Best way to evict a tenant when they fully agree with and welcome it because she wants council House

Aubrey_Thicket

Hi all

Before I start I need to make it clear that the following is not a disagreement. Both parties agree fully on what we intend to do and both parties remain friends. We just need to know the best way forward for all concerned.

I own a house which I rent out (through an agent) to my niece (at a discounted rate). My niece has recently split up with her partner and he’s giving her a bit of hassle. This isn’t the main problem but my niece has decided she wants to leave the house because it holds too many memories AND she now can’t afford the rent. She rang us yesterday asking us if we would be prepared to release her from her contract and as we are good friends we had no problem agreeing. She actually told us...
“I don’t want to be in this house anymore and anyway I now can’t afford it”. As we are good friends we have no intention of evicting her but bizarrely it appears (from hearsay) that the only way she can get on the council housing list is if she is evicted. I MUST POINT OUT THAT WHILST I HAVE USED THE WORD ‘EVICTION’ WE WOULD NOT LITERALLY CARRY THIS OUT.
So, she has been informed by a friend that the most suitable way of going about this is if I write to her telling her I intend to sell the house soon. Obviously this then makes her homeless and subsequently she will get a council house (which is what she desires). We remain good friends and would be delighted to assist her in getting a council house.
I would be grateful for your opinions on this proposed arrangement. What are the legalities? What is the process? We don’t intend involving any solicitors or taking any negative actions. She simply wants to leave the house and we are happy to assist. In fact, to be honest we will actually probably sell the house anyway. However, what if we decide to rent to somebody else when she leaves?

Any advice to help us all would be helpful.

G_M

If a tenant leaves voluntarily they are 'intentionally homeless' and the LA will not re-house them.

The tenant must be evicted by bailiffs.


Is she 'a friend' or your niece?


What tenancy is in place? Fixed Term or Periodic? If FT, you cannot evict her anyway till the FT expires.

need_an_answer

My understanding is that whether you like the process or not,you will need to evict her.

I'm also of the opinion that she may not be given a council house straight off unless she meets very specific criteria and could find herself initially in supported B&B type situations before being given something that befits her need rather than her want.

Aubrey_Thicket

So... What if the tenant lives in my house and I decide I want to sell that house? That’s not voluntary!

Thanks.

Ms_Chocaholic

Aubrey_Thicket wrote: »

So... What if the tenant lives in my house and I decide I want to sell that house? That’s not voluntary!

Thanks.

Then you need to apply to Court to evict her.
Does she have a tenancy agreement?
Is her deposit protected?

need_an_answer

It is voluntary,because she can go out and find another rental.
If she wants council assistance then you need to go through the court process of evicting her.

Read up on it...it will apply to your/her situation as you described it in your opening post

Ms_Chocaholic

If she can't afford the rent then why doesn't she apply for Housing Benefit to help her with the rent. Assuming of course that she meets the threshold for HB.

need_an_answer

Ms_Chocaholic wrote: »

If she can't afford the rent then why doesn't she apply for Housing Benefit to help her with the rent. Assuming of course that she meets the threshold for HB.

she may not be eligible for HB as she rents from a family member

sammyjammy

Its not clear from the OP whether your niece/friend has a child or not, if there is nobody but herself then the council is unlikely to assist her other than pointing her in the direction of a letting agency evicted or not.

anselld

You should probably just answer the question as asked, ie you are prepared to release her early if/when she finds alternative accommodation.

Finding somewhere else is her problem. Some Councils wait until Court order and Bailiffs turn up before offering something. You are not going to get that far anyway because
(a) you dont want to
(b) it will cost money which may or may not get recovered from the T
(c) you dont have any grounds for eviction.

Selling the property is not grounds for eviction and would be of no interest to the Council (the tenancy would continue under a new Landlord). You cannot use s21 as you are within the fixed term. You cannot use s8 as there are currently no arrears. So the Council are going to see fairly easily that there is no risk of the T becoming homeless.

Was this a home you previously lived in?

Aubrey_Thicket

Some great advice here.

She has no dependants but I am aware that she receives housing benefit and is on long term sickness benefit (I am not sure what these actually are).