I’m hoping I can get some advice as I am having issues with my tenant. Brief synopsis below:
A s21 was served end date of 30/4, tenant didn’t leave as advised to stay put by her Council so I my solicitor is in the process of going to court to get an accelerated possession order. Rent is due on 1/5 and my tenant has let us know today that she cannot pay the full rent. She is on UC and is basically saying she can’t afford the full rent because she has been reassessed and they have lowered her rent allowance to 2 persons from 3 (one child has moved in with their dad) and doesn’t have enough to pay the full rent. She hasn’t said how much she is going to pay. First she implied she would be £75 less and now she says “she cannot guarantee the full rent but will make payment towards the balance”.
Can I legally go to the benefits dept (Council?) to find out what they are paying her in terms of rent contribution and get the money sent directly to myself? This is not the first time she hasn’t paid rent which has left me in financial difficulty before. I can’t just magic money out of thin air to cover what she isn’t paying and I’m not a landlord with loads of houses - I rented my home to my friend’s daughter, who I have known since she was 3 months old and we are now in this situation.
Won’t be doing that again in a hurry 
Thank you
the council are not your friend ,Expect no help there. Lesson learned ,no friends
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@sue.lufc19681
Assume no guarantor? Or RGI?
You can try
"Can the council pay my benefits to the landlord directly? – Help Centre
Centre https://share.google/2EbK5utOwwauvK7B6
"
But council wont increase what they pay just because there’s a shortfall between what the allowance is and your rent amount.
They might pay direct to you with tenant’s agreement if helps tenant (budgeting) but may take months to organise
I would assume 12 months of reduced or no rent unless you persuade tenant to move out as getting into arrears by renting a place they cant afford isnt in anybody’s interest. A payment and returning the whole deposit (despite arrears).may be an incentive worth considering
This is the timescale
3months in arrears
4 weeks notice using s8 grounds
Time from application for possession to eviction 8 months (longer in london)
Good luck
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This raises an interesting question, (not strictly related to this case). If a tenant in receipt of UC and going through a custody battle applies for a property, could a landlord reject them on affordability grounds on the basis that they may lose and have their UC payments reduced. Probably one for the courts.
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@David122
It would depend if it was proportionate on LL’s part but they can still refuse based on income
Lawful refusals to rent a property
A landlord or agent can refuse to let to a prospective tenant for non-discriminatory reasons. For example, a landlord or agent can take a prospective tenant’s income into account when considering whether they would be able to afford to pay the rent.
Also
Proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim
A landlord or agent has a defence to discrimination if it is a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim.[37] For example, refusing to let a property because it would lead to overcrowding might be proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim.
Not sure what would be proportionate but if eg even with benefits the amount of benefits LLA allowed by the council is below the rent, a LL could legitimately question how a tenant will make up the gap, which would only get worse if they lose a custody battle
Best
Arguments against would probably include that any tenant could lose their job and put the landlord in the same position. The similar question would then be whether a court would consider it proportionate to reject an applicant working for an employer that was planning a round of redundancies. In both situations there is a known risk at the point of application.
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Thank you.
No guarantor. The Tenant won’t move out, has made that perfectly clear and has put me in arrears before because she doesn’t pay her rent. She receives benefits, works (I’m assuming the minimum amount to get those benefits) and money to pay for the rent. She however doesn’t think its her responsibility to make up any shortfall out of her own “spending money”. For example, she doesn’t pay full rent then posts on social media about how she’s on holiday and has been here, there and everywhere but doesn’t understand that she has an obligation to pay the rent, because the Council haven’t paid her enough “free rent money” to cover it. You know like responsible adults budget bills/mortgage/rent first, she doesn’t see it that way. Then uses her children as a weapon to say that they will be homeless. She knew her contract was up and it wasn’t getting renewed but won’t actively look for anywhere else to live because she wants a free house now. She is totally playing the system.
Not renewing the contract is meaningless with respect to her tenancy status. Once the fixed term ended, a periodic tenancy arose automatically on largely the same terms. The only way to evict a tenant is by serving the appropriate notice and if necessary going to court. You’ve missed the opportunity to serve a s21, so if you want her out it will take many months before her arrears hit the 3 months rent threshold and when you add that to the notice period and court delays, you’re probably looking at a few years.
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If tenant regularly only part pays, then use ground 11 late payment?
Best
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Sorry I thought I said, a section 21 has been served, it expired on 30/4. I am now waiting for my solicitor to send me the bundle to go to court for an accelerated possession order.
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@sue.lufc19681 id chase your solicitirs it shouldn’t take a month.
(And use the ‘nearly legal s21’ flowchart to check the s21 was valid)
Good luck
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Everything is valid and has been done correctly. We had to wait for TDS to send us confirmation of the deposit certificate as I have changed property management company since the tenant started her contract, which they didn’t send through to us until last week.
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My apologies. You did indeed say that a s21 notice has been served.
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