Assured Short Hold Tenancy Breach & Avoiding CCJ

first_time_buyer_London

Right, heres my situation. I am a private rental tenant in the private rental sector with a Land Lord that does not live in the property.

I was working and was made redundant in May and have not paid my rent @ £672.00 per month for three months, (May, June & July)

I went to see my Landlord to get an up to date contract as my most recent one had expired (I have lived in the property for over 5 years and paid him over £40.000 and never been late). He did me a new contract / tenancy agreement until the end of the year! which I stupidly signed in front of a witness stating I am to pay £672 straight away. If my memory serves me correctly he has a copy of it.

I have not received any notices of eviction or letters from him yet so my first question is:

If I am to leave the property before any court orders? or notice of eviction? is served and the landlord does not have a address for me (in other words do a runner) How could he take me to court ? Serve me the papers or summons? if he can not find me?

The last time I spoke with him he told me that a local estate agent had taken over the property (I do not have this in writing) if this is true wouldn't this contract be void if I am to pay someone else?

The last thing I wan to do is get a CCJ on my credit file so this is what I am trying to avoid but I do not see how he would find me? I opted out of that version on Electoral Role (Although he may have my bank details as I have done transfers in the past for rent )

Thats another thing, I am worried about my bank accounts been frozen?


Please advise

Many thanks in advance

G_M

[QUOTE=first time buyer London;54770953
so my first question is:

If I am to leave the property before any court orders? or notice of eviction? is served and the landlord does not have a address for me (in other words do a runner) How could he take me to court ? Serve me the papers or summons? if he can not find me? You've signed a legally binding contract. And running/hiding is hard. There are many ways you can be found - electoral register, bank account address, employers, family, HMRC, etc etc It may take time but if the LL is determined, and esp if he employsa tracing service (who know far more ways than I do to trace people!] you will be found)

The last time I spoke with him he told me that a local estate agent had taken over the property (I do not have this in writing) if this is true wouldn't this contract be void if I am to pay someone else?what does 'taken over' mean? Bought the property? Or taken over the management of the tenancy. VERY different things! Either way, the contract remains binding. Just that you may have a new landlord.

The last thing I wan to do is get a CCJ on my credit file so this is what I am trying to avoid but I do not see how he would find me? I opted out of that version on Electoral Role (Although he may have my bank details as I have done transfers in the past for rent )

Thats another thing, I am worried about my bank accounts been frozen?


Please advise

Many thanks in advance[/QUOTE]

My advice is to stay legal. Pay what you owe and honour the contract you signed.

Or negotiate with the landlord to reach a compromise.

Just hiding under a ock with your head in the sand is not the answer.

maninthestreet

So you've come onto these boards asking us to advise you how to do a runner from your debts and not get caught??

Werdnal

You have actually shot yourself in the foot by asking the LL to set you up with a new tenancy agreement. Once your exsting one had expired, you were automatically on a Statutory Periodic Tenancy (all legal and legit) and you could have stayed there ad-infinitum without ever signing your life away to another fixed term. Had you stayed on the SPT, you could have given 1 month's written notice and waved the LL (and your obligation to pay any further rent) bye-bye!

You are bound to the fixed term you have signed - so you either pay up, neogitate with the LL and come to a settlement (ie pay the LL) to surrender the tenancy, or you live your life forever looking over your shoulder and awaiting the court order landing on your dootmat for the balance of the 6 month's rent you owe!

TBH, if you are currently out of work, you are going to find it hard enough going without allowing a CCJ to haunt you as well! I believe a LL has up to 6 years to trace and hit you with a claim - are you prepared to disappear for that amount of time? Its not like the movies - you cannot invent a whole new identity for yourself - so many government agencies have access to each others records, and the "finder companies" have ways to buy into this information, so its only a matter of time before you appear on someone's radar!

first_time_buyer_London

Thank you for your advice, I understand what you are saying but am still finding it hard to see how I would be found.. surely the bank and Call Credit etc? can not give out personal information plus I could close that bank account used if I had to.

Im not sure if this local estate agent has taken on the mortgage or the management or both. LL just advised me to see him and I would be paying the rent to him.

Perhaps I should see the new LL and try and get a new contract drawn up with him which allows me to give 1 months notice so (in theory) I could pay what I owe and pay each month and give 1 months notice and leave getting me out of the contract/ out of trouble?

Also, I thought that CCJ's got completely removed from credit file after six years? So if I did not want / need credit & mortgage in next six years I would be alright?

first_time_buyer_London

Noddle say:

Thanks for your email.

Just to reassure you, only someone who has been given permission is able to search your credit file – it’s illegal to view your credit data without your permission first.

If they do have permission they’ll have access to all of the information included in your credit file. This includes the following;

Financial account information – shows information given to us by your lenders about your open and closed credit accounts
Searches – who has made the search and for what purpose
Address links – all addresses you’ve been linked to by your lenders
Connections & other names – anyone you’re financially connected to & any aliases you’re known by
Electoral roll – name and address as registered on the electoral roll, from what date registered and whether you’re on the full or edited version of the roll
Public information – shows details of any bankruptcies, insolvencies or county court judgements that are in your name
Notices of correction – anyone searching your credit file is obliged to read any notices of correction – these are statements you have asked to be added to your credit report to explain an item of information on your report which is factually correct but you believe creates a misleading impression
CIFAS – this shows details of any warnings registered at your address by CIFAS who are the UK’s fraud prevention service

I hope this has cleared things up but please let me know if you have any further questions – I'll be happy to help J

Thanks,


The Noddle Team

fivetide

first_time_buyer_London wrote: »

Thank you for your advice, I understand what you are saying but am still finding it hard to see how I would be found..

You are surely a master criminal. If only Ronnie Biggs had simply moved house he could have saved all the Brazil debacle.

You will be found. Someone at work tried jumping boroughs with council tax and they eventually catch up. You always need to register for something.

I can't understand why you seem to think it is ok to be ripping someone off?

5t.

first_time_buyer_London

maninthestreet wrote: »

So you've come onto these boards asking us to advise you how to do a runner from your debts and not get caught??

No. I am asking for advice on how to get out of this situation Legally.

martinsurrey

You can have a CCJ issued in your absence, and this will be placed on your credit file at the address you used to live, by the court, this will be linked to you and every address you subsequently live at.

If I was a land lord and someone did a runner and tried to hide, I would, at any expense, ruin the chance of you doing the same to anyone else.

By all means, don’t pay if you can’t, but face the financial consequences like an adult.

RAS

Hi


Why have you not claimed Local Housing Allowance? That would at least enable you to pay part of your rent?

Are you in a similar mess with your Council Tax? If so get CTB claimed immediately and try and back-date it.

https://www.turn2us.org.uk

terryw

As regards a county court judgement, it is quite possible that the claim will be made against you at the address which you have left. If there is no response (which of course is highly likely!) then judgement will be obtained by default.

When you do re-surface, you will then have to apply to have the judgement set aside.

You are giving yourself many potential problems with this course of action.

Far better to take the advice given in posts above.