Help ! Tenant Not Paying Rent In Full
Sat, 04/09/2011 - 11:06
by iswim2011Has anyone got any advice please.
I have a tenant whom is not paying the full rent each week.
He keeps paying part of the rent each week and I have been fairly easy going and said ok you have paid it in full up to now and also said ok you are having a bit of a difficult time but it is getting to be a bit of a joke now. I have been told that he is going out buying various products and having a good time.
Do I try and get him out and get someone in who can pay the rent each week or what do I do. I think he has got a new woman and wants to entertain or something but that is not paying the rent for my property he lives in.
So Help any advice welcome.
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Tenants not paying rent?
I have a tenant who has not being paying there rent on time. This has been happening for the past 3 months now and is still 2 1/2 months in arrears with no signs of payment at all to clear the arrears. Since speaking with the tenant I found out that he lost his job and was waiting for housing benefit to which he has been awarded but does not cover the full rental cost PCM and does not start for another 3 weeks. So at least I will receive some money back but will always have the arrears and the extra to which I am worried he will not be able to pay back.
Due to this I have missed some mortgage payments as I can not afford to pay for that property as well as my own home (which comes first!) Therefore I would like to sell the house
Do I have the rights to sell this house as the tenant has breached his contract?
How do I obtain the arrears back from the tenant?
Not sure of the legal process to evict the tenants?
Any help on this matter would be appreciated
Just to add, I have been a very good landlord to this tenant. When I actually found out about him loosing his job i was sympathetic and came to an arrangement for him to pay the rent on a wkly basis as he was working the odd job. But he never kept up with this agreement for the past 2 months.
I know what sort of recession were having, my husband has been made redundant so we too are having to watch out pennies this is why I am unable to pay for this property as well as my own. I have to use my judgement on this and decide what is more important to me, my OWN home or my tenants home??
I am not a charity, to me this is a house i rent out to a tenant who is happy to live there and pay the monthly rent.
thanks to all who have contributed to my Q in an honourable way that will help my current situation
Section 8 of the 1988 Housing Act is the process usually used for breaches of the tenancy - in particular, unpaid rent. You can also use the 'no fault' section 21 process, Section 21 does have the advantage that it does not always require a court hearing but can not be used to obtain an eviction within the fixed term and will not result in an order for missing rent.
Section 8 has a number of 'at fault' grounds that can be cited as reasons to end the tenancy.
Grounds 1 - 8 are mandatory - if the ground is met at the time the section 8 notice is served AND when the case is heard in court, then the judge can not refuse possession - although he may give the tenant extra time to comply with the requirements.
The only ground in this section that is directly related to tenants breach of contract is ground 8. Ground 8 is used where tenants have not paid their rent for some time. The actual amounts are
(a) if rent is payable weekly or fortnightly, at least eight weeks’ rent is unpaid;
(b) if rent is payable monthly, at least two months’ rent is unpaid;
(c) if rent is payable quarterly, at least one quarter’s rent is more than three months in arrears; and
(d) if rent is payable yearly, at least three months’ rent is more than three months in arrears;
Note the difference between 'unpaid' and 'arrears'. One day after a tenant misses a monthly rent payment, he has one month unpaid - but is only 1 day in arrears.
The remaining 'breach of contract' grounds are discretionary - ie the judge will have to make a decision if the breach is severe enough to warrant evicting the tenant.
These grounds are:
Ground 10 - some rent is unpaid
Ground 11 - rent has been persistently late
Ground 12 - non-rent breach of tenancy
Ground 13 - Damage or deteriation of the property
Ground 14 - Nuisance or illegal activity (No notice)
Ground 15 - Damage or deteriation of furniture
Ground 17 - Tenancy obtained under false pretences
For all of the grounds mentioned above (except g14), there is a 14 day notice period between serving the notice and being able to commence possession proceedings.
The section 8 notice must be served in a specific format and you must obtain proof of service. You can take a witness and obtain a statement from them, but the most straightforward way is to send 2 copies by first class post from different post offices - obtaining a free certificate of posting. The courts will accept this as proof of service 2 working days later. Do not use 'Special Delivery' or 'Recorded Delivery' as the tenant can refuse to accept these.
After the notice period expires, you can apply to the court for a possession order. You can either fill in court forms N5 and N119, or alternatively, you can use the Possession Claim Online website which is slightly cheaper.
