Tenant not paying rent and never has done !!!

geek84

Hi Folks

I let out my property for rent toa tenant about a month before Xmas. Thelady is not working and she has three children who were in care at that time –she says they are still in care. (She splitfrom her partner & got custody of the kids). At the time of letting the property out, shemanaged to convince me that she does not have enough money to pay any rent and promisedme that she will be able to pay rent once she gets Housing Benefit. Shealso promised me that she will apply for Housing Benefit asap and that it wasjust a case of transferring the payments from her old property (where she wasalso paying rent, to my property). Foolishly,I took pity on her (single mum with 3 kids) and decided to give the keys to theproperty to her.

She has now been living there forabout 6 weeks and keeps telling me that she has not heard anything about herHousing Benefit claim from the council, and when I call the council, they say thatthey can’t discuss the application with me because the tenant has instructedthem not to do so.

Can you please advice what I shoulddo in these circumstances?

Thanks in advance for your response.

real1314

1. Prepare a letter for her to sign authorising the council to discuss the claim with you - it needs to have an expiry date e.g up to 31/07/13?

2. Don't let to people who cannot demonstrate how they are going to pay?
:cool:

CWSmith

That's total rubbish. When my tenants went for Housing Benefit, the first thing the council did was to discuss it with me, the landlord! Also, the whole situation was sorted and the rent was paid within a fortnight.

If you mention "eviction" to the council, likely as not, they will speed things up!

princeofpounds

I believe you can apply to the council to pay housing benefit directly to you once a certain number of weeks rent is overdue.

You should also be looking at issuing a Section 8 notice to start the eviction procedures.

theartfullodger

princeofpounds wrote: »

...

You should also be looking at issuing a Section 8 notice to start the eviction procedures.

Unless rent payable every 4 weeks when S8 does not apply (!!)

geek84

Hi Folks

Many thanks for your replies.

CWSmith
I don't know at what stage the application has got to, and the counil are not prepared to discuss the application with me. So, would it worth me mentioning 'eviction' to them?

Thank U.

real1314

CWSmith wrote: »

That's total rubbish. When my tenants went for Housing Benefit, the first thing the council did was to discuss it with me, the landlord! Also, the whole situation was sorted and the rent was paid within a fortnight.

If you mention "eviction" to the council, likely as not, they will speed things up!

it's not rubbish - they are bound by the data protection act. they can only disclose information with authority from the hb applicant.

and the number of weeks of arrears for payment direct is 8 weeks.
:cool:

System

theartfullodger wrote: »

Unless rent payable every 4 weeks when S8 does not apply (!!)

Rubbish. A S8 can be issued for rents paid monthly and quarterly. All that changes is the qualifying period for the rent arrears

theartfullodger

In response to my post

Unless rent payable every 4 weeks when S8 does not apply (!!)

we have...

!!!!!! wrote: »

Rubbish. A S8 can be issued for rents paid monthly and quarterly. All that changes is the qualifying period for the rent arrears

Thank you !!!!!! for your kindly & polite response...

Dunno if you appreciate but apart from some 75% of Februarys "Month" is not "4 weeks"...

I fear you are mistaken in your opinion - see HA 1988 Schedule 3 Ground 8 herewith...
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1988/50/schedule/2/part/I/crossheading/ground-8

Ground 8.
Both at the date of the service of the notice under section 8 of this Act relating to the proceedings for possession and at the date of the hearing—
(a)if rent is payable weekly or fortnightly, at least [F1eight weeks’] rent is unpaid;
(b)if rent is payable monthly, at least [F2two months’] rent is unpaid;
(c)if rent is payable quarterly, at least one quarter’s rent is more than three months in arrears; and
(d)if rent is payable yearly, at least three months’ rent is more than three months in arrears;
and for the purpose of this ground “rent” means rent lawfully due from the tenant.

Note this does not mention rent payable every 4 weeks (or, for example, every 3 weeks..).


The issue here is when the tenancy agreement states rent is payable, not when it is actually paid (usually every 4 weeks if HB/LHA). As long as the tenancy agreement states rent payable monthly the LL can evict with S8 G8. Problem comes when LLs make it payable every 28 days in the tenancy agreement so HB/LHA payments line up - and, surprisingly & IMHO stupidly, RLA offer it as an option on their AST generator..

Unless dear !!!!!! you have a counter-view backed up by case law or legislation..

Cheers!

BigAunty

Did this sob story prevent you from undertaking all the usual tenant checks, such as a credit check, previous landlord references and so on?

If her children are in care, then I can't see how she would get sufficient housing benefit (local housing allowance) to pay for anything other than one of the cheapest 1 bedroom properties on the market.

LHA is based on how many bedrooms the tenant is entitled to - have a look at the local council website to identify the rate according to household size and her age.

I wonder whether your tenant is excluded from having her children counted if they are not in her primary care.and is perhaps only going to get the 1 bedroom rate (if she's over 35) or shared property rate (if she's under 35).

What is the rent that you are charging and what is the LHA rate for a 1 bedroom property? How old is she?

LHA is usually paid directly to tenants, though the landlord can request a switch to direct payments from the local council if the tenant is in arrears. Ask them to pay you directly.

Also, a tenant who has submitted all the correct paperwork for a HB claim can request an interim housing benefit payment 2 weeks after submitting their claim. Some councils resist making interim payments although they are not supposed to.

You need to get business like with her - don't contact her other than in writing. Join a Landlord's association and learn how to let property professionally so that you aren't targetted as a likely sucker by high risk tenants.

System

theartfullodger wrote: »

In response to my post we have...


Thank you !!!!!! for your kindly & polite response...

Dunno if you appreciate but apart from some 75% of Februarys "Month" is not "4 weeks"...

I fear you are mistaken in your opinion - see HA 1988 Schedule 3 Ground 8 herewith...
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1988/50/schedule/2/part/I/crossheading/ground-8

Note this does not mention rent payable every 4 weeks (or, for example, every 3 weeks..).


The issue here is when the tenancy agreement states rent is payable, not when it is actually paid (usually every 4 weeks if HB/LHA). As long as the tenancy agreement states rent payable monthly the LL can evict with S8 G8. Problem comes when LLs make it payable every 28 days in the tenancy agreement so HB/LHA payments line up - and, surprisingly & IMHO stupidly, RLA offer it as an option on their AST generator..

Unless dear !!!!!! you have a counter-view backed up by case law or legislation..

Cheers!

Sorry my mistake ||(skim reading) I read 'Unless rent payable every 4 weeks then S8 does not apply'