Releasing Deposit Early?

Guest101

Tiglet wrote: »

The police won't pay for it, they were just doing their job. - That's not the test for this. It's not coming out of their wages.
I don't want to pay for it cos it wasn't my fault (though no doubt I'll have to pay for it up front in any case) - You have to fix it. regardless if you, your wife, your neighbour or whoever pays for it. you, as the LL, must repair/replace.
Mrs. Tenant can't afford it - So ask her to pay in instalments?
Mr. Tenant has gone, - where?

so the only option seems to be to take the money from the deposit afterwards.

No you can ask for payments on a monthly basis. Or services in lieu of payment.

Tiglet

Has the forum changed? I always used to thank everyone for their replies, now it seems I can only thank the first couple and then the thanks button disappears.

Thanks everyone :beer:

(Actually it seems the button has now appeared - thanks are in the post!)

Guest101

FBaby wrote: »

Where is this stated? All I can read is that if the damage is caused by the tenant or one of their visitor (that would be the police in this case!), accidental or deliberate, it is the responsibility of the tenant to fix.

The LL must keep in a good state of repair ..... external doors... (amongst other things)


- I highly doubt anyone would agree that the police in this case were the tenants visitors. - you're being silly.


What you mean is, by negligence (not opening the door) the tenant allowed damage to happen.

Tiglet

Pixie5740 wrote: »

You should issue a Section 21 whilst you're at it...today even. Especially as you think there's a high chance of arrears.

Too early. They're less than 3 months into a 12 month tenancy. I'm expecting a bumpy ride...

Guest101 wrote: »

No you can ask for payments on a monthly basis. Or services in lieu of payment.

They were in arrears before this happened. It's just getting out of hand now, and want to keep things as simple as possible.

theartfullodger

Tiglet wrote: »

Too early. They're less than 3 months into a 12 month tenancy. I'm expecting a bumpy ride...
...

So you'll need to have served (as opposed to just have) EPC, GSC & "How to Rent" booklet before you can eventually serve a valid s21. Was deposit protected & PI served within 30 days of payment??

Who wanted the 12 months (please not the agent...)

...They were in arrears before this happened. It's just getting out of hand now, and want to keep things as simple as possible.

Fine, so serve an s8 today; You can serve s8 if only 1p is/was underpaid for only 1p day: They might at least take the hint on paying rent in-full & ontime (but don't take them to court for it, unless desperate).

Person_one

Tiglet wrote: »

The police won't pay for it, they were just doing their job.
I don't want to pay for it cos it wasn't my fault (though no doubt I'll have to pay for it up front in any case)
Mrs. Tenant can't afford it
Mr. Tenant has gone,

so the only option seems to be to take the money from the deposit afterwards.

I'm assuming its not Mrs Tenant's fault either, as she's not been arrested. While its not your fault though, it is your responsibility.

If she's going to struggle with the rent will she be open to leaving early perhaps? If she gets into arrears you don't need to wait until the end of the fixed term to evict.

lewishardwick

Get door fixed. When tenant vacates deduct cost of door a(and anything else) from deposit. If the deposit doesn't cover these costs, then goto court, if it's worth it.

fairy_lights

Tiglet wrote: »

Too early. They're less than 3 months into a 12 month tenancy. I'm expecting a bumpy ride...

If the wife is struggling to pay the rent on her own then you could kindly offer to release her from the tenancy early. That way it sounds like you're doing her a favour rather than trying to get rid of troublesome tenants...

Tiglet

theartfullodger wrote: »

So you'll need to have served (as opposed to just have) EPC, GSC & "How to Rent" booklet before you can eventually serve a valid s21. Was deposit protected & PI served within 30 days of payment??

Who wanted the 12 months (please not the agent...)

Fine, so serve an s8 today; You can serve s8 if only 1p is/was underpaid for only 1p day: They might at least take the hint on paying rent in-full & ontime (but don't take them to court for it, unless desperate).

EPC, deposit protection etc. were all taken care of. I generally prefer 12 months (never had a bad tenant with this agent until now).

Regarding s8, am I restricted to the grounds I specify in the notice? e.g. if I list some rent arrears plus damage, does that stop me from adding more grounds later if the arrears reaches two months? I thought that for ground 8, there had to be 2 months' rent outstanding at the time of service of the notice.

Summary in reply to some of the other points: I did suggest to her that we could just "tear up the agreement" and she could walk away and find somewhere she can afford. The problem is that he is also listed as a tenant and that would take his agreement. I suspect that he won't be interested (he might even be in jail, I don't know), so I'm anticipating a court case will be needed to end it before the time is up.

At the moment, I'm assuming the least worst option is to let her carry on until the end of the tenancy. I don't want to go to court unless it becomes obvious that she can't pay the rent (or he returns and there's trouble)

Pixie5740

Section 8 Ground 8 is a mandatory ground for eviction:

Used when the rent is still in arrears on the date that the Section 8 notice is served and on the date of the hearing. Where rent is due weekly or fortnightly, at least eight weeks' rent must be in arrears. Where rent is due monthly, at least two months’ rent must be in arrears. Where rent is due quarterly, at least a quarter's rent must be in arrears by more than three months. Where rent is due yearly, at least three months' rent must be in arrears by more than three months.

However, you can use a discretionary ground such as 10:

Used when any amount of rent is due on the date that the Section 8 notice is served and is still due on the date that proceedings begin.

or 11:

Used when the tenant has failed on a regular basis to pay the rent. Rent does not have to be in arrears on the date that the Section 8 notice is served.

possibly even 13 because of the door:

Used when the property has been neglected by the tenant, sub-tenant or someone living in the property with the tenant who the tenant has not removed and as a result the condition of the property has deteriorated.