Tenant/Guarantor not paying rent

Lour_2

Hi
My husband and I have a flat we rent out (in Scotland), we tried to sell it 5 years ago but couldn’t, so decided to rent it out.

To summarise the current tenant has been in the property since August 2016, she stopped paying rent 3 months ago and has not responded to any letters from the letting agents. She has a guarantor (family member) and the letting agents have also been pursuing him and did manage to speak to him once. He confirmed that he was aware of his obligations and they asked him to ensure the tenant cleared the outstanding arrears. This unfortunately didn’t happen.

The tenant has been given notice to quit and is due to leave the property in a matter of weeks. Given that she refuses any contact with the letting agent I am worried she’s not going to leave. I am also panicking about the condition of the property and the financial implications this is having on my family. We can’t afford to pay the mortgage on our rental property and our own home for much longer.

Does anyone have any advice for me or would care to share their experiences of evicting a tenant and/or pursuing a guarantor for rental arrears.

Much thanks

Comms69

Lour wrote: »

Hi
My husband and I have a flat we rent out (in Scotland), we tried to sell it 5 years ago but couldn’t, so decided to rent it out.

To summarise the current tenant has been in the property since August 2016, she stopped paying rent 3 months ago and has not responded to any letters from the letting agents. She has a guarantor (family member) and the letting agents have also been pursuing him and did manage to speak to him once. He confirmed that he was aware of his obligations and they asked him to ensure the tenant cleared the outstanding arrears. This unfortunately didn’t happen.

The tenant has been given notice to quit and is due to leave the property in a matter of weeks. - are you sure? That's quick for a court date and possession order (Scottish equivalent) and bailiffs (again Scottish equivalent). Given that she refuses any contact with the letting agent I am worried she’s not going to leave. - Oh, so you've just notified her that you intend to seek possession? I am also panicking about the condition of the property and the financial implications this is having on my family. We can’t afford to pay the mortgage on our rental property and our own home for much longer. - That's unfortunate, but ultimately you chose to become a landlord and this is one of the common risks.

Does anyone have any advice for me or would care to share their experiences of evicting a tenant and/or pursuing a guarantor for rental arrears.

Much thanks

It all depends, as Scottish law is slightly different, so Pixie will hopefully come along to advise.


Out of curiosity where does the guarantor live?

Lour_2

Comm69, yes we intend to seek possession. Apologies for being unclear. I am hoping we don’t end up court.

Yes I know and we will just need to deal with it but it infuriates me that people think it is acceptable to do this.

Guarantor lives in Scotland too.

Comms69

Lour wrote: »

Comm69, yes we intend to seek possession. Apologies for being unclear. I am hoping we don’t end up court.

Yes I know and we will just need to deal with it but it infuriates me that people think it is acceptable to do this.

Guarantor lives in Scotland too.

I'll preface and say the below applies to English tenancies, and whilst similar, some Scottish laws are different.


To be honest it's better for you if it does go to court. If the tenant leaves, the property isn't strictly yours to take back - you don't want an illegal eviction claim against you.


It's not acceptable, BUT the circumstances aren't clear. The tenants could be unemployed, ill or whatever.

rentmekid

being ill, unemployed, etc, is no reason not to pay your rent. If only mortgage companies would accept these reasons..


Non paying tenants are scum

Lour_2

Coom69 Yes I that's a fair point, I want her out but proper way.

Rentmekid/Comms69 - I do know a bit about her circumstances, she did work, doesn't any more and is now in receipt of housing benefit, which she clearly is not using to pay her rent. Apparently the housing benefit was supposed to start getting paid to the letting agent this month but that has not happened yet, this will ease the pressure for us when it does. I have been sympathetic to her late rent payments and various issues in the past but obviously but I have completely lost any sort of patience I had now!

Comms69

rentmekid wrote: »

being ill, unemployed, etc, is no reason not to pay your rent. If only mortgage companies would accept these reasons..


Non paying tenants are scum

Well no, but they are excellent reasons for not having the ABILITY to pay rent....

rentmekid

does ability or lack of ability make it acceptable?

Comms69

rentmekid wrote: »

does ability or lack of ability make it acceptable?

No? I didn't claim otherwise, but the old adage still applies.

Hoogle

Your letting agent should be able to write to local authority with a notice of intention explaining that you are not receiving any payment or part payments of rent. The local authority should then pay it directly to letting agent, if it is short of rent they can also apply for discretionary housing payment which increases the amount paid.

However whilst doing this your letting agent should have served a section 21 notice to them (or Scottish equivalent) Only then once that notice has expired can you take it to the next stage and go for a court eviction. Once that notice period has expired if they are still there then it can be elevated to bailiffs. It can be quite a fast process or could be a long drawn out 1 for example my parents had to evict some tenants in a large house who were waiting on a house to be built for them however my parents let them stay longer as it was not much hassle for them and they were still paying rent. But my parents eventually had to move back into that house (they were only suppose to have rented it for a year) whilst building work was due to commence on their other property all as planned. However the tenant stopped paying rent due so had to go down the eviction route which took 11 months in total. So bare that in mind if your hesitant of going down the legal route as it may take a lot longer than a month or 2 and with christmas coming I should imagine will take longer than usual. Or you may get lucky and get cases seen fast and swiftly. But also remember eviction does not get you back dated rent you have to apply for that separately and issue a CCJ if need be. All of which is going to cost you money so it is a double whammy for landlords loss of rent whilst paying mortgage still, Paying to get courts to evict them, and unlikely to ever see money owed. So you will have to chase the guarantor as well.

Maybe if it is essential that you need rental income then find a letting agent that guarantees rent even if property is empty.

Comms69

Hoogle wrote: »

Your letting agent should be able to write to local authority with a notice of intention explaining that you are not receiving any payment or part payments of rent. The local authority should then pay it directly to letting agent, if it is short of rent they can also apply for discretionary housing payment which increases the amount paid.

However whilst doing this your letting agent should have served a section 21 notice to them (or Scottish equivalent) Only then once that notice has expired can you take it to the next stage and go for a court eviction. Once that notice period has expired if they are still there then it can be elevated to bailiffs. It can be quite a fast process or could be a long drawn out 1 for example my parents had to evict some tenants in a large house who were waiting on a house to be built for them however my parents let them stay longer as it was not much hassle for them and they were still paying rent. But my parents eventually had to move back into that house (they were only suppose to have rented it for a year) whilst building work was due to commence on their other property all as planned. However the tenant stopped paying rent due so had to go down the eviction route which took 11 months in total. So bare that in mind if your hesitant of going down the legal route as it may take a lot longer than a month or 2 and with christmas coming I should imagine will take longer than usual. Or you may get lucky and get cases seen fast and swiftly. But also remember eviction does not get you back dated rent you have to apply for that separately and issue a CCJ if need be. All of which is going to cost you money so it is a double whammy for landlords loss of rent whilst paying mortgage still, Paying to get courts to evict them, and unlikely to ever see money owed. So you will have to chase the guarantor as well.

Maybe if it is essential that you need rental income then find a letting agent that guarantees rent even if property is empty.

Unless im mistaken Scotland doesn't have a s.21 equivalent?


Anyway pretty good advice here.