Evicting tenants via court and bailiffs

Out,_Vile_Jelly

Don't take it so personally. Letting is a business; businesses occasionally have to write off bad debts through no fault of their own.

Teamocil

Out,_Vile_Jelly wrote: »

Don't take it so personally. Letting is a business; businesses occasionally have to write off bad debts through no fault of their own.

Precisely. This is one of the risks of becoming a BTL landlord.

pramsay13

Flossied wrote: »

I tried that! Unfortunately the housing benefit office wouldn’t speak to me in detail due to client confidentially , the request had to come from the tenant, which they wouldn’t do as they were pocketing it!

This is incorrect. You can request to have the HB paid directly to the landlord with proof of non-payment for two months.

Computer_Beginner

Flossied wrote: »

Thank you again everybody.

IMHO the tenants are naive idiots, aged approx 21 an it’s theyre first home. They moved in with good intentions to pay but soon discovered in reality they can’t afford bills. Despite a young child and her not working, therefore claiming benefits. He seems to do agency work week on week so the pay is not regular. They found my house via an agency and passed the credit checks and references at the time, I shouldn’t have trusted that at a young age they’d cope.
m

The tenant is probably being "sacked" and rehired by the agency / agencies to avoid the agencies having to take responsibility for him as an employee (sick pay, pension etc). This may well be playing havoc with their LHA claims etc. They may have been better off "splitting up", with the woman claiming as a single parent and the man "living with his parents". Could have provided more stability and maybe the LHA amount would have stayed the same.

This is the problem when you have a tax and benefits system that is not designed for the casual workforce. You were probably lucky they didn't turn up to court and argue their case, or offer to pay small amounts. Were they even advised by Shelter, CAB etc?

It's a shame the situation could not have been negotiated and resolved better. But if the tenants were holding out for a council house, they probably do need to be physically evicted. Unfortunately that is the system. They may get a council / HA home. It depends where in the country you are. Not everywhere has the shortages you hear about.

Computer_Beginner

Flossied wrote: »

Thank you again everybody.

the thought of an empty house for months while we sell is daunting.

So were you not planning to sell the house as vacant possession?
Surely it's much easier to sell as vacant possession than with tenants living there?

DoaM

Computer_Beginner wrote: »

So were you not planning to sell the house as vacant possession?
Surely it's much easier to sell as vacant possession than with tenants living there?

I get the impression that the OP wasn't intending to sell at all ... until this all happened.

Flossied

Yes exactly. I’d happily keep the house with good tenants. We’re so sick of the stress and hassle that now I’d like to sell up. Obviously I’d sell when it’s empty, I’m fully expecting to have to clean, redecorate and do the garden first too. I’m now worried that if they manage to stay a few more weeks or a month then the housing market slows down in the run up to Christmas until spring, potentially the house could be empty all winter with no interest. More misery and expense for me!

Computer_Beginner

Flossied wrote: »

Yes exactly. I’d happily keep the house with good tenants. We’re so sick of the stress and hassle that now I’d like to sell up. Obviously I’d sell when it’s empty, I’m fully expecting to have to clean, redecorate and do the garden first too. I’m now worried that if they manage to stay a few more weeks or a month then the housing market slows down in the run up to Christmas until spring, potentially the house could be empty all winter with no interest. More misery and expense for me!

I would advise you view it in terms of your overall investment strategy.
Why did you become a landlord in the first place?
Do those reasons still stand?
What are your alternative investments?

FBaby

Flossied what I've learned is not to trust rental agents. We were assured of the reliability of tenants one very reputable agent recommended. All we got when it went wrong was 'we had no idear'.

Sadly it means that I now refuse anyone on HB, self-employed, or relying on tax credits with older children. It means potentially good people missing out but as stated above, a business will always look to do reduce risk. Good people who don't meet the above requirements are missing out because of scumbags and because the system protects them.

Computer_Beginner

FBaby wrote: »

Flossied what I've learned is not to trust rental agents. We were assured of the reliability of tenants one very reputable agent recommended. All we got when it went wrong was 'we had no idear'.
m.

I was asked to provide a reference for a prospective tenant by a letting agent once.
They just sent me an email link to a website where I ticked a few boxes.
Nothing at all to confirm that my email address wasn't just one made up by the prospective tenant.
I wonder how much they charged the landlord?