Rent Collection

payingfornowt

Hi all, my partner has a house that she has been renting out to a tenant on income support.

Part of the rent (70%) is paid directly to my partner by the DSS and the rest of the rent (30%) is to be made up by the tenant in a monthly cheque.

The tenant has not been paying their part of the rent.

I am interested to know her rights as to collecting, the tenant is an alcoholic so I am going to go around on her behalf to ask for the outstanding rent.

I know I will most likely come away empty handed but I want to make it as difficult as possible for this tenant to not pay without breaking the law.

Can I return daily until a satisfactory outcome is reached?

tbs624

IMO what you are describing is called tenant harrasmment, which is a criminal offence.

It is distressing for LLs to have tenants who don't pay but there are correct procedures to be followed. You don't mention in your posting how many weeks/months it is since the rent was paid in full? The first stage should be a formal letter listing the amount owed and asking for payment to be brought up to date within 7 days - send by Rec Del or put through letterbox by hand, with a witness.
The LL needs to show that they acted reasonably and within the law, so going round daily to confront an alcoholic tenant is IMO best avoided.

clutton_2

Do exactly what 'TBS suggests and then .....

""Can I return daily until a satisfactory outcome is reached""

absolutely not .... this is harrassment.

Where do you think the tenant will get the money from anyway ?> Blood out of a stone springs to mind - turning up every day wont change that.

You have no legal authority to deal with the tenant unless you are the legally appointed representative/agent of the LL - why would a tenant give a complete strange money ?????


if the tenant is more than 8 weeks in arrears, you have to issue a Section 8 Notice to the tenant and take them to court for the arrears - but in all probability she has drunk the money. So, write off the money (claimiable against tax), issue a Section 21 and do it legally - this will take about 2-3 months.

if you start to harrass the tenent she will go to the local council Housing Advice and you could end up in court - and no - its not fair - but its the law.

if you dont know what all these "Sections" mean - join National Landlords ASsociation and find out - welcome to the business of Landlording ........

pickles110564

payingfornowt wrote: »

I am interested to know her rights as to collecting, the tenant is an alcoholic so I am going to go around on her behalf to ask for the outstanding rent.

Find out what pub the tenant drinks in, get them so plastered that they dont know what they are doing, get them to sign that they want to move out if you dont chase the outstanding money owed.
Take them back to property and help pack their gear into black bags and escort them to the council offices.;)

payingfornowt

pickles110564 wrote: »

Find out what pub the tenant drinks in, get them so plastered that they dont know what they are doing, get them to sign that they want to move out if you dont chase the outstanding money owed.
Take them back to property and help pack their gear into black bags and escort them to the council offices.;)

Like it, but I dont think they drink in pubs, more like a large bottle of white cider.

payingfornowt

clutton wrote: »

Do exactly what 'TBS suggests and then .....

""Can I return daily until a satisfactory outcome is reached""

absolutely not .... this is harrassment.

Where do you think the tenant will get the money from anyway ?> Blood out of a stone springs to mind - turning up every day wont change that.

You have no legal authority to deal with the tenant unless you are the legally appointed representative/agent of the LL - why would a tenant give a complete strange money ?????


if the tenant is more than 8 weeks in arrears, you have to issue a Section 8 Notice to the tenant and take them to court for the arrears - but in all probability she has drunk the money. So, write off the money (claimiable against tax), issue a Section 21 and do it legally - this will take about 2-3 months.

if you start to harrass the tenent she will go to the local council Housing Advice and you could end up in court - and no - its not fair - but its the law.

if you dont know what all these "Sections" mean - join National Landlords ASsociation and find out - welcome to the business of Landlording ........

I'm not a landlord or in the business of landlording nor do I want to be. It is in the contract that rent is to be collected by the landlord or an appointee, I am just going to be that appointee and wanted to know what pressure I am able to exert.

Our landlord comes round for our rent, he has a cup of tea, collects his cheque then goes. I dont consider this to be harrasment.

payingfornowt

tbs624 wrote: »

IMO what you are describing is called tenant harrasmment, which is a criminal offence.

It is distressing for LLs to have tenants who don't pay but there are correct procedures to be followed. You don't mention in your posting how many weeks/months it is since the rent was paid in full? The first stage should be a formal letter listing the amount owed and asking for payment to be brought up to date within 7 days - send by Rec Del or put through letterbox by hand, with a witness.
The LL needs to show that they acted reasonably and within the law, so going round daily to confront an alcoholic tenant is IMO best avoided.

Thanks tbs,

Would I be within my (my partners) rights to hand deliver a bill each month on rent due date? I wouldn’t be overly pushy just verbally remind them that the rent is due and hand over the bill.

I know it is very unlikely that my partner will get any of the rent arrears or future rent but I think it is a good idea to let the tenant know that she is counting and prepared to lodge it with the county court.

mitchaa

I take it once you evict your tenant you will have learnt a lesson and not rent out the property in future to someone on benefits?

I can see why a lot of landlords clearly dont accept DSS

lil_me

mitchaa wrote: »

I take it once you evict your tenant you will have learnt a lesson and not rent out the property in future to someone on benefits?

I can see why a lot of landlords clearly dont accept DSS

Many who are not on benefits don't pay their rent. At least the landlord in this case has part of his rent coming directly. I know many families who rent, I'd say over half pay private, of those only about 1/10th are not in arrears. Of the families on benefits none of them are in arrears. People who think those who are in work and not claiming benefits don't in many cases struggle paying the bills must have rose tinted glasses on.

Back to the OPs point, I think a written record of rent paid and rent owed wouldn't be a problem. I would appreciate if my LL posted me one and provided this so I know they have received the payments.

tbs624

mitchaa wrote: »

I take it once you evict your tenant you will have learnt a lesson and not rent out the property in future to someone on benefits?

I can see why a lot of landlords clearly dont accept DSS

Yes, paperwork can be more complex when a Tenant is on HB, but please don't assume that the only problem tenants are those in receipt of benefits. That's offensive to those on HB who do meet the requirements of their Tenancy Agreements. Unfortunately there are good and bad Tenants across all spectrums of society, just as there are good and bad LLs

tbs624

payingfornowt wrote: »

Would I be within my (my partners) rights to hand deliver a bill each month on rent due date? I wouldn’t be overly pushy just verbally remind them that the rent is due and hand over the bill.

Merely going to the property every month puts you on very dodgy ground as a LL, or agent of a LL - really - don't do it. The Tenancy Agreement states when the rent is due and how it should be paid, and that's what you need to be looking to.

payingfornowt wrote: »

I know it is very unlikely that my partner will get any of the rent arrears or future rent but I think it is a good idea to let the tenant know that she is counting and prepared to lodge it with the county court.

and that's what the initial letter is for. Don't get emotional in it, and certainly do not say anything that could be construed as a threat - merely politely state the facts, and ask that his/her payments are brought up to date within 7 days.

You also need to make sure that you have your GFs address or an agents address shown on the contract as required by law. If it isn't then you need to issue aS48 notification straight away. How long has the tenant been in the property, when is the Tenancy Agreement due to expire and how many weeks or month's is s/he in arrears?