We’d like to remind Forumites to please avoid political debate on the Forum.
This is to keep it a safe and useful space for MoneySaving discussions. Threads that are – or become – political in nature may be removed in line with the Forum’s rules. Thank you for your understanding.
PLEASE READ BEFORE POSTING: Hello Forumites! In order to help keep the Forum a useful, safe and friendly place for our users, discussions around non-MoneySaving matters are not permitted per the Forum rules. While we understand that mentioning house prices may sometimes be relevant to a user's specific MoneySaving situation, we ask that you please avoid veering into broad, general debates about the market, the economy and politics, as these can unfortunately lead to abusive or hateful behaviour. Threads that are found to have derailed into wider discussions may be removed. Users who repeatedly disregard this may have their Forum account banned. Please also avoid posting personally identifiable information, including links to your own online property listing which may reveal your address. Thank you for your understanding.
📨 Have you signed up to the Forum's new Email Digest yet? Get a selection of trending threads sent straight to your inbox daily, weekly or monthly!
The Forum now has a brand new text editor, adding a bunch of handy features to use when creating posts. Read more in our how-to guide
Novice Landlords Please Help!
NoviceLandLord78
Posts: 4 Newbie
Hi,
In October 2014 me and my friend decided to invest in a buy to let property. We spend a grand doing up the property - carpets & paint, then stupidly (as money was tight) we had a friend of a friend who stated his female friend with a teenage child was after a property to rent but was in receipt of housing benefit - this didn't put us off 'per se', as we believed at least it would be a guarantee of rent.
We met the tenant, who stated a company called 'Midland Heart' would assess the property and hold the deposit 'in trust'. In November she signed a 6 month AST, all went through ok, the tenant paid the first month upfront in November, since then we have received a total of £300 leaving us about 6 weeks in arrears. She no longer accepts any correspondence through phone and never answers the door.
Today I decided to go the council and discuss the case. The council informed me that they had paid the amount to the tenant (including double in January for some reason) and there was nothing they could do as it was a civil matter between me and the tenant, how this passed Government policy to hand the rent to the tenant is beyond belief. To say I am fuming is an understatement. This has really stretched me along with other issues. In a nutshell we need her out ASAP. Can anyone recommend the course of action and likely timescales? I am assuming a section 8 however do I need to inform her first?
Any help is greatly appreciated as we are at our wit's end.
In October 2014 me and my friend decided to invest in a buy to let property. We spend a grand doing up the property - carpets & paint, then stupidly (as money was tight) we had a friend of a friend who stated his female friend with a teenage child was after a property to rent but was in receipt of housing benefit - this didn't put us off 'per se', as we believed at least it would be a guarantee of rent.
We met the tenant, who stated a company called 'Midland Heart' would assess the property and hold the deposit 'in trust'. In November she signed a 6 month AST, all went through ok, the tenant paid the first month upfront in November, since then we have received a total of £300 leaving us about 6 weeks in arrears. She no longer accepts any correspondence through phone and never answers the door.
Today I decided to go the council and discuss the case. The council informed me that they had paid the amount to the tenant (including double in January for some reason) and there was nothing they could do as it was a civil matter between me and the tenant, how this passed Government policy to hand the rent to the tenant is beyond belief. To say I am fuming is an understatement. This has really stretched me along with other issues. In a nutshell we need her out ASAP. Can anyone recommend the course of action and likely timescales? I am assuming a section 8 however do I need to inform her first?
Any help is greatly appreciated as we are at our wit's end.
0
Comments
-
see
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5180214
and specifically
Ending/renewing a fixed term: what happens when a fixed term ends? How can a LL or tenant end a tenancy?
Housing Benefit is a matter between the tenant and the council.
Rent arrears is a matter between the LL and tenant.
Looks like you did not tenant vet properly......
edit: and as pyueck says below, the tenant has conned you regarding the deposit, so eviction will be harder.
Options:
S8 when arrears = 2 months +
S21 after returning the deposit in full.
0 -
You are annoyed with who, yourself?
1) this tenant will almost certainly never pay you another penny and always had this plan in mind, therefore you need to evict them ASAP
2) to evict them you need to protect the deposit. From the sound of it the deposit is not protected in a government approved scheme. If it is on the tenancy you may end up needing to return the deposit amount to the tenant before you can even think about eviction.
3) what were you thinking, did you think being a landlord was some easy get rich scheme and that you could take any shortcut to maximise profits. You have left yourself seriously exposed by not vetting the tenants and probably worse not protecting the deposit for a non paying renter.
4) this problem has nothing to do with the council, stop looking for other people to blame for your problems. The council pays the recipient housing benefit and does not guarantee your rent.
5) once you sort this situation out I suggest you properly research what it takes to be a good and profitable landlord.0 -
pyueck, I've just noticed your signiture. It's misleading.
A S21 issued with the tenancy would be invalid.Before you sign a tenancy agreement, always check there is not a section 21 at the back, as if there is you could be evicted with almost no notice at the end of your tenancy.
Plus of course, most LLs take a deposit and this usually does not get registered till later. A S21 served before deposit is registered would also be invalid.....
0 -
pyueck, I've just noticed your signiture. It's misleading.
A S21 issued with the tenancy would be invalid.
Plus of course, most LLs take a deposit and this usually does not get registered till later. A S21 served before deposit is registered would also be invalid.....
gm I totally agree, sorry from years ago have disabled it
0 -
You need to get legal advice so you make the correct legal choices. You wouldnt want to issue the incorrect legal notice to find out 3 months later it was the wrong processs. It likely to take several months. Take it has a learning experience and also accept your responsibility in this. It's not the councils or government responsibility, you have made the mistakes.0
-
I'm sorry you got into this situation, but you're really a long way up sh11t creek and there's no paddle.
G_M's advice is best/always 100% spot on. Don't skimp on reading anything G_M says or links to.0 -
Why should eviction be harder if the tenant has conned the LL?
If the tenant hasn't paid a deposit to the LL (or their agent) then there are no hoops to jump through apropos deposit protection.0 -
If the tenancy agreement says that they have paid a deposit and this has not been protected then this makes eviction a lot harder0
-
One assumes (perhaps rashly given the landlord!) that the tenancy agreement would mention the deposit.
If a tenant pays a (non-government-approved) 3rd party to hold the deposit, the LL is breaching the relevant Acts.0 -
Only advice I can give is before even considering being a Landlord is reading what you need to do, but you could benefit in case you didn't know something:
https://www.gov.uk/browse/housing-local-services/landlords0
This discussion has been closed.
Confirm your email address to Create Threads and Reply
Categories
- All Categories
- 354.4K Banking & Borrowing
- 254.4K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
- 455.4K Spending & Discounts
- 247.3K Work, Benefits & Business
- 604K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
- 178.4K Life & Family
- 261.5K Travel & Transport
- 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
- 16K Discuss & Feedback
- 37.7K Read-Only Boards