Tenants in arrears with rent. Section 21 Notice

56cheffy

I have tenant who has lost his job, he is now 2 months in arrears with the rent.

We discussed and arranged a 'plan' to help him repay the debt, but he defaulted after the first payment.

I have been very sympathetic, more so than I think many other landlords would be.

He has a wife and 2 kids and is currently getting only jobseekers allowance, he says he is not entitled to any other benefit, (he is Russian)

Up until now he has been the perfect tenant, having been at the property for 3 years. He insists he will pay the arrears, when he gets a job.

My concern is what if he doesn't get a job soon. At the start of the month another large amount will be added to his debt. I hold one months deposit.

I have a 'furnished shorthold' tenancy agreement with him which states

'This agreement is an assured shorthold tenancy (as defined in section 19A of the Housing Act 1988). The arrangements in section 21 of the Housing Act 1988 for the landlord to repossess the property apply to this agreement. This means that you cannot claim any legal rights to stay on once the tenancy has ended and a court order says you must leave. The landlord giving a
section 21 notice must give at least two months’ notice, in writing'

IF I decide that I want him to leave what exactly do I have to do regarding issuing a section 21 notice to make sure I do it correctly and within the law?

Thanks for any help and advice

Edit:
The current agreement expires at the end of July.

Werdnal

Firstly, the bit that concerns me is "I hold a deposit ..." Have you secured this in a deposit protection scheme as has been a legal requirement since April 2007. If you haven't you cannot issue a valid Section 21 until you return the deposit in full.

However, returning the deposit does not rule out the tenant's right to sue you for up to 3x the deposit value.

To ensure you issue a valid Section 21, we need to know:

Exact date of tenancy start
Exact date of fixed term expiry.

You also need to ensure the S21 is served in a valid way. It is normally suggested you use normal 1st class post, sending 2 copies via diffferent post offices with the free proof of posting from the counter. You can also serve by hand in person/through letterbox, but you need an independent witness to vouch for this. Either way, the actual day of service does not count, so you need to ensure it is served correctly to allow the full 2 months notice.

If rent arrears equal 2 months or more, you can also issue a Section 8 on rent arrears ground, which only needs to run for 14 days, but is not guaranteed possession and may fail. Serving both together is often recommended.

However, you do appreciate that both notices will require a court application as neither end the tenancy without a possession order being granted.

RAS

Oh dear.

When was the tenancy agreement start date, end date?

Has this now passed and are you on a periodic tenacy?

Assuming you are in England or wales the answers dictate whether a Section 21 notice is relevant in this case.

I suspect that your tenant has failed the habitual residency test but he mnay still be entitled to HB if he appeals properly.

56cheffy

Werdnal wrote: »

Firstly, the bit that concerns me is "I hold a deposit ..." Have you secured this in a deposit protection scheme as has been a legal requirement since April 2007. If you haven't you cannot issue a valid Section 21 until you return the deposit in full.

No....I didn't do this...can I do it now, 3 years later!!!!!!!!!!

However, returning the deposit does not rule out the tenant's right to sue you for up to 3x the deposit value.

To ensure you issue a valid Section 21, we need to know:

Exact date of tenancy start August 1st 2012
Exact date of fixed term expiry. July 31st 2013

You also need to ensure the S21 is served in a valid way. It is normally suggested you use normal 1st class post, sending 2 copies via diffferent post offices with the free proof of posting from the counter. You can also serve by hand in person/through letterbox, but you need an independent witness to vouch for this. Either way, the actual day of service does not count, so you need to ensure it is served correctly to allow the full 2 months notice.

If rent arrears equal 2 months or more, you can also issue a Section 8 on rent arrears ground, which only needs to run for 14 days, but is not guaranteed possession and may fail. Serving both together is often recommended.

However, you do appreciate that both notices will require a court application as neither end the tenancy without a possession order being granted.

