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Non paying tenant

Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
I'm gathering some info for someone who has a tenant that hasn't paid for three months, though he came round with half of the first months rent today and said that he isn't going to pay any more money until the landlord fixes a cupboard door.

The tenant is on housing benefit and it was paid to him and not the landlord, the tenant has been giving notice of eviction and is leaving after his 6 months.... is there anything or anyway to get the money or get him to leave the property sooner? Apparently a tenant can get away with paying rent for up to three months, this one looks like he may do a bunk and he isn't answering any calls/texts and isn't answering the door and his three months is nearly up.

Comments

  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I feel dirty giving advice to a landlord, as I think they're all filth, but here goes anyway.

    The tenant does not have a right to withhold rent and should only do this as a last resort. The damage to a cupboard door isn't really going to wash with a court.

    You can apply for possession of the property sooner if the tenant has more than two months or eight weeks (depending on whether rent is due weekly or monthly) rent arrears. This is known as a mandatory ground for possession and, providing the arrears are over eight weeks/two months, the tenant will not have a defence. Possession will be ordered and the equivalent of a CCJ will be issued for payment of the rent arrears plus court costs. You can also apply for possession if the tenant is persistently late with rent, or if there are any rent arrears, but these are discretionary grounds and the court does not have to order possession.

    A Notice Seeking Possession (NSP) under these grounds must be in a prescribed format. If it is not in the right format it is not valid. You cannot go to court until the time limit on the NSP is up (for mandatory grounds it's usually 14 days). When you go to court you will have to pay the court fees and then chase the tenant for them afterwards.

    The other way of getting him out is using a section 21 notice. This must give two months notice, ending on the last day of the rental period, and cannot be set to run out on a day within the tenancy fixed period. With a section 21 notice the court does not order repayment of the rent arrears and you will need to get a separate county court judgment (CCJ) against the tenant to recover arrears. If you don't know where the tenant moves to you can't get a CCJ.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Kermit wrote: »
    I feel dirty giving advice to a landlord, as I think they're all filth
    Lovely generalisation, I expect nothing less from you though. *All* landlords are filth? Why? If it wasn't for landlords, what would people where would people who can't afford / don't want a mortgage live....? :chin:
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    tinkler wrote: »
    Lovely generalisation, I expect nothing less from you though. *All* landlords are filth? Why? If it wasn't for landlords, what would people where would people who can't afford / don't want a mortgage live....? :chin:

    A wheelie bin? I don't know, I've never come across a decent landlord yet, they all have an authourity complex imo.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Yerascrote wrote: »
    A wheelie bin? I don't know, I've never come across a decent landlord yet, they all have an authourity complex imo.

    Perhaps different when dealing with student accommodation (if that is what you are doing...).
    I feel dirty giving advice to a landlord, as I think they're all filth

    Change the record, FFS. Almost all of my landlords have been decent types, no issues. They've fixed things when needed, and left us alone for the rest of the time.

    I myself have a buy to let property which I rent to my kid brother and his mate. We have no issues at all. I am hardly filth. I leave my tenants alone in respect of 'business', have a normal brother-brother relationship with him (I am also 200 miles away) and I get somebody in same day if there is something wrong (which there never is).
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Yerascrote wrote: »
    A wheelie bin? I don't know, I've never come across a decent landlord yet, they all have an authourity complex imo.
    The only person I see here with a complex is Kermit. "All landlords are filth" - as g_angel says, every landlord I've experienced has been perfectly pleasant, to the point where I question having got a mortgage over just renting. "Anyone who works in a bank is scum", yeah the credit crunch is a till cashier or FX strategist's fault.. no, its more the fault of the idiot customers you (used to?) dish advice to, spending beyond their means.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    g_angel, I would expect you to do that for your tenant, seeing as he's family. Sadly most landlords run things as a business to maximise profit: do the minimum amount of work for the maximum amount of rent. Landlords in more luxurious accommodation will be better because being a twat will affect their bottom line. For most people, in less salubrious accommodation, the less you do to the house the more profit landlords make. Hence they don't do anything and when someone stops being unprofitable they get booted out with menaces. Look at katralla's thread: Shelter take several hundred calls a day all from people saying the exact same thing.

    Tinkler, if landlords were kind and generous souls my entire office would be out of work. We're busier than ever. You go figure that one out, seeing as you're such an intelligent guy.

    PS: The "credit crunch" has happened because banks raised capital by selling bonds against their loans. The bonds were overpriced and failed. Because of the failure of the bonds banks will now not lend to anyone, hence the LIBOR is rocketing whilst Bank of England interest rates are plummeting. Banks got their fingers burned through irresponsible lending and now won't lend to anyone. Not sure how the man in the street can be blamed for irresponsible lending, irresponsible trading through traders on commission and a panicking banking sector.
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