Ending a tenants Tennancy Correctly Help Needed

[rippedoff15]

Hi All

 

We rented our house out on from 17th dec 08 based on 6 mths, so far the tennant has paid the rent on time but this month no rent has been paid and we have to pay the morgage soon, i have telephoned and texted the tennant but no joy, called to the house and nobody in during the day and few times at night. We have inoformed them that the 6mth rent will not be renewed as i has been confirmed BR now and the OR whas requested no more tennants !!!

 

what action can be taken regarding the tennant and the rent

 

cheers

[Planner]

Nothing at the moment.

 

No action can be taken with regards to rent arrears until they stand at two months (two missed rent payments).

 

It could be that your tenant has lost his job or has suffered some other financial/personal crisis. You havent stated how over due the rent is?

 

You need to be aware that after the 6 months has expired, the tenancy agreement will continue on a month by month basis. You need to serve a s.21 notice now (assuming this wasnt done in December. This will mean that if at the end of the 6 months the tenant wont move out, you will be able to begin action through the court to have him evicted.

[rippedoff15]

Hi

 

We used a Assured Shortteam Tennancy Agreement ( under part 1 of the housinf act 1988 as amended under part 3 of the housing act 1996 ) this was down loaded off the internet, section 3 states that the tennant has a 6 mths contact and under s.21 the landlord has to give 2 mths notice, but do we have to wait until the 6 mths is complete ? when should we write to the tennant informing them the agreement will not be renewed.

 

cheers

[Planner]

Hi

 

We used a Assured Shortteam Tennancy Agreement ( under part 1 of the housinf act 1988 as amended under part 3 of the housing act 1996 ) this was down loaded off the internet, section 3 states that the tennant has a 6 mths contact and under s.21 the landlord has to give 2 mths notice, but do we have to wait until the 6 mths is complete ? when should we write to the tennant informing them the agreement will not be renewed.

 

cheers

 

You can serve the s.21 at any time during the tennancy, but it onky becomes 'valid' once the fixed term (in your case 6 months) is up.

 

Once two rent payments are missed, you can then serve a s.8 notice which comes into effect within 14 days of service.

 

Again, you still have alluded to how overdue the rent payment is?

[Steve__M]

As Planner says, what rent hasn't been paid?

 

If you rented the house out on 17th December then "this month" could have started yesterday! It depends what the contract says.

 

If you mean "this month" that started on 17th Feb, then they are two months in arrears already.

 

Did you take a deposit, and have you protected it? If not, you need to protect the deposit and give the tenant the Prescribed Information that says where it is protected etc. *before* you issue a Section 21 notice. Otherwise the notice won't be valid.

[rippedoff15]

Hi All,

 

We currently have a tennant in our house based on a short term tennancy argeement, we have informed them that the tennacy will not be extended and require them to leavre at the end of the period, but we are not sure how to word the letter to send them, i have checked the agreement and it states sections regarding section 21 housing act ?

 

But we need to word the letter correctly to avoid and legal errors

 

any help would be great

 

cheers

[Planner]

By short term tenancy agreement I assume you mean an Assured Shorhold Tenancy (AST)?

 

If so, then you need to serve a s.21 (b) notice giving two full calander months notice to end the day after the fixed term agreement ends (i.e. when the periodic tenancy arises). This assumes that you have two months left of of the agreement?

 

If they then dont leave. Include with your s.21 notice a letter stating that you would like them to leave on at the end of the agreement so there is no confusion.

 

If they then dont leave, you will have to take court action to remove them which could take a further two months.

[rippedoff15]

Hi All

 

We have got a property which has got a possession order which has been issued last year, at present the house has tennants in it until 10th June 09, the lender has confirmed in writing that unless we pay the arrears £10k they will start the next stage and ask the court to take the house.

 

We are working to sell the house asap but no takers as yet, the agent is working on behalf of us and the lender to sell the property, we have actioned any requests from the lender & agents and confirmed everything by email/writing. But today they have wrote stating unless we pay now they will take the house.

 

1, Not sure how long it will take if they write to the court to issue the final order.

 

2, the tennant is due to leave the property early june 09 in 6 week.

 

3, we have wrote to the lender regarding the short fall as the only offer is below what is outstanding to the lender. ( had no reply )

 

Once the tennat has left the property we intend to hand the keys over as iam currently bankrupt, and not working at present.

