Tenant stopped paying rent and vanished

thesaint

Lots of posters on this thread getting carried away.

Atomix

thesaint wrote: »

Lots of posters on this thread getting carried away.

https://www.gov.uk/evicting-tenants/harassment-and-illegal-evictions

LAW is 110% on the renters side, there is no-doubt in my mind that I would go straight down the legal route. No doubt what-so-ever.

simpywimpy

I had a similar experience with a tenant loading the removal van BUT she was already 5 weeks in arrears and I challenged her at that point to which she told me she was leaving that day and handed me the keys

DRP

thesaint wrote: »

Lots of posters on this thread getting carried away.

Yes this.^^

The OP is potentially in big trouble.

But imo it is more likely that this will blow over after an apology.

I'm not sure where moneytootighttomention is going with the 'partial proof' theory ....:rotfl:

Comments made to neighbours by the tenant to effect of "I'm off Saturday" might be another proof. It's not possible to know just how many possible "proofs" OP has of tenants intentions. I would have waited for more "proofs" and been wary of a possible set-up in OP's position....but there ya' go.

evanjonesaber

Law needs to be changed to stop being so much onside with scumbag tenants, but you are in trouble.

Hope it works out for you though.

jgh

Unfortunately, we don't have any address to serve them anything. They've just upped and vanished. We couldn't give notice of entering, he'd vanished (my 'he' I mean him & his co-tenant partner). What could we have done? Put a letter through the letterbox of an empty house saying "we're coming around tomorrow".

He didn't move "some" of his stuff, he cleared the place out.

It's weird that he's emptied it, though. He must have intended to leave, surely... or is he planning to sub let?!

Exactly! What was he doing other than moving out?

The tenancy has the standard clauses:
The Tenant shall...
... Give one month's notice of leaving
... PROVIDED that if the Rent or any instalment or part thereof shall be in arrear for at least fourteen days after the same have become due (whether legally demanded or not) or if there shall be a breach of any of the agreements by the Tenant the Landlord may re-enter on the Property (subject always to any statutory restrictions on his power so to do) and immediately thereupon the tenancy shall absolutely determine without prejudice to the other rights and remedies of the Landlord and may dispose of all and any items left on the Property as and in any way seen fit by the Landlord

Unfortunately OP you seem to be yet another landlord who's chanced his arm at making some money out of it, whilst having no clue what you're doing. You need to start doing some reading about tenancy/landlord law right this instance, because he could have you by the short and curlies here.

I've been a landlord for almost 20 years, I'm not a novice and certainly not somebody chancing my arm at making a fast buck.

It sounds fishy that you saw a removal van outside the house, but didn't stop to ask what is going on.

I was on my way somewhere else at the time. He saw me and asked: "can you move your car, we've got a van", which I did, but then had to go elsewhere. When I got back some hours later my partner who lives next door said she'd watched them filling up the van and driving off. She'd said to him something like: so, you're going then?

Unlikely that we are getting the full story.

You and me both.

i heard somewhere that if a court deems forceful eviction has taken place

No forceful entry has taken place, as I said, I got my landlord's keys and unlocked the door.

With this track record i dread to think what happened to the deposit

There was no deposit.

(clearly, it would have been best for the landlord not to have done this in the first place, but there's no going back in time...)

Well, I was planning on waiting until the weekend, but my partner was insitant on going in to check the place over, she lives next door to the building.

the very next day you decided he'd abandoned the place and started bagging his stuff up...

No, his stuff was gone - that is how it looked so clear that they'd moved out. All there was left that wasn't part of the furnishings was a sports bag, some kitchen cleaning things and some food in the fridge. Well, we just put them all together and put them to one side. For all we knew it was stuff he didn't want and was abandoning. Well, we weren't going to throw it out just in case he did come back looking for it.

It sounds like your tenant and yourself have also fallen out and would suggest you serve a S8 & S21 (eviction) notice as soon as possible.

Ha! We served them a Section 21 six months ago, and they just laughed and threw it back at us. Our solicitor advised us to just put up with them until they decided on their own initiative to go.

Thinking back now, with a previous tenant about ten years ago I noticed a missing rent payment one month about two weeks after rent day, went around and noticed the place very noticably empty, and one of the neighbours said: oh, he's moved out. No notice, no forwarding address, just vanished. I just shrugged, though "oh well", and got on with life.

thesaint

jgh wrote: »

Unfortunately, we don't have any address to serve them anything. They've just upped and vanished. We couldn't give notice of entering, he'd vanished (my 'he' I mean him & his co-tenant partner). What could we have done? Put a letter through the letterbox of an empty house saying "we're coming around tomorrow".

In a word... "Yes".
The law requires you to give 24 hours notice in writing. You have Sec 11 of the 1985 landlord act to back you up. You didn't need the tenants permission to enter.

Even though you didn't, you won't be going to jail despite what the asembled lynch mob in this thread believes.

jgh wrote: »

Ha! We served them a Section 21 six months ago, and they just laughed and threw it back at us. Our solicitor advised us to just put up with them until they decided on their own initiative to go.

I would go to court on Monday with a completed N5b form and £175.00 and get a possession order.

martinsurrey

thesaint wrote: »

In a word... "Yes".
The law requires you to give 24 hours notice in writing. You have Sec 11 of the 1988 housing act to back you up. You didn't need the tenants permission to enter.

Even though you didn't, you won't be going to jail despite what the asembled lynch mob in this thread believes.



I would go to court on Monday with a completed N5b form and £175.00 and get a possession order.

agree on the not going to jail, if he doesnt make it a lot worse (but fines and comensation are a real posibility).

Agree on the court application for an order under the s21 notice.

Section 11 of the Housing Act 1988 is about moving expenses on a section ground 6 or 9 eviction...

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1988/50/section/11

I remember a case of someone going to jail for murder, landlord assumed abandonment and just re let it, was sued and lost, convict got a wad of cash...

thesaint

martinsurrey wrote: »

agree on the not going to jail, if he doesnt make it a lot worse (but fines and comensation are a real posibility).

Agree on the court application for an order under the s21 notice.

Section 11 of the Housing Act 1988 is about moving expenses on a section ground 6 or 9 eviction...

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1988/50/section/11

I remember a case of someone going to jail for murder, landlord assumed abandonment and just re let it, was sued and lost, convict got a wad of cash...

Apologies. Sec 11 of the 1985 Landlord and tenant act.
I will edit my post.

In regards to the rest. "Anything" can happen. What is likely to happen is absolutely nothing.

fishpond

as far as I am aware, you, as the landlord, can enter a property in an emergency. ie a suspected gas leak!
This may help.