Tenant in India

Chillibean65

Can anyone help...
I have a tenant who went to India in Feb 2020 to visit family, with the intention of returning after 2 months. I had said that I would keep the room available for him as long as he returned after 2 months. I had agreed to charge him half rent for that period, the rent would be payable on his return.
He rents a room in a shared property with a rolling 6 month tenancy agreement. No rent has been paid for the room since his departure. I have messaged and he has said that he'll be returning, but doesn't know when. I have messaged and asked him to transfer some rent into my bank account - no reply. What are my options? Can I evict because I still have to pay utility, mortgage, council tax etc? I need that room to be occupied, otherwise financially it's not worth having the property. He may not return for a substantial amount of time - he won't answer my messages.
Thanks in anticipation for your help.

hb2

You might want to repost this over on the 'House buying, selling and renting' forum as you will probably get more replies therehttps://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/categories/house-buying-renting-selling 

Jeremy535897

Chillibean65 said:

Can anyone help...
I have a tenant who went to India in Feb 2020 to visit family, with the intention of returning after 2 months. I had said that I would keep the room available for him as long as he returned after 2 months. I had agreed to charge him half rent for that period, the rent would be payable on his return.
He rents a room in a shared property with a rolling 6 month tenancy agreement. No rent has been paid for the room since his departure. I have messaged and he has said that he'll be returning, but doesn't know when. I have messaged and asked him to transfer some rent into my bank account - no reply. What are my options? Can I evict because I still have to pay utility, mortgage, council tax etc? I need that room to be occupied, otherwise financially it's not worth having the property. He may not return for a substantial amount of time - he won't answer my messages.
Thanks in anticipation for your help.

When you say he has a room, is he a lodger in your house? If he is a lodger, and lives in the same house or flat as you do, he does not have the same rights as a tenant. If you have a written agreement, then you should only give you notice as stated in the agreement. If you do not have an agreement, then you only have to give reasonable notice (usually 2-4 weeks).

diggingdude

its not clear if he is living with you (lodger) or in a HMO (tenant). whole world of difference

Chillibean65

Hi
He does not live with me, he lives in another house I own , HMO. He has an AST which was originally for 6 months and rolls on from month to month. He has lived at the house for more than 6 months.
Thanks

Jeremy535897

You cannot get an eviction until after 23 August. See https://www.gov.uk/government/news/ban-on-evictions-extended-by-2-months-to-further-protect-renters

silvercar

Best would be to try and get his agreement to give up the room. Given he hasn’t paid rent it would be more likely he will communicate if you offer him a deal eg to release him from the rent arrears in return for him giving up the tenancy. Otherwise you risk him keeping the tenancy going without paying you rent.