 

If the court is sooner then the first week in june will the court grant time so the tennant can arrange another house etc etc

 

any feedback would be great as the lender is pushing hard, will be happy once the tennant has left,

 

cheers :sad::sad:

[nuke em]

Hi

 

you say you are currently "bankrupt" as in by a court order or you feel bankrupt ?

 

Because if you are legally bankcrupt, why do you care about the house ? let your OR deal with it

[rippedoff15]

Yes i have confirmed BR in FEB 09, the house is in joint names with my wife, also the house has tennant in it until 10th June 09, iam just wooried about the tennant thats all, making sure the court / lender kicks them out before the tennancy ends ie 10th june

 

after that date we are not bothered about the house

 

cheers

[nuke em]

no guarantee that will happen, the warrant of execution ( to which you refer) can take weeks or even upto a year or more. one of my repos took a year from date of possession granted to the lender to the warrant of eviction being eventually actioned

[rippedoff15]

Cheers

 

iam just hoping that the 10th june comes quickly lol, as the tennant will move out, we are trying to sell asap but the house has dropped value haha

 

was £195,000 now £148,000 and still cn not sell it but if we hand over the keys after the tennant moves there will be a shorfall thus trying to get the lender the cancel the balance lol

 

cheers

[nuke em]

yes but if you are BR, wont the shortfall just become part of your BR ? i take it your OR knew about this property prior ...

[rippedoff15]

The OR informed me that dut the house being in joints names and no profit she was not intrested in the property and sent detats ask if the wife wanted to buy my beneficial interest.

 

i have called the OR regarding the shortfall but as it is in joint names still waiting the reply. just want to get rid of the house after 10th june

 

 

but got a feeling the shortfall may land onto the wife as iam bankrupt

cheers

[Bona]

Have you a possession order on the house and was it suspended, the lender can apply for a warrent of possession to the court if thats the case then it can take anything from 14 days to 6 weeks depending how busy the baliffs are

can I suggest you write to the lender and ask for a little more time to pay it might buy you a little more time

have you said anything to the tennants most people make arrangments to move out a few days before the tenancy ends

[rippedoff15]

I have issued the tennants paperwork ending the tennancy, but not inform them of the repossession etc, i have wrote to the lender today asking for time / details and hopefully this may buy time. If they apply for possession will it have to be issued by the court or just the baliffs office ?

 

i have also email the lender agent requesting that they inform the lender of the sale offer which may buy time as the house will then be sold, the lender may not take possession as the house sale etc

 

Also when i phone them all they do is ask for extra payments which clearly we do not have !!!!!!

 

Just hoping that the tennant moves out sooner.

 

Question ~ Should we write to the tennant informing them of the lender actions ?????

 

cheers

[Dodgy Geezer]

Does the rental income not cover the mortgage ?.

[rippedoff15]

hi

 

sadly the income only comes part payment, due to the over value of loans and since losing my illness & lossing my company we have been paying the full amount, therefore the lender applied for the possession order also we make payment but only the rent.

 

just waiting for the tennant to leave and we will hand the keys over !

 

cheers

[sillygirl1]

DONT hand the keys over

 

I know some organisations say it is better but it is not as you do not get a chance to defend yourselves and check to see if the mortgage company is trying to pull a fast one. It happened to a colleague recently and I gave them advice gleaned from here, they were told to hand the keys back by Shelter and the CAB but I helped them with the N244 and they are now clearing the arrears and the mortgage company can't take them back to court for six months... by that time they will have cleared all the arrears. They are also claiming back charges from the company, they were being charged £25 for a phone call and £100 for a debt collection visit - five times in a two week period.

 

Don't give the keys back. What is the mortgage company involved?

[rippedoff15]

hi

 

The lender is GE Money Home lending, they placed the house on AVS programme with Countrywide to sell the house but nothing as yet, i have wrote to the lender regarding the shorfall again no reply. Because they have already got the possession order granted they now have confirmed they will ask their solicitors to start the final order. Because the house has tennants in it at present which are due to leave on 10th June once they have left we intend to leave the house empty.

 

If we don`t give them the keys back they told me once the final order is granted they get the house anyway !!!!, and we have no say what the sale price will be as well.

 

Iam alreay bankrupt but my wife is not and they told me that the shortfall will be against my wife to repay ?????

 

cheers

[sillygirl1]

Firstly, unless the house is sold you will NOT know what 'shortfall' is due, I think GE Money are pulling a fast one here. I would now advise you as you are bankrupt to go to your official receiver and ask for their advice.

