Advice on Evicting tenant - not quite as easy as it sounds..

scrat

Hi,

My Father passed away 2nd February, leaving me to pick up the 2 houses we rent out.

4 days ago, within 48 hours, BOTH, tenants text me.
One to say she had a leak that hadnt been fixed for months (one that she hadnt bothered to mention before then i add!) and that 'If its not fixed, can you send me a letter of eviction so i can get a council house' hmmm

Then the other tenant, to say their benefits have been cut and they are unable to afford the house so can i please evict them so they also can get a council house..
I had already dropped thier rent £100 before Christmas and am not in a position to drop it lower.

House 1 ive sorted by just getting the leak fixed.

So, with my father passing my mum would like to sell house 2 to buy where we now live.

I have however been informed i cant just write an eviction notice as they wish as they havnt broken our contract.
Can i evict on the premise of the house sale?

One other thing to mention is that the houses were privately rented after our 'letting agent' decided to not pay us, and we had to take them to small claims court.

Any help appreciated.

DominicJ_2

You can evict via a "no fault" Section 21 notice, a quick search will turn up the exact information.
An eviction notice jumps you to the top of the rehousing list, which is probably why they want them.

scrat

Thanks very much - its all a bit daunting as ive literally just had the houses thrust on me as such and im out of my depth.

scrat

With regard to the section 21, do i have to get it somewhere specific?

The internet is offering me lots of 'free' templates.

BitterAndTwisted

It all depends on whether either of your tenants are currently on a fixed-term tenancy or not. Do you have copies of all the correspondence to hand?

If they are on a fixed-term tenancy you can issue a Section 21 Notice but you cannot seek to end the fixed-term early, except by mutual agreement. Of these peeps want Local Authority housing they won't agree to owt because that would mean they would fail the "imminent homelessness" test.

If they are on a rolling periodic tenancy you can seek to end the tenancy now by issuing a Section 21 Notice giving them two month's notice. For people who are intent on not moving unless their LA offers them housing, they could be encouraged to remain in the property until you have been to court to enforce the S21. Some LAs compel prospective social housing tenants to stay until court-appointed bailiffs are at the door.

Just because tenants fancy social housing does not mean that they will qualify for it. Most LAs in the country do not have attractive and comfortable houses lying empty, just waiting for someone to fulfill all the criteria and occupy them, so do not expect it to be easy to get shot of these tenants in a couple of months. I suggest you do some extensive reading about the repossession process or engage a qualified professional to help you get these properties vacant so they can be sold.

BitterAndTwisted

Join a landlords association. With membership you will get help and guidance through the full repossession process. Plus, the cost of membership can be offset against the rental-property profits as a legitimate business expense.

I cannot stress more strongly why I think you should join an association right now.

The documentation and procedures are extremely easy to get wrong. One false step and you will have to go right back to the beginning again.

scrat

Ah !!!!!! - i had heard about the council making people sit tight.

My tenant has said he is looking for cheaper accomodation, so not sure if this is true or if he intends on going the full council house route.

princeofpounds

I second B&T's recommendation. You need to get up to speed ASAP because if you have 'professional' trouble tenants then you will need to deal with them properly.

The first thing to impress on them is that not paying their rent is often seen as intentional homelessness by councils, so if they are planning to use the eviction process to gain social housing they should behave, get evicted and you can all move on.

You should also learn about the council practice of 'gatekeeping', delaying housing until the landlord has gone through the whole legal process (at great cost). There is guidance that is meant to prevent councils doing this, so again it might be something to point out to the tenants.

Regarding actual eviction, it's an easy process but also easy to get details wrong, so precision is key.

For example, you need to know if there are deposits involved. If there are, they need to be appropriately protected in schemes before you can issue an S21. You will also need to be coming up to or past the fixed term of the contracts to use an S21, and you must use precise dates and form for the notice to be valid.

Another eviction tool is S8, but that normally revolves around breach of contract situations and is not guaranteed, so S21 if available is preferable.

Also, are you the executor of your father's estate? If not, you might not have landlord powers despite being the defat

BitterAndTwisted

If your father died as recently as a few weeks ago you may not have completed probate yet. This might make acting on your father's behalf more complicated and problematic.

Is your mother the sole beneficiary?

nikki1520

Yes, I had a "professional" tennant who failed to realise that a) not paying your rent when in reciept of LHA does constitute making yourself intentionally homeless, and b) even if you are homeless, the LA does not necessarily have a 3 bed semi in your preferred area to give you the keys to. So although it all started off with her wanting to be evicted,she panicked when there was nothing doing with the LA, then I had to get the baliffs in to remove her, as the date for possession had passed, and she was still there.

Then of course, I was the landlady !!!!! from hell, and in retribution, she trashed the house before moving out (prior to the baliffs arriving - and there's no refund on that money either!) Grrr!

Join a landlords association! - so worth the money

scrat

BitterAndTwisted wrote: »

.

Is your mother the sole beneficiary?

Yes.
And i have been dealing with the houses while dad was ill - since around Christmas.