Deposit

LUSK

Guest101 wrote: »

You misunderstand.

Eg. The tenant has not paid rent in 4 months, rent is £600 a month, so owed £2400.

Ah, I see.

Rent £800.00 per month but tenant has only been paying in odd amounts like £150 here and £250 there with maybe an occasional, very occasional £500 thrown in. Coupled with this, the council have stepped in and are a fraction over a half but every four weeks but in any event, the tenant has not contributed anything for six months.

Pixie5740

I think you can start an action now against the joint tenants. The remaining tenant can be served at the rental property but you'd need to track down the other tenant. Do you have a forwarding address for the other tenant or know where they work? If not you can use a service called Finder Monkey to track them down.

It doesn't sound like the ?LA has provided the service you paid for so you might be able to do something about that.

If you're not already a member of a landlord association I highly recommend you join one. The membership fees are tax deductible.

Guest101

Agreed.

With the addition of: don't throw good money after bad. If the tenant can't pay now, it's unlikely they'll pay later.

LUSK

To resurrect an old topic and to give an update:

The tenant has eventually moved out and I reckon the sum owed will be in the region of £10k by the time damages have been taken into account.

I have been onto the original letting agent and I was told that at the point when the partnership of the couple broke down and one party moved out and when the six month tenancy finished and became a periodic one, the LA was not responsible for issuing a new tenancy. It was also at the point when the six months had elapsed did the LA give me notice and say that they were now bowing out and that the tenancy became a rolling one and that I was responsible for collecting rent.


Also, in relation to the deposit which was held by a third party, as I did not give authority for this to be released back, has the LA done anything wrong?

Finally, if you were in my shoes, would you just put the £10k loss down to experience or would you potentially issue proceedings?

G_M

The original 6 month fixed term AST tenancy in joint names, became a Statutory Periodic AST Tenancy, still in the same joint names, when the fixed term expired.

As far as I can see, the original tenancy was never ended. The 'Tenant' (ie two people) did not move out, return the keys, or in any way end the tenancy. It simply became periodic, as per the Housing Act 1988 .

1) you sue BOTH tenants jointly for all the arrears AND the damage. The damage needs to be properly listed, with quotes for repairs, and based on the condition of the property at the start of the tenancy based on the inventory.

2) if you suffer a financial loss as a result of not having the deposit any more (ie you are unable to claim the full amount owed from the tenants) then you could sue the agent for breach of contract, since they clealy had no authority to release the deposit to the tenant who left

See also:

* Deposits: payment, protection and return

* Ending/renewing an AST: what happens when a fixed term ends? How can a LL or tenant end a tenancy? What is a periodic tenancy?

* Letting agents: how should a landlord select or sack?

Guest101

Are tenants employed?

Did the tenant who left give notice? I still am unclear and wonder if there's any liability there?

You can try the LA, but really what did your contract with them say? Re managing past 6 months

LUSK

Guest101 wrote: »

Are tenants employed?

Did the tenant who left give notice? I still am unclear and wonder if there's any liability there?

You can try the LA, but really what did your contract with them say? Re managing past 6 months

I was not given notice from the one who moved out. From memory, he moved out around month four of the fixed term. It was just a case that one day his car was there and the next day, it was gone.

G_M

Guest101 wrote: »

Are tenants employed?

Did the tenant who left give notice? I still am unclear and wonder if there's any liability there?

You can try the LA, but really what did your contract with them say? Re managing past 6 months

Good point. However timing becomes critical:

At the end of the six month period, the one which moved out and who

I read this that Tenant B moved out at the end of the fixed term but Tenant A stayed. If Tenant B moved out before, or on, the final day of the fixed term, notice is irrelevant. Tenant A stayed, so the tenancy became periodic.

However, if Tenant B moved out the day after the end of the fixed term, or later (ie during the subsequent periodic tenancy), then notice by either one of the two tenants would have been valid.

So the questions are:

1) exactly what date did the fixed term end?
2) exactly what date did tenant B leave?
3) Did tenant B serve notice, and if so
a) served on what date?
b) to end the tenancy on hat date?

edit: just seen reply above. Ignore this post. The original tenancy became periodic and remains in joint names.

LUSK

G_M wrote: »

Good point. However timing becomes critical:

I read this that Tenant B moved out at the end of the fixed term but Tenant A stayed. If Tenant B moved out before, or on, the final day of the fixed term, notice is irrelevant. Tenant A stayed, so the tenancy became periodic.

However, if Tenant B moved out the day after the end of the fixed term, or later (ie during the subsequent periodic tenancy), then notice by either one of the two tenants would have been valid.

So the questions are:

1) exactly what date did the fixed term end?
2) exactly what date did tenant B leave?
3) Did tenant B serve notice, and if so
a) served on what date?
b) to end the tenancy on hat date?

edit: just seen reply above. Ignore this post. The original tenancy became periodic and remains in joint names.

So, if I am reading you correctly, then Tenant B is also liable for rent and damages? If correct, that is harsh!

With the letting agent being fully aware that Tenant B moved out in or around month four, should the LA not have drawn up a new contract to protect Tenant B?

LUSK

Just something else to muddy the water, Tenant A is in the process of applying for an IVA. In this situation does this mean that it is only Tenant A which I can not touch via the courts?