 

Is the mortgage in joint names because if it is that is why they can go for your wife, I would advise now that she goes banrkrupt too and then the mortgage company are up the creek without a paddle - not the pair of you. It seems very unfair to me what they are doing.

 

You CANNOT have a shortfall until the property is sold, whatever the mortgage company like to think. I am also going to get Ell-en to help here as she is the repo expert - you need to get the original order varied so you have control of the sale, not them.

 

Please go to your official receiver and let them know what is happening as they may be able to block the sale by GE Money.... I am around up to about 2pm today to help with more advice.

[sillygirl1]

Ive asked the Moderators of this group to get Ell-en involved and one question we do need is the date of the original reposession order, what it said and how much were they claiming then...

[rippedoff15]

Hi All,

 

We have rented out our house for the last 5 mths, the couple have painted each room, taken up carpets and general terms the house is now a mess, the lady who is staying their has informed me that she will be looking to move as the rent is to high, today i called to the house to meet the roofer to sort out some damaged tiles, and it looks like the tennant is going to leave and has not paid rent as yet.

 

She has told me the rent has been paid but it has not, and we think she is going to avoid rent and charges, what could we do as the house will need to be cleaned / decorated from top to bottom & carpets replaced.

 

what can we do now !!!!!!

[Guest wino]

Did you state in the tenancy agreement that they could decorate or recarpet etc?

Did they pay a bond to be paid back at the end of tenancy?

[jackieandwayne]

What does her tenancy agreement state about decorating? And also about fittings and fixtures? Although this is probably now a mute point as it does sound as if she's getting ready to abandon.

 

Rent, well, is she on HB? When she says its been paid, if she is on HB, I expect she's right, only its been paid direct to her and you won't get it! If that's the case let HB know immediately by faxing or hand delivering a copy of her rent statement together with a letter asking that since there are more than 8 weeks arrears, would they pay any future entitlement to yourselves.

 

You really need to get in here to photograph and take an inventory, but you know you musn't enter the property without her permission don't you? If you do she could scream harassment and illegal eviction at you, accuse you of searching through her knickers, or worse.

Best bet, write and book an appt for a routine inspection, see if you get access and take it from there.

 

Now, if you manage to get access by agreement, even though you would like to string her up, you have to keep your cool. Getting into a spat will achieve nothing and she could then accuse you of threatening behaviour. Photo everything, make very clear inventory notes, and chat to her as you go round "why did you change the colour?" "where's the carpet gone?" record what she says on your inventory, and most importantly get her to sign it. Oh, and don't go mob handed, just you and perhaps a witness who can be trusted not to make comments on what you find - too many people will get her back up.

 

You could, if you can get your local beat officer to play ball with you, state to him that you are concerned criminal damage may have taken place. I've used this in the past, it depends on your copper and whether your tenant will take this seriously or not. (I'm in a position where I work with the coppers frequently so its a case of choosing my best bet carefully).

 

I could suggest ways of tracking her to her new address, but I'll have the site mods down on me like a ton of bricks I should think! Just note details discreetly, craftily if you have to, car reg etc., any letters you see lying around see if they have any other names or addresses on them (don't be tempted to open them!) - I once caught a tenant out a treat for not living in a property, they left their methodone prescription on the counter, with the correct address on it! If you want to continue being a landlord you have to have eyes all over never mind in the back of your head, and you have to know what the tenant will do next before they've even thought of it - a few more lets and you'll get the hang of it!

 

Should you be fortunate enough to be able to track her then you need to take her to Court for damages, rent loss etc, and even though you believe she's about to flit, you must get a S8 NOSP served on her now, come back if you don't know how to do this.

 

I think you must accept that you are going to be left with a property in a mess - its very unpleasant and costly, but its also part of letting a property out. Do you personally interview your tenants before you let? You should do this, and it should be an in depth interview as well as references, which you should then check up on as well.

 

It would be a shame to give up on your investment because of one bad apple, by no means are all tenants like this, HB or not. But you will need to make sure you manage the property a little tighter, and if you're going to tell me its already in the hands of a letting agent, then they need their backsides kicked and you have good reason to kick them all the way to Court.

 

I do hope you get this sorted - just remember stay cool calm and collected at all times and never retaliate or threaten whatever you find. Would love to know how this turns out.

 

Oh yes, if she abandons, do remember to don the rubber gloves and go through all the rubbish she leaves with a fine tooth comb - a very good way of tracing someone, you never know what you will find! If she leaves sofas, chairs, have a dig down the back of them! ;-)