There is a lot of detail on the Landlord Law website too
1 Like
a-a and david 122 have terrific legal knowledge and i learn from them when i read their posts. having had lots of abandonments i just give 24 hrs notice, go in and see whats going on, if there is water damage then time is money. take lots of photos. i re advertise and remove goods, if they are gone anything left will be crap. you just know. never tell the council as they are essentially the tenants ally.
i once had a bunch of good stuff left when the place was raided by snowdrops - the raf police. iāve also had doors broken in by regular police - dont expect any money back for damage as they are entering āfearing for the safety of the occupantsā or as we know it arresting them lol.
tenants rarely take a landlord to court as they have moved on. if they owe you money and have gone they are not coming back.
2 Likes
This was so helpful , thank you so much A_A :)))
Thanks Sidney, we went in after giving 24 hours notice , clear indications were there that they have left . Post all scattered , two bread packs dated 9th Feb covered in fungus , empty shampoo bottles about 9 of them in the shower, Literally no furniture except a broken bed base and a shabby mattress , no electricals anywhere in the flat etc. Only food rubbish or empty bottles left around.
We focused on the area of leak , treated it and came out of the property.
Essentially , I am wondering if we must continue to wait until they have hit the 6 months arrears and then serve section 8 ?
We have emailed them on their email address , but no response what so ever.
Last thing we want is an entrapment! i.e the minute we readvertise or relet , they turn up and put us in a difficult spot ā¦
Still dont know what is the best route to take ā¦ The tenant was very aggressive in the last conversation we had many weeks ago ā¦
1 Like
I had an abandonment issue years ago. The council delayed the inspection till the Monday as departure was Saturday. On Monday they reneged on their agreement. My solicitor suspected something was untoward at the council and told me to call the police and we waited till 930pm and let the police call it (I was subject to verbal abuse and previously called 999 because I feared physical abuse from an unknown third party who alleged he was a guest, although his pension document were coming to the houseā¦ ).
That was a student HMO on individual contracts so I could go into communal areas without 24 hours notice but could not go in their room as that is subject to the 24 hour rule. Drug paraphernalia was lying around, a sublet had occurred etc etc
My solicitor would not let me throw away socks because he said they will allege they were valuable until the police called it!
I would still advise you to take legal advice. There is a case of a Landlord fined Ā£20K for calling an abandonment when the tenant was in prison. The Tenant sued the Landlord from prison and won his case.
Pay a little now rather than a lot later.
The problem in your case is they told you it was not abandoned and as David says you donāt know if it was a recorded conversation
3 Likes
Yes A_A , so sorry you had to go through all that trouble. It is unbelievable how much psychological pressure and stress tenants can create with their rogue behaviours. Having said that , we have some wonderful people as tenants too , I have so much respect for them.
We are heading towards a Legal process.
On May 31st, the Covid restrictions will finish. Which means hopefully we can then serve them Section 8 , with two weeks notice . ( they will have accrued 4 months rent by then )
It is absolutely clear , the flat has been abandoned, they are not responding to signed mails , emails or any other way of communication.
We will be seeking a CCJ against them before we re-advertise the flat.
I agree with your post that we cannot allow ourselves to fall into any kinds of traps, as the fines can be life changing for us .
2 Likes
Leaving the place empty for many months will cost you a lot of money. I strongly urge you to call the guy in the video above at JMW Solicitors.
1 Like
I wouldnāt worry about it theyāve gone just get on clean it up and get an advert in today. They called you to say they had gone and to go in donāt you remember that call? Be a bit creative.
Just get your ducks in a row for the council they are aggressive towards ll for ctax
Ps if they have a key maybe change the lock. Euro locks are easy and mortice just get same dimensions and its easily done
1 Like
No , Sidney, they didnāt say they had gone. They were playing up , wanted deposit back on the spot in cash , didnt want to sign end of tenancy document. They have been threatening since the second week of moving into the property .
Now they are not responding at all , but it could very well be a possible entrapment , they know they are in a position of power until we decide to go to court. Which we will
Your call, good luck
With regards to rent, found this on the website, posted 5 days ago. hope it helps you.
If They Are Claiming Universal Creditā¦
You can ask for a tenantās housing costs under universal credit to be paid direct to you if the tenants owes at least 2 monthsā rent. You need to:
- complete the right form on Gov.uk
- provide details of the arrears
You can also request deductions from a tenantās universal credit towards the rent arrears. Deductions should stop once the arrears are cleared.
Tenants can also request that payments are made directly to you, if they are in arrears or struggling to budget.
There is more information on the Shelter website and in the Governmentās guide to universal credit for private landlords.
It may force the tenant to release the property if theyāre not receiving a chunk of their benefit. It worked for us a few years ago, they surrendered the keys, but we rent in Wales where laws vary, but I have checked. As advised, speak to a solicitor and the very best of luck, these situations stink and cause stress.
5 Likes
Thanks Sonia, we did that last month , got in touch with the UC, after several mails to and fro , they stated that the tenant is not "cooperating " with them and so they are unable to forward the rent to us or clear the arrears at all .
It isnt as straight foward as we tend to think. The landlord gets a hit immensely and so much time gets wasted running after rogue tenants .
2 Likes
that is the problem with UC you will not get it direct if the tenant lies or does not cooperate. so why take a chance in the first place? If EVERY landlord says that they with not take UC tenants UNLESS the system goes in their favour, then it may change . Until then, no UC at all, for me, and I am about to let a couple of good flats.
3 Likes
Hi Samia1, to be able to seek CCJ we need to do this before re-letting the property? It is because you donāt know their forwarding address? Iām in similar situation, would like to know more about how you deal with it please.
Thanks