It will take around a month - maybe longer - before the hearing takes place and if the judge grants a possession order, the tenant will be given at least 14 days to go. If the...how can a council class you as a tolerated tenant and give you a rent book?
in 2001,my partner got into rent arrears due to benefits not been paid,went to court,council wanted eviction,judge was happy with repayment offer.2005 same bill had not been paid in full,council wanted eviction,the bill was paid in full with cash.no eviction,judge was happy.now council say that were tolerated tenants since 2005.is this legal,how do we get rid of status of tolerated,every year we get new rent card and they take our money and council tax each month.what can we do.we need management transfer,cant get one cos were tolerated tenants.wont even allow mutual exchange or refer us to housing association,we must move for my 14 year old daughters sake,shes epileptic and was assaulted by two adult males,police wont help either,they cant find reports.need legal advice,if you can help ,please answer.thank you
A secure tenancy can only be ended by the landlord (Council) obtaining a court order for possession of the property. Where the landlord obtains a possession order, the tenancy ends on the date named on the order. When making a possession order, or at any time before the execution of the order, the court may stay or supend the execution of the order.
Thus, whilst the landlord has a possession order, it cannot be executed so long as the tenant pays the weekly rent plus an amount of the arrears. The tenancy is in a kind of limbo. The secure tenancy was lost on the date named in the possession order, but the tenant cannot be evicted whilst he keeps to the terms of the suspended possession order. That limbo, is called tolerated tresspassing (a person is either a tenant, a licencee or a trespasser).
The 'rent' during the period of limbo is called 'mesne profits'.
The easiest way to revive the secure tenancy is by way of an application to the court to vary or postpone the date of possession to some date in the future, or 'to a date to be set by the court by further application or order'. You then have the same rights as any other secure tenant. If you have kept to the terms of the suspended possession order you should not encounter much of a problem. The court office will give you further help, should you need assistance with filling in the form, but its quite straight forward.Am I within tenant rights to with hold my rent payment?
I have lived in this house for 3 months now and it has come apparent that the landlord is not willing to keep to his responsibility as a landlord as I am now in my 5th week of having no hot water or heat and I have 2 small children. I have taken steps with a company called Warmfront to help repair the boiler through a government grant as I am a single full time mom and cannot physically pay for it myself but until that is done am I within my rights to refuse payment to my landlord?
You should speak to the Citezens advice beurau fisrt thing monday morning and discuss it with the,. they know loop holes in the law and its a free service
If you are paying the rent through council benefits then they should also be able to help youcan a full-time student claim LHA?
hi all
i've reads so many things about the LHA scheme, now i'm confused as i don't know which is true ot not.
i know that LHA applies to private tenants who pay rent for their accommodation, right? does that mean anybody renting from a private landlord without distinction of their immigration status in the UK?
1- a friend of mine who is an "overseas full-time student" in the UK recently got married and is keen to rent a property (1 bedroom flat in one the london boroughs where the scheme was introduced into) from a private landlord/agency. Will he be eligible for LHA.
2- How should it work out how much council tax reduction he could get? is council tax reduction/exemption part of the Housing Benefits scheme.
please help me to help him...accurate details only please.
Thank you all
I don't know about the LHA scheme but I know about counil tax because I'm a full time student who rents a shared house.
For me, council tax is free because all four of the tenants in this house are full time students.
For him, council tax would just be reduced because he is a full time student but his wife is not and if she will be living with him, she will be eligible too. He would just get a 25% reduction, or something along those lines.I'm having landlord issues - please help?
I am a student due to move in to a rented property with 5 others at the end of September. We have been paying rent (half the normal fee) since July. I have a number of issues with my landlord and wondered if there was anything I could do about them, and whether my landlord was actually in the wrong.
First of all, we paid our deposits, some cash, some cheque, at the beginning of March, and have yet received no documentation that they have been registered. I have e-mails from the landlord saying he would register them by the 15th June.
Secondly, we met up with the landlord when we paid our deposits and discussed pets with him. The contract says no pets are allowed, but the previous years tenants had a rabbit so we thought we could at least ask. He said it was fine for me to have a fish tank, and another tenant has an e-mail from him saying he is fine with her having a hamster as long as she pays rent. Can he now go back on these agreements?
Also can he allow one tenant to keep a hamster and not allow another tenant to?
