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Money claim

My tenant owes me £38k in unpaid rent. He has now left my property. 
He has no money to pay me. 
Can I do a money claim even though he has no assets? 
Please help! 

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Comments

  • dimbo61
    dimbo61 Posts: 13,727 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    How much was the rent ?
    How many months did he not pay any rent.
    Did he move out or you had to use the courts/bailiffs and S21/S8 to get him out ?
    When you did reference and credit checks what did they say ?
    Did you do right to rent checks ? So you have his passport details ?
    Did you get a guarantor ?
    How long did he live at the property ?
    What happened to the tenant and his income ?
  • davidmcn
    davidmcn Posts: 23,596 Forumite
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    Can I do a money claim even though he has no assets?
    Yes. But what would be the point?
  • Of course you can.
    You say he has no assets, but does he have a job? You could get an attachment of earnings. It will take a long time to get repaid monthly though....
    And for that amount, it's not Small Claims Track, so court costs will be higher.
    On the plus side, he'll have a CCJ registered against him......
  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User] Posts: 7,323 Forumite
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    edited 4 September 2020 at 10:28PM
    I can't understand how arrears can rack up so high? If it was because of CV19, its only been a few months so must be a very high rent?  Do they have any assets if not cash money?  If not, its just not worth taking them to court.
  • hazyjo
    hazyjo Posts: 15,475 Forumite
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    Do you have a current address for him? Pretty sure you'll need one.

    It's likely to cost you nearly a couple of grand to make the claim. Not worth it as they won't be able to pay you what they owe. Why did you let it get so high? Or is the rent thousands each month?
    2024 wins: *must start comping again!*
  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User] Posts: 3,297 Forumite
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    edited 5 September 2020 at 2:02AM
    My tenant owes me £38k in unpaid rent. He has now left my property. 
    He has no money to pay me. 
    Can I do a money claim even though he has no assets? 
    Please help! 

    You can although it seems a bit pointless if he has no assets.  The court fees for a claim that size would be £1,710 (4.5% of the claim if made online).  Do you know where the tenant is living now so that you have a current address on which to serve the money claim?  You could use the rental property address but if he's not there he's not going to receive the claim which means he won't respond and you will automatically win.  Winning is the easy part it's the enforcement of the debt that is difficult.

    I'm not sure what I would do.  £38k is a lot of money to walk away from so maybe I would take a punt and if in the next 6 years the former tenant tries to buy himself a house there I would be.  >:)
  • I can't understand how arrears can rack up so high? If it was because of CV19, its only been a few months so must be a very high rent?  Do they have any assets if not cash money?  If not, its just not worth taking them to court.
    I can't understand it either even allowing for CV19.
  • AdrianC
    AdrianC Posts: 42,189 Forumite
    Eighth Anniversary 10,000 Posts Name Dropper
    Court claim -> Judgement -> https://www.gov.uk/apply-to-bankrupt-someone
  • GDB2222
    GDB2222 Posts: 26,498 Forumite
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    Why would you want to bankrupt the individual? 
    No reliance should be placed on the above! Absolutely none, do you hear?
  • AdrianC
    AdrianC Posts: 42,189 Forumite
    Eighth Anniversary 10,000 Posts Name Dropper
    GDB2222 said:
    Why would you want to bankrupt the individual? 
    Because - even if the mere thought doesn't scare them into paying - the trustee in bankruptcy has substantial powers to unearth any assets they may have.

    Nobody gets into £38k of rent arrears without a serious dose of michael-extraction going on.
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