My tenant has just informed me that from next month when his wages cease he will not be able to afford all of the rent. I already charge about £150 per month less than the average. I don’t know where to start with all this. He has always paid his rent in the past.
Sit down with him
And fill in the benefits form
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It is really unfortunate that he is losing his income. He will need to find another one pretty soon or look to claim benefits to keep the roof that you provide (at a very reasonable cost) over his head. It may sound cruel but you should prepare yourself to serve an eviction notice. He cannot be allowed to stay paying only some of the rent which will go down to nothing as his finances become completely depleted. The council are there to pick up the pieces in these situations.
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Well, you have a decent tenant there and, if I were you, I’d be keen to keep him. Many tenants in a similar situation would withhold that information for fear that you might
as soon as you found out.
Losing your job is hard but, in the UK, it’s not the end of the world. He needs to sign on and claim UC. There’ll be a delay between the claim and payment and you might have to negotiate something to bridge that gap. For example, he could make a backdated payment of rent if necessary once the first UC payment comes in. He also need to start looking for alternative work so you could talk to him about that.
He’s been up front with you and I would also be up front with him about the fact that you cannot supplement the rent any further, and that if he falls 2 months behind in arrears then he’ll be left with no choice but to find cheaper accommodation elswhere.
But any tenant who is up front with you about financial hardship already trusts the relationship they have with you and that is worth a great deal.
Thank you so much for your replies, especially Chris which is really useful advice
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