Thirdly, the landlord did not get in contact with me about paying bills; we had no idea what amount they would be. I rang him about another matter and this was brought up. He then sent an email with the bill details, saying that payment was overdue. I took issue with one of the bills due to a misunderstanding, as the landlord did not give any explanation as to why the electricity bill was so high (there is no gas in the house). I sent professional and formal e-mails to the landlord and at no point accused him of anything, and was not rude or abusive. I received e-mails back, one in particular, that were sarcastic, rude, and threatened legal action against me as my second rent payment was a week late (I had explained to the landlord, and apologised, on the phone a week previously that I had set up a standing order at the same time that I made the first rent payment and for some reason it did not go through). The landlord has not given us any sort of receipt that he has received rent payments, so I was unaware that the standing order had not gone through.
Fourthly, we agreed to pay half rent until the beginning of term, but a few of us have resits, and the landlord assured us it was fine for us to stay in the house for that short period without having to pay full rent. Can he now go back on that?
Lastly, (though there are many more issues I could go into) The landlord has not yet given us keys for the house. I have asked him many times, most recently (on the 5th August) asking him to post them to me and another tenant, but we are still without keys.
Apologies for the long, long question, but I don't know where else to go. Does anyone have any help or advice, or know somewhere I can go for help on these matters?
I am paying rent during the summer, even though I'm not living there, because I will only actually be living in the house from September - June, not a full year, and the landlord wants a full years...I AM a Landlord - and yes SOME Landlord's DO try it on.
Here's only the BASICS :
FIRST. Go to Citizens Advice Bureau - it will give YOU peace of mind to know where you stand.
Establish your POSITION and from there your RIGHTS
Btw - ask who holds the deposit - it should be held at least in a DPS (Deposit Protection Scheme) of some description
Then go back to your Landlord - be open about what you have done and been advised and negotiate a solution from there.
Trust me - he KNOWS HIS legal position and should then act accordingly within the laws - he doesn't want to be in trouble. But make sure you have versed yourself confidently on your MINIMUM rights and you should find a solution.
After all, you only want to be able to live in peace once you move in.
Unfortunately, Landlords LIKE students as Tenants, but don't TRUST them as a rule due to past reputation. In other words, all are tarred with the same brush.
ONE thing is always key - SIGNATURE, SIGNATURE SIGNATURE - when ANY money is handed over or ANY agreement signed by you (ask him to sign your copy first). Always get the landlord to SIGN ANY receipt of payment and ask him WHERE your deposit is being held (confirm with Citizens Advice Bureau) - it's now the law.
Remember that many ISPs now have a 'fair usage' per month policy, so maybe this is what this phantom 'licence' thing he's on about is coming from.
Scour the internet using google and you should find many of the 'rules' for both parties on there.
Hope the landlords who've replied to you on here have all been of help in some way!!Rolling Contract. Tenant late with paying, didn't give 1 month's notice says I cannot keep any of her deposit.?
My tenant has informed me that as the contract has no fixed date, so effectively it has become a rolling or periodic agreement (original wording stated 'for a period of at least 6 months'), this therefore means that I do not have any right to withhold any of her deposit whatsoever despite not having given me the full 1 month's notice. I am very disappointed given that I had let her pay late on more than one occasion, in fact she is still late with this month's rent! Can someone please help asap? Thank you.
Thanks for everyone's responses. My key point is not really to do with late payment but being able to withold depsoit if no fixed end date on the contract?
Lets say the contract started on 6th January, then if it was for 6 months it was patently until 5th July. After that, each tenancy period (statutory periodic tenancy - section 5 1988 Housing Act) ran from the 6th of the Month to the 5th of the next month.
Even if your tenant disagrees, the contract was clearly for a minimum of a month (rent due monthly) so if that month was 6/1 to 5/2. After that a SPT ran from 6th to 5th - exactly as above.
In a statutory periodic tenancy, a tenant would be obliged to give a minimum of 1 months notice to end on the last day of a tenancy period - ie the 5th.
If tenant did not give sufficient notice, she owes until the appropriate leaving day. Lets assume she gave 14 days notice on the 15th Sept to leave on the 29th Sept. Her notice on 15/9 could not be for 5/10 (less than a month) so she owes until 5/11.
If the deposit is in a scheme, use the schemes ADR process.
If the deposit isn't in a scheme - that's unlawful - you need to refund the full deposit. However, that doesn't stop you suing and winning in the county court for payment in lieu of notice.leaving a rented house?
