Hi
Excuse my ignorance I’ve not had to do anything like this before. Tenant has stopped paying rent suddenly and no response to any communication have tried to be polite asking if there’s an issue to just let me know but nothing.
How can i go about the eviction process. conscious that its probably going to take ages to do this in the current climate is there a quicker way?
Hi Piers,
Have you paid the tenants a visit, you need to give them 24 hours (written) notice, face to face may be the best approach.
I had a similar situation with tenants earlier in the year, turns out they were very immature and scared, had lost their jobs (due to COVID) and didn’t know what to do, I pointed them in the direction of accessing services, and they were able to turn their situation around.
Others on here will be able to explain the different section 21 or 8 notices you can serve to start the eviction process, generally, you need to give 2 months notice, and as you anticipate it can be a very lengthy process.
Do you have any more background on your situation, i.e. how many payments have they missed, is this a new tenancy, do the tenants have any prior debt history, are you covered by rent guaranteed insurance, as this will help better tailor a response.
all the best,
Maryanne
Hi Piers
You would need to give 6 months notice. Assuming this will end after the end of any fixed term then section 21 notice would normally be preferred route. If they dont leave after the 6 months you will have to get a court order which currently could take a further 12 months.
Given that giving notice is likely to lead to a deterioration in your relationship with tenant and reduce the chances of the tenant paying you could be left with no rent for an extended period it is worth trying to resolve the situation amicably if possible. If they can’t afford your rent chances are they can’t afford elsewhere so wont move.
As Maryanne has said a lot of tenants would be scared if unable to pay rent so if they have been good tenants up to now you should point them towards universal credit (if applicable) and you could proactively offer a rent reduction for a few months to be offset against the deposit. If you are nice about it it makes it far harder for tenants to completely stop paying rent which would cost you far more in long term than a short term reduction. Wont work with everyone though. Alternatively you could offer to surrender the tenancy, depends on tenants situation and you really need to discuss with them to try to agree a mutually satisfactory outcome.
I had this about 18 months ago. It turned out that the tenant had lost their job and had to give their phone back. I hadn’t realised that the only number and email I had for him were for work. I managed eventually to find an old number for his wife and he responded straight away. As has been said, go around there and speak with him.