Separation - need to leave a joint tenancy!

doodling

Hi,

ThisIsWeird said:

saajan_12 said:

Way too much reliance on human behaviour; that requires ALL of the below to happen for it to have any benefit for OP. I wouldn't bet a month's rent payment on all that working out: 
(a) LL agreeing and sympathising with OP at all (given break ups have two sides, and its not their battle)
(b) LL taking actions to their own detriment to help the OP 
(c) Ex taking the LL's (legally meaningless/illogical) comments to heart and believing the LL will decline to sue one of the tenants 
(d) LL being willing to terminate on terms that are acceptable to the Ex 

Yes but no but yes but.

This is no skin off t'LL's nose. The LL can chase either or both parties at will, any time they want, or need to. No detriment.

But, if the LL is informed of the situation from the off - ie, don't bother trying to negotiate a rent holiday/staged payments, now't like that, 'cos the truth is, I cannot pay as I'm, looking after the kids, and neither can my ex 'cos he doesn't have enough income. So, I suggest that the moment one of us defaults, get your paperwork sorted asap. That way, you'll be shot of us both asap and you can get a new tenant in quickly, and I will be in a better position to pay you quickly what I'll owe you. If instead this drags on, rent arrears accruing, then it's going to be courts and all that tedious malarkey, and I'll probably be expected to pay you back at £10 a week.

It doesn't matter whether the LL truly sympathises or not, the LL will have a darned good idea on the best way to move forward on this, if fully informed, and with one tenant on board.

I'd like to think that if I were the LL here, I'd have a chat with the ex, and first ask, "How can you pay the full rent on your own?" And, based on his answer, "Let's get this straight - you have split up, your ex has left with the kids, and you still expect her to keep you ensconced here?!"

Based on this, I would indicate quite firmly that I will instigate S8 on the first default, and chase the person I am speaking to in the first instance.

What would you do?

As a landlord I would play it with a completely straight bat.  Which would be:

1. If I don't get the agreed rent at the agreed time then I will go to court once the arrears are such that they are a mandatory grounds for eviction.

2. I will pursue the tenants for repayment of any unpaid rent.

I would be happy to tell either tenant that.

I certainly wouldn't say what you have put in quotes to someone who was looking after an asset of mine worth 10s or 100s of thousands of pounds, especially as there is no benefit to me in saying it.

Running a business is all about avoiding drama, not being part of it.

ThisIsWeird

Saajan, and Doodling...

Yup, you are probably right.

FlorayG

As a landlord, much as I might sympathise with the OP and her situation, I also would just follow the legal route and chase both parties.
I feel very sorry for the cats that are going to end up in a rescue charity. It's none of it their fault, either

Hills456

I’ve seen in the tenancy agreement that they can start eviction after just 14 days unpaid rent.
Also I might ask the LL to get my share of the rent (which is just 1/3) for a few months if needed from the significant deposit which was paid at the start. The trouble is I think ex paid for this deposit but there is no proof he did unless he searched his bank statements but would this matter if it’s a joint tenancy. 

Hills456

FlorayG said:

As a landlord, much as I might sympathise with the OP and her situation, I also would just follow the legal route and chase both parties.
I feel very sorry for the cats that are going to end up in a rescue charity. It's none of it their fault, either

Ex loves the cats so will take them with him- loved the cats more than me!!!

DE_612183

Hills456 said:

I’ve seen in the tenancy agreement that they can start eviction after just 14 days unpaid rent.
Also I might ask the LL to get my share of the rent (which is just 1/3) for a few months if needed from the significant deposit which was paid at the start. The trouble is I think ex paid for this deposit but there is no proof he did unless he searched his bank statements but would this matter if it’s a joint tenancy. 

There is no "share" of the rent - there is just the rent - if you paid 3 months of your share ( one thirds ) it would just be taken a ONE full months - don't do this.

The landlord will not chase your ex for two thirds of the rent - he will want 100% regardless of who pays what.

If the property goes into arrears - once the eviction has taken place and the LL calculates the final balance ( including unpaid rent and possibly damage ) then the deposit will be taken against that ( regardless of who paid what ) - then whatevers is still owed he will chase you both for.

There is no "mine share" / "ex's share" - your both in this together regardless of your domestic circumstance.

You need to start thinking this way.

Sorry for being abrupt.

Hills456

DE_612183 said:

Hills456 said:

I’ve seen in the tenancy agreement that they can start eviction after just 14 days unpaid rent.
Also I might ask the LL to get my share of the rent (which is just 1/3) for a few months if needed from the significant deposit which was paid at the start. The trouble is I think ex paid for this deposit but there is no proof he did unless he searched his bank statements but would this matter if it’s a joint tenancy. 

There is no "share" of the rent - there is just the rent - if you paid 3 months of your share ( one thirds ) it would just be taken a ONE full months - don't do this.

The landlord will not chase your ex for two thirds of the rent - he will want 100% regardless of who pays what.

If the property goes into arrears - once the eviction has taken place and the LL calculates the final balance ( including unpaid rent and possibly damage ) then the deposit will be taken against that ( regardless of who paid what ) - then whatevers is still owed he will chase you both for.

There is no "mine share" / "ex's share" - your both in this together regardless of your domestic circumstance.

You need to start thinking this way.