I have just moved out of rented house and havinglived ther for five years i have had to put up with alot over ther period ie-had no kitchen for week as had new one, house had flees when moved in,inwhich i had to buy own carprt as landlady never got back to me,had damp downstairs which meant walls being taken to bare brick and treated inwhich me and little boy had to live upstairs for about four week while still paying full rent,was told that while things like new light fitting,electric fire and new stair carpet being done all on different occassons i could not be in the house,i have never complained once,and got a really nice reference saying how good a tenant i was and people like me are hard to come by,when i left i did not paint house back to colour was but colours were netural ie -magnolier and lemon when i contacted her she said i was a disgrace i had never cleaned the front door that apparently she had replaced for me,even though the old one had cm gap down side she then went on to say that i had left nails in walls were pics had been.to me i left the house clean and in better condition than when i moved in she is refusing to pay back deposit as it will cost her over £600 to get placed fixed!!!!! When i moved i also told her that due to when they built kitchen around my washer there was piece of wood over washer i could not pull out as i didnt want to damage kitchen she thanked me for letting her no and said would drop off at new house i never gave address saying i live across from mum,this was before her ranting after her ranting she came with some bloke they drove up onto kerb into my new garden making horrible wheel marks in ground and she got out opened back door of van and the bloke pushed out my washer which is now not working today i have had text saying if i wish i can meet up with her husband at my old house please help sorry to rant but at four months pregnant im at my wits end
Don't meet him, your money should have been held in a fund thing so the estate agent should check the house and she should just be allowed to keep what it needs, probably nothing. If there's no estate agent involved you need to get a solicitor its amazing how they are always on the tenants side! Don't worry about cost they'll get the money off that cow xxHow will / will I be able to find a replacement tenant?
Hi so basically I'm a student who were due to start a course in Manchester. Booked and paid for a year's residence at one of the student accommodation by UNITE plc. Just 3 weeks into my tenancy I realised I have to move out as I can no longer continue studying at the uni.
Problem with this is that the landlord i.e. UNITE plc had not specified how this would be dealt with. Cancellation policy states that I "will remain liable for the full contractual rent, instalment charge (if relevant) and the utility guarantee fee, unless and until a replacement tenant is found for your Room. If a replacement tenant is found for your Room, we will release you from your Tenancy Agreement with effect from the start date of the new Tenancy Agreement upon payment of a £250 release fee".
This clause is applicable, apparently, if want to move out after the 31st July, but it wasn't at all clear about what would happen in my case, in which I want to move out DURing my tenancy.
Will I still be able to move out? As I have already paid the year in full, it doesn't seem possible to find a new tenant, let alone one who will pay the remainder of the rent, as this implies having to first find a way to cancel my contract, then to draw up a new one in which the new (potential) tenant is legally bound to pay the remainder. HELP!
You will remain liable until the earlier of:
1) The end of the contract
2) A new tenant moves into that property; or
3) You agree something different with UNITE.
UNITE have no legal obligation to find a new tenant - they could leave the place empty all year and happily collect rent off you.
UNITE have no obligation to accept any replacement tenant found by you.
I do not know how UNITE work, but I suspect once they set up a new tenancy, they will refund the excess you have paid (less their fees).
Now, to answer your question.....
Notices on notice boards in the Uni?
Adverts in the paper? Put details of it on Facebook.
The Uni accommodation office may have a list of people looking for places.
It would be expensive (but less than the rent you stand to lose) but you could even employ a letting agent on a find-only basis. If you do that, negotiate the fee because it usually involves checking people into the property, inventories, contracts etc, and I think that will all be taken care of by UNITE (thanks to their fee!)Now im 18 what do i have to pay for? Do i have to pay rent?
I've been offered a job as a full time trainee dental nurse. I only turnt 18 in may. My earnings are going to be about 900 a month as i'm training however, i've been told i have to pay rent to the council. We are living in a hyde property and they want me to pay 47pounds a WEEK and then 8pounds council tax. I know i have to pay council tax but do i have to pay rent even though i'm not down as the main tenant my mum is. I was going to pay my mum 200 a month to help towards things like sky and food but i wont be able to pay her and another 188 a month. I dont understand why i have to pay went when i never signed anything saying i'd pay it. I don't know of anyone else that has to do this, they just pay rent to their parents. Help me udnerstand all this please??
Hyde are the ones that want me to pay rent to them. I just dont understand why now they want me to pay rent to them when im living with my mum and never got told until now that i have to pay rent to them.
Plus it's only me and my mum living here. Plus my dog. But my mum is currently not working as she is off sick.
Plus it's only me and my mum living here. Plus my dog. But my mum is currently not working as she is off sick.
Plus it's only me and my mum living here. Plus my dog. But my mum is currently not working as she is off sick.
What is confusing here is that you think paying for Sky is more important than paying rent.
If you don't think you should pay rent, who on earth do you think should pay it for you? The 200 per month you give your mum will just about cover the food and other household items you consume.
