being on reduced income due to maternity leave and unfortunately i've not got a huge amount of savings where i could have given her notice and repaired house.

However it has since come to light that she has been on the waiting list for a council house and requested notice in responce to my horror at her having painted the property orange. In my opinion this is to give her more points to get the property she is after if she is under the threat of boing made homeless.

I do not know how much housing benefit she receives, but is a single parent working less than 16 hours a week so I would imagine it is not far off the rent she pays. Getting something will be better than taking the £1000 month loss.

Bankrupsy is not something to conider lightly or that I am willing to consider at the moment with house prices starting to rise.

I have recontacted the council and spoken to a more helpful lady and as she will effectively be in 2 months arrears from 25th Aug, I can then apply to have rent paid directly to myself and should receive it by 12th September - how much I dont know.

I am now of opinion that if she wants to move, she can do it the honorable way but i'm not going to apply for a possession order, courts and bailiffs. My house is already wrecked and i'll deal with that when she moves and she will have to look at the mess she has caused until then.