Chinese friend renter

Annimcd

A family friend of ours, who is chinese, was renting a room in a house in manchester. The house was burgled on 2 occasions in quick succession and as repairs were not done she was afraid to stay there. She contacted her landlord who lives abroad to say she was moving out and he promised to return 2months rent
(she had paid 6months upfront and her deposit) she moved out to live with a friend until she could find alternative accommodation. She finds  the landlord is now uncontactable,
( refusing to answer emails/ calls etc) has not returned any money and it now appears the room she was renting was in a council house. 
She is totally distraught, we can not help her as we are in the north of england, 2hrs away from her. Her family are in china and although we have encouraged her to contact the local council to see if they can help find her landlord they are saying they are unable to do anything.
Could you please give me some ideas as to what she can do next!
Thankyou,
Ann

Jude57

How awful for your friend. I have to say, it looks unlikely that she will get her money back if the landlord is abroad and not responding.  However, she still needs practical help.

If there's an established Chinese community in her area there may be a community centre with volunteers who could help her or at least offer support in finding help. Citizen's Advice Bureau are another source of help, but lockdown will be affecting their service which again relies on volunteers. You don't say if your friend is a student but if she is, her college will have a housing officer and a student welfare officer, both of whom could help.

I can see why the local Council can't help but your friend's local Councillor (elected member) might be able to offer some support. You can find their contact details on the Council's website. 

I hope your friend gets the help and support she needs at this difficult time.

missile

The council should be able to recover the house if he was sub-letting.
Your friend could report the Landlord to HMRC. He ought to be declaring the income. They should be able to track him.
Unfortunately, this will not help your friend.

Norman_Castle

As above, contact the council about the sub letting and the awol tenant. 

coachman12

Annimcd said:

She is totally distraught, we can not help her as we are in the north of england, 2hrs away from her. Her family are in china and although we have encouraged her to contact the local council to see if they can help find her landlord they are saying they are unable to do anything.
Could you please give me some ideas as to what she can do next!
Thankyou,
Ann

You're 2 hours away from her and you can't do anything !!!!  Sounds like a real friend. Why not go to see her as lockdown is finishing in a day or two, bring her back with you, give her money, help find new home if she has to stay there for her job. 
This poor girl is distraught and you are 2 hours away----if there was no lockdown , would you give up a couple of your days to help her. Even during lockdown, you could send her emergency cash very easily.
I only hope she has real friends in her present location.

greatcrested

* she was 'renting a room in a house'. Who else lived there? Other tenants? Are they still there? The landlord? Is it his UK home? How long has he been overseas?

* I'm assuming there was no agent involved. She paid rent direct to the LL's bank? Too late now but she should have deducted 20% tax for HMRC as the LL is overseas:

HMRC for overseas landlords (Non Resident Landlord Scheme)

* It seems possible the LL is council tenant who is illegally sub-letting. Or might it be an ex-council house that has been purchased by the LL under RTB? If illegally subletting a council house the council could repossess from the LL, but that won't get her money back. Just make her feel better perhaps!

* Also possible the LL is not declaring the rent to HMRC for tax. Again, reporting him to HMRC might make her feel better but won't get the money back.

https://www.gov.uk/report-an-unregistered-trader-or-business

* ultimately, the only option is to make a small claim against the LL via moneyclaim online. Does she have a contract and does it give an address in Eng for "serving notices on the landlord"? If so, that address should be used for the court claim. If not, use the property address. If the LL fails to respond to the court, she will win by default. But that still might not get her money back! She could then apply for a Charge on the property, so if/when it is sold, then she'd get paid. And meanwhile the LL would have a CCJ against his name. But if he's long-term overseas, or an overseas resident, will he care.......?

Beeboo23

coachman12 said:

Annimcd said:

She is totally distraught, we can not help her as we are in the north of england, 2hrs away from her. Her family are in china and although we have encouraged her to contact the local council to see if they can help find her landlord they are saying they are unable to do anything.
Could you please give me some ideas as to what she can do next!
Thankyou,
Ann

You're 2 hours away from her and you can't do anything !!!!  Sounds like a real friend. Why not go to see her as lockdown is finishing in a day or two, bring her back with you, give her money, help find new home if she has to stay there for her job. 
This poor girl is distraught and you are 2 hours away----if there was no lockdown , would you give up a couple of your days to help her. Even during lockdown, you could send her emergency cash very easily.
I only hope she has real friends in her present location.

Sorry but there are lots of reasons why Ann may not be able to travel. She could be disabled, she could be shielding, she could be isolating with COVID. She might not have the money to send to her friend. Doesn’t mean she’s not a friend.