You are now a big girl in the big world. Accept that you will have to pay your way.How long can I have a guest (friend, non paying) at a non-multiple occupancy house?
I am a full time student and I share a 3 bedroom house with another full time student, who is not my partner or relative. Due to the Health and Safety regulations of our City Council, we are not allowed to be more than 2 unrelated tenants in the same house (fire regulations).
I have had a friend visiting from abroad, not a relative, for 3 months. She was not paying us rent so should not count as a tenant. Our landlord threatens us with eviction because he says it is against council rules and he will get in trouble. I asked the Citizens Advice Bureau and they said I can have a guest for as long as I want. Problem is, I forgot to ask if it matters that this is a non-HMO house, because the landlord, and his agent (who of course takes his side), said it doesn't matter that my friend has not been paying, because she was still living here.
Now my question is: my friend's permanent address is abroad, but while she was here she has a bank account with our address. She has now found her own place and is leaving. No bills are in her name. Is this illegal? If we are taken to court, will the bank or the University have to disclose that they have had our address for her for 3 months, or is it protected under the Data Protection Act?
I am convinced that, morally, we did nothing wrong since she had nowhere to stay and we did not get any money for that. She was not even sure if she wants to stay longer, or for how long. But I am now afraid that legally this was not allowed, and if I ask the Council we will get in trouble anyway (they always take your details). All online searches with 'non-HMO' and 'guest' bring up pages related to hotels, nothing on friends visiting. Can somebody give me some advice, and perhaps some webpages or names of laws that prove we are not illegal? I know this is much to ask, any help, however small, would be appreciated!
This is in England.
Also please note that he threatens us ALL with eviction, because he wants to redecorate the house, under the pretext that we broke the law (we did not violate the tenancy agreement since we did not sublet). So I am a bit cautious of believing him, since he may be lying to us to kick us out. But I would rather resolve this without going to court, or whatever legal action is necessary...
Thanks, but I asked about the 14 day thing and the Citizens Advice Bureau said explicitly and categorically to me AS LONG AS I WANT, EVEN MONTHS. There is nothing in our tenancy agreement whatsoever, except that we cannot sublet. Nothing about guests.
I take the point about fire regulations and HMOs though. This is the only case where he has a point, which we did not know.
masked landlord - he threatened to kick us out before the end of the period we agreed. But he stopped right away and became very friendly when we agreed to pay him more rent... so this is what it was all about...
But thank you very much for the advice!
1) I believe the issue of HMO is correct, as the actual legislation refers to occupiers, not tenants. As this is your friends only residence in the UK I believe she would be classed as an occupier. Your reference to her not paying is irrelevant - the legislation only states that rent has to be paid by ONE of the occupants.
2) Also your tenancy agreement will almost certainly have a clause about who can live there - I would be pretty certain subletting is not the only restriction and although those rules may be waived for a week or two - 3 months is taking the mickey.
3) You can not be evicted without a court order. This web page shows how you may be evicted - and please note that with section 21 the landlord does not have to give a reason - he is merely exercisingg his rights at the end of the period YOU agreed. http://tenancyanswers.ucoz.com/index/being_evicted/0-21
Sounds like your tenant is taking the **** with you now. You have tried to be as fair as possible with him but I think you are going to have to say right that is enough you have to pay in full or I will have to serv notice on you.
Depending on how well you know them you could sit down with them and help them with what they have to pay out but that is just going to take longer on the payments really.
Failing the above then read the tenancy agreement and try and scare him with a few big words in it then if all fails go for eviction as there are plenty who can pay the rent.
Oliver
Your tenant is now taking the **** now I think and it is time to get tuff. Remind him that he has a tenancy agreemnet and that you may be forced to serv notice on him to move out for non payment of rent, it may be enough to make him think oh heck best get back on track.
Darrell
Oh dear that is not good a tenant not paying the full rent and still finding money to go out with his girlfriend.
I think it is time to get heavy with this tenant. Like read him the riot act as in you don't pay your out. !
Alexender
Agreed, tell him to shape up and pay up or he can find himself somewhere else to live!
Just reading the above that is one lucky tenant. Most the landlords I have heard would have got to week number two and been reading the riot act on the tenant.
I agree with the rest and that is give him a kick up the backside and if no joy at the end of the week he is out full stop !.
The cheek of some people.
Alexender
This so called tenant has been given one months notice to leave or pay in full the remainder of the rent plus a months rent up front. Failing that he will be out. Period....
Marcus