Landlord Said They Are Starting Court Proceedings Over Rent Arrears

BK700

I owe £780 to my estate agent on my rental house.


The estate agent has sent me a letter saying they intend to start court proceedings to claim the money and the house back. They said proceedings will start in 2 weeks and the only way to stop this is by making payment in full of the above owed rent.


My housing benefit claim is due tomorrow but that is only for £260.


What rights do i have regarding this? im going to call them up today but just wanted to be informed of my current situation and options before i call them.

Bogalot

You have the right to bring your account up to date.

If you're getting housing benefit are you not paying it straight to the landlord when it's received? You can also ask the council to pay it direct to the LL since you are in arrears.

Tyler119

The landlord has to start two separate proceedings.

To evict you from the premises, they can kindly ask you and you can leave out of choice. If you do not leave they will likely apply for a Section 21 notice. If this is granted they will have the right to have the property back. However you will be given at least 2 months to leave the property, hopefully this will give you enough time to secure alternative accommodation.

The landlord will either apply to an accelerated possession procedure or a standard possession procedure. Most landlords go for accelerated as it is quicker and means they can get another tenant in quicker. If he chooses to go down this route, you do not have to pay back any money owed, just leave the property.

He can then use the small claims court to recover the rest of the money. He will need a forwarding address for him to do this, up to you if you provide it or not.

Are you able to contact the landlord directly to explain whatever financial trouble you are having? At times an agency can be rather aggressive, especially as their income is based upon a percentage of the rent being collected...if you are behind in the rent, they are not making money.

You should check that they are following the proper legal route, as if they do not, you can defend this process. I would strongly advice getting advice from CAB or other similar organisations.

£780 is not the most rent arrears I have come across. However it could be that the landlord has a BTL mortgage to pay etc. Was this amount owed a blip? I mean to say, if it was put to one side, are you able to cover the rent in full each month?

molerat

They could be going straight for a S8 G8 which will give 2 weeks notice (if applicable of course) but if they are not and have not yet issued a S21 they are a long way off getting possession.

Tyler119

molerat wrote: »

They could be going straight for a S8 G8 which will give 2 weeks notice (if applicable of course) but if they are not and have not yet issued a S21 they are a long way off getting possession.

True, but the OP would need to be at least 2 months in rent arrears, perhaps they could let us know how many calendar months rent is due.

foxtrotoscar_2

Tyler119 wrote: »

True, but the OP would need to be at least 2 months in rent arrears, perhaps they could let us know how many calendar months rent is due.

Three at a guess perhaps as 3 x £260 = £780. Which is the amount of arrears.

Tyler119

foxtrotoscar wrote: »

Three at a guess perhaps as 3 x £260 = £780. Which is the amount of arrears.

Who manages to rent at £260 pcm??

BK700

Tyler119 wrote: »

Who manages to rent at £260 pcm??

foxtrotoscar is actually correct i owe 3 months rent each of £260 adding to the total of £780.

When i moved into the property i paid my shortfall in advance for 6 months so i only had to pay each month £260.

I mean i should be able to get together £500 or so before the date they are asking but are they likely to accept this?

Im obviously now claiming housing so wont fall behind on any future payments.

molerat

You need to bring your debt down to below 2 months rent to avoid a S8 G8 succeeding. If they are using this tactic then the judge has no option but to approve the order with 2 payments due. Has a S21 been issued ? Have they stated on what grounds they will go to court ?

BK700

molerat wrote: »

You need to bring your debt down to below 2 months rent to avoid a S8 G8 succeeding. If they are using this tactic then the judge has no option but to approve the order with 2 payments due. Has a S21 been issued ? Have they stated on what grounds they will go to court ?

They sent me a letter stating that court proceedings can only start 2 weeks from this letter date and that they would be asking for possession and rent arrears sought under grounds of schedule 2 of the housing act 1988.

arcon5

Adding to a previous reply, if they evict then pursue you for arears in county court they only have to issue proceedings at last known address... so if you don't provide a forwarding address he'll just use the address of the house rented.

Ime communication can prevent these issues. Open up a dialogue and you may get a favourable resolution.