Thanks for the help

haras_nosirrah

someone may correct me but I don't think you can register his deposit now - you must return it to him in full. I think you may be able to get away with it if you ask him to sign something to confirm he is happy to put the deposit towards the arrears.

RAS

No....I didn't do this...can I do it now, 3 years later!!!!!!!!!!

However, returning the deposit does not rule out the tenant's right to sue you for up to 3x the deposit value.

To ensure you issue a valid Section 21, we need to know:

Exact date of tenancy start August 1st 2012
Exact date of fixed term expiry. July 31st 2013

Oh dear

Well the section 21 cannot be effective until July 31 2013 and if you want him out before that you need a section 8 notice.

And you cannot serve notice effectively until you return the whole deposit because you failed to protect it. And hope that no one explains to your tenant that he can claim up to 3 times the deposit from you as a penalty.

thesaint

DO NOT return the deposit.

Get him to agree to use it for rent. Make a record of this, and get him to sign it.
Once you have done this, you can serve a valid Sec 21 notice(Post within the next 3 weeks for it to expire "after 31st July"), but he can still take you to court for failing to comply with the(deposit) regulations. The likelihood of him doing so is slim to nil.

56cheffy

RAS wrote: »

Oh dear

Well the section 21 cannot be effective until July 31 2013 and if you want him out before that you need a section 8 notice.

And you cannot serve notice effectively until you return the whole deposit because you failed to protect it. And hope that no one explains to your tenant that he can claim up to 3 times the deposit from you as a penalty.

Oh dear.....:rotfl:

56cheffy

thesaint wrote: »

DO NOT return the deposit.

Get him to agree to use it for rent. Make a record of this, and get him to sign it.
Once you have done this, you can serve a valid Sec 21 notice(Post within the next 3 weeks for it to expire "after 31st July"), but he can still take you to court for failing to comply with the(deposit) regulations. The likelihood of him doing so is slim to nil.

Is it ok to use one of these online Section 21 forms that can be downloaded?

G_M

56cheffy wrote: »

Is it ok to use one of these online Section 21 forms that can be downloaded?

Yes, provided

a) it is a genuine one and
b) you fill it in correctly (esp the dates)

You MUST return the deposit in full beore issuing the S21, or, as suggested, get written agreement for the deposit to be used towards the arrears (this effectively = returning the deposit to the tenant who then gives it back to you for rent).

If/when the arrears are = two months rent, also issue a S8 Notice.

There are sample S21/8 notices in this post:

Ending/Renewing an AST (what happens when the Fixed Term ends?)(What is a Periodic Tenancy?)(How can a LL remove a tenant?)(How can a tenant end a tenancy?)

56cheffy

G_M wrote: »

Yes, provided

a) it is a genuine one and
b) you fill it in correctly (esp the dates)

You MUST return the deposit in full beore issuing the S21, or, as suggested, get written agreement for the deposit to be used towards the arrears (this effectively = returning the deposit to the tenant who then gives it back to you for rent).

If/when the arrears are = two months rent, also issue a S8 Notice.

There are sample S21/8 notices in this post:

Ending/Renewing an AST (what happens when the Fixed Term ends?)(What is a Periodic Tenancy?)(How can a LL remove a tenant?)(How can a tenant end a tenancy?)

How do I know an online is genuine or not?

The one I found is here

http://www.lawdepot.co.uk/contracts/eviction-notice-forms/?pid=googleppc-notukr_gb-ft_section21_a2ft-c-ggkey_section%2021%20notice&&s_kwcid=ContentNetwork|9036652273&gclid=CKLJ3c-yibcCFQbHtAod_wIApA

If this is not 'genuine' where do I get one from?

Edit. After filling it in it states "The remainder of this document will be available when you have purchased a license."

What does this mean?

"The tenant must be given 2 months' notice and the day on which the notice expires must be the last day of a period of the tenancy."

I intend issuing the notice before the end of May, so do I have to put July 31st as the date when the notice expires?

Thanks.