Arrears in rent - do we have to give 2 months notice?

RAS

Does the tenant have a rent book? In their possession?

And does your father understand that unlawful eviction is a criminal offence?

Exactly how many weeks in arrears are the tenants now?

Is this a fixed term contract? When does it end?

GV29

i have told my dad not to even go there with the locks etc.
thay havent paid the rent for a month.
it's fixed term for 6 months only started in June.

RAS

Given how dodgy your father's understanding of tenancy law is, it might be a good idea to start by encouraging to join one of the landlord associations, so he can learn his responsibilities.

Does the house have a gas certificate?

Is the deposit regsitered in one of the schemes?

bordercars

Is the deposit protected , if not the court will do nothing.

if he wants to evict, end of. do not accept any form of payment that brings them back under 2 months arrears, ie cheque, which can be cancelled.

finally if your not sure best you get proper advice.

teeni

is there a clause allowing early termination in case of rent arrears if not the tenancy wont end until the end of the fixed term. If there is he can issue section 8 notice on grounds 10 and 11 which only requires 2 weeks notice. but these are discretionary grounds and may not be successful. only grougn 8 is mantatory and must be 2 months rent due, If tenant now unemployed hb could be awarded prior to any court case reducing the arrears to under 8 weeks Sorry missed whether the deposit was protected or not if not get it done quick or risk tenant taking court action for faliure to comply with legislation and of course an inability to evict based on a s21 notice.

jamie11

bordercars wrote: »

I
if he wants to evict, end of. do not accept any form of payment that brings them back under 2 months arrears, ie cheque, which can be cancelled.

.

That's wrong I'm afraid, if rent is offered then you must accept it. Refusing it would be seen by the court as deliberately engineering the facts. If it's a cheque and it bounces then just add it back on to the amount owing.

(I'll qualify that with this- if he offers you a cheque, or even cash, on the court room steps, tell him to wait until after the case, that way you are pulling the mat away from under his feet.)

silvercar

bordercars wrote: »

Is the deposit protected , if not the court will do nothing.

if he wants to evict, end of. do not accept any form of payment that brings them back under 2 months arrears, ie cheque, which can be cancelled.

finally if your not sure best you get proper advice.

The deposit needs to be protected for a section 21 to be valid, for a section 8 there is no direct requirement on deposits (though it obviously makes sense to comply with the law!)

Sensible approach would be to serve a section 21 giving 2 months notice as well as pursuing eviction for rent arrears. That way they have plenty of notice to be out at the end of fixed term. Also means that if they pay off arrears before court, your section 21 is still in force.

jjlandlord

jamie11 wrote: »

(I'll qualify that with this- if he offers you a cheque, or even cash, on the court room steps, tell him to wait until after the case, that way you are pulling the mat away from under his feet.)

That's the same, isn't it? Tenant can still tell the court that the landlord has refused rent payment.

jamie11

jjlandlord wrote: »

That's the same, isn't it? Tenant can still tell the court that the landlord has refused rent payment.

Not quite. You are just putting it off until after the case has been heard. If you remember we had a discussion about this very same thing a few months ago in the other place.