Tenant uncontactable

toni2014

RedFraggle said:

Was the bag on the table a Tesco bag for life?
If you know, you know

No bag was found 

AskAsk

"hello, I'm xxx, I live at house number xx, friend, I'm sorry I can't come, and my father is still sick for a few days, but if you can, go to the house, check the blue bin, there's a copy of the book under the bin, I've covered it with a letter I took the bag and opened the door and took the rent on the table thank you."

That translates to be, that he has put the key in an envelope and put it under the bin and he has left the rent money in a bag on the table in the house for you.

I am pretty good at translating garbled messages by way, don't me why, ha ha.

So if you have found the key then you are missing the rent money as his message states that he has left the rent on the table in a bag for you.

Either he is lying and making the story up so that he can say you actually took the money (or to buy more time to pay the rent), or that someone has already been in the house and spotted the money in the bag and took it.

theartfullodger

The tenancy agreement has the ongoing demand for rent.  No other demand is needed.

toni2014

AskAsk said:

"hello, I'm xxx, I live at house number xx, friend, I'm sorry I can't come, and my father is still sick for a few days, but if you can, go to the house, check the blue bin, there's a copy of the book under the bin, I've covered it with a letter I took the bag and opened the door and took the rent on the table thank you."

That translates to be, that he has put the key in an envelope and put it under the bin and he has left the rent money in a bag on the table in the house for you.

I am pretty good at translating garbled messages by way, don't me why, ha ha.

So if you have found the key then you are missing the rent money as his message states that he has left the rent on the table in a bag for you.

Either he is lying and making the story up so that he can say you actually took the money (or to buy more time to pay the rent), or that someone has already been in the house and spotted the money in the bag and took it.

Thats how I read it too, although the key was underneath a scrap piece of cardboard underneath the bin. Looked on top of the table and underneath no bag was found with the rent money.

Just remembered there is a dining table in the other room, so worth checking if he has placed the money on the chairs or something....

Herzlos

He's probably switched to a Lithuanian sim card whilst over there, which is pretty reasonable when returning home for a while.

I also doubt he'd have bothered sending a message or leaving a key if he was just planning to abscond. He's left the key and rent money as a temporary measure.

So I guess the question is really just how long you should wait without contact before storing his stuff for a while and re-letting the house.

Are there any maintenance jobs needing done. I'm thinking simple stuff like making sure there's no food that will go moldy, that nothing is using power/water that isn't needed, garden tidied up, etc.

I'm sure you could even get away with any redecorating/modernization work that it'd need to re-let. He's not going to be upset to come home to new carpets. 

HHarry

[Deleted User] said:

The key was left insecure and the new key is readily available so its a non-issue. A landlord taking this step to secure his property in all the circumstances is reasonable in my opinion and I would be happy to argue it in court.

I say this as a cautious person. In not dissimilar circumstances I undertook the full court process to officially evict a tenant. And it was much more obviously an abandonment than this.

 Have to disagree.  The new key isn’t readily available if the Tenant flies home at 3am and wants to get home to bed.

 Also I don’t think you get to dictate whether or not they can leave a key out.  In more normal circumstances they might have a friend popping round to help themselves to something.  If they get burgaled after leaving a key out that is their problem.  If the property gets trashed because they left a key out that’s their problem and would get identified at check out.

I completely understand why you want to do it - I just don’t think you have authority to do it.

toni2014

Herzlos said:

He's probably switched to a Lithuanian sim card whilst over there, which is pretty reasonable when returning home for a while.

I also doubt he'd have bothered sending a message or leaving a key if he was just planning to abscond. He's left the key and rent money as a temporary measure.

So I guess the question is really just how long you should wait without contact before storing his stuff for a while and re-letting the house.

Are there any maintenance jobs needing done. I'm thinking simple stuff like making sure there's no food that will go moldy, that nothing is using power/water that isn't needed, garden tidied up, etc.

I'm sure you could even get away with any redecorating/modernization work that it'd need to re-let. He's not going to be upset to come home to new carpets. 

The problem is no rent was found on the table etc 

Unfortunately he's not maintained the house, carpets are filthy, very dusty and limescale/mold in the bathroom. I couldn't see a vacuum cleaner!

Herzlos

Is there anywhere else he may have confused with table, like a counter top, desk, etc?

It might be a good opportunity to ventilate the place properly and deal with the mold issue in the bathroom. It'll save the problems getting worse and save you time/money later. 

pinkshoes

toni2014 said:

Unfortunately he's not maintained the house, carpets are filthy, very dusty and limescale/mold in the bathroom. I couldn't see a vacuum cleaner!

And? It's his home and if he chooses to live like that then so be it. He is, however expected to hand back the property at the end of the tenancy in the same condition as the signed inventory.

As a LL you can't do anything until 2 months rent are due so you need to wait.

At the moment there is no sign of surrendered tenancy but he did give permission to collect the rent so I'd go back and look for it again. 

theartfullodger

pinkshoes said:

toni2014 said:

Unfortunately he's not maintained the house, carpets are filthy, very dusty and limescale/mold in the bathroom. I couldn't see a vacuum cleaner!

And? It's.....

As a LL you can't do anything until 2 months rent are due so you need to wait.

.

No. S8g10 can be validly served if only 1p is underpaid for only 1 day.  Yes discretionary ground, unlikely to lead to eviction but probably cheapest way to send a formal message/hint to a tenant. 

Please don't believe me, look up Thatcher's (not a fan) 1988 Housing Act.

Best regards to all.