Sorry for being abrupt.

Yes that is true but I just wonder if ex continues paying 2/3 of his rent by DD and I default on payments to kickstart the eviction process, the remaining rent could come out of the deposit?

DE_612183

Hills456 said:

DE_612183 said:

Hills456 said:

I’ve seen in the tenancy agreement that they can start eviction after just 14 days unpaid rent.
Also I might ask the LL to get my share of the rent (which is just 1/3) for a few months if needed from the significant deposit which was paid at the start. The trouble is I think ex paid for this deposit but there is no proof he did unless he searched his bank statements but would this matter if it’s a joint tenancy. 

There is no "share" of the rent - there is just the rent - if you paid 3 months of your share ( one thirds ) it would just be taken a ONE full months - don't do this.

The landlord will not chase your ex for two thirds of the rent - he will want 100% regardless of who pays what.

If the property goes into arrears - once the eviction has taken place and the LL calculates the final balance ( including unpaid rent and possibly damage ) then the deposit will be taken against that ( regardless of who paid what ) - then whatevers is still owed he will chase you both for.

There is no "mine share" / "ex's share" - your both in this together regardless of your domestic circumstance.

You need to start thinking this way.

Sorry for being abrupt.

Yes that is true but I just wonder if ex continues paying 2/3 of his rent by DD and I default on payments to kickstart the eviction process, the remaining rent could come out of the deposit?

If there is any unpaid rent at the end of the tenancy ( regardless of who paid what ) it will come out of the deposit.

Say for instance, the Deposit was £1000 and your ex paid that in full.
He pays his 2/3 of the rent for the next 6 months, and at the end there is £600 outstanding that represents the accumulation of your unpaid share.

The £600 gets deducted from the £1000.

There is no mine / his share - it's joint.

Joint Deposit
Joint Monthly Rent
Joint Arrears
Joint Balance

doodling

Hi,

Hills456 said:

DE_612183 said:

Hills456 said:

I’ve seen in the tenancy agreement that they can start eviction after just 14 days unpaid rent.
Also I might ask the LL to get my share of the rent (which is just 1/3) for a few months if needed from the significant deposit which was paid at the start. The trouble is I think ex paid for this deposit but there is no proof he did unless he searched his bank statements but would this matter if it’s a joint tenancy. 

There is no "share" of the rent - there is just the rent - if you paid 3 months of your share ( one thirds ) it would just be taken a ONE full months - don't do this.

The landlord will not chase your ex for two thirds of the rent - he will want 100% regardless of who pays what.

If the property goes into arrears - once the eviction has taken place and the LL calculates the final balance ( including unpaid rent and possibly damage ) then the deposit will be taken against that ( regardless of who paid what ) - then whatevers is still owed he will chase you both for.

There is no "mine share" / "ex's share" - your both in this together regardless of your domestic circumstance.

You need to start thinking this way.

Sorry for being abrupt.

Yes that is true but I just wonder if ex continues paying 2/3 of his rent by DD and I default on payments to kickstart the eviction process, the remaining rent could come out of the deposit?

The landlord will wait until the rent is two months in arrears before taking action as that is the point at which he is pretty much guaranteed to win in court.

If it is only you not paying then it will take 6 months for this to happen.

When the landlord goes to court he will either just claim for possession or he will claim for possession plus unpaid rent.

Once the landlord has possession they will then use the deposit to offset the amount owed to them, taking into account any deductions as a result of any damage to the property.

If the landlord wins a claim for unpaid rent, or other costs against the tenants then he can pursue both of you for that money.  Both of you would end up with a CCJ which would affect your ability to get credit (assuming that the whole amount wasn't paid within a month in which case the CCJ record can be removed), he could engage bailiffs to chase either or both of you, etc.

Of course, the landlord could be more focused on getting new tenants than chasing for unpaid rent but you should assume a CCJ is likely.  Bailiffs may be less likely - no point in paying bailiffs to extract money from people who don't have it.

Unfortunately you aren't in control of any of this - all you can do is respond in an appropriate way as things progress.

ThisIsWeird

Hills456 said:

I’ve seen in the tenancy agreement that they can start eviction after just 14 days unpaid rent.
Also I might ask the LL to get my share of the rent (which is just 1/3) for a few months if needed from the significant deposit which was paid at the start. The trouble is I think ex paid for this deposit but there is no proof he did unless he searched his bank statements but would this matter if it’s a joint tenancy. 

Just let it pan out. Yes, you want the eviction to kick in asap, so hopefully that will be as soon as you stop paying.

Assuming this 'eviction' concludes before too long, then (your 'part' of) the amount left owing should be easy enough for you to handle - just keep saving it up, and - yes - it'll be whatever is left over after the deposit is consumed.

Should the LL need to sue - if your ex remains intransigent - and if the LL is determined to pursue you both jointly, then what's the worst case scenario? Surely that you both have to cough up 50% of a month or two's rent. So you'd end up paying a bit more than the current third - I can't do the math. (Google says you'll pay 40% more than you currently do).

Of course, your ex can always just refuse to contribute anything, but it'll be interesting to see how that pans out in any court or adjudication hearing the LL brings.

Really, someone in his family, or a friend, or colleague, needs to have a word with this guy. Has he really no care about how he will be perceived after all this is over?