I have a prospective tenant that has been very upfront and advised me he would likely fail referencing as he has a CCJ. He has offered 6 months rent in advance. I understand this would effectively mean that after 6 months he would revert to paying monthly, at which point with no RGI, I would be at risk if for any reason he were unable to keep up with his payments.
I have advised him it would be better if he could get a guarantor, in which case I could get RGI and avoid that risk. However, I was wondering does ‘6 months in advance’ ever mean maintaining 6 months in advance I.e. An initial instalment of 6 months and then pay monthly thereafter? In which case this would effectively be as good as RGI. Welcome any comments or experience on this.
It does not mean maintaining 6 months in advance unless you put this into the contract . I would ask the N L A . Was the debt for non payment of rent !!! Very often knowing WHAT the debt was for, have payments been made, may give you a better judgement. I never take anyone with a CCJ as I think this is part of the lesson in life.
You need to dig into the circumstances as to why he has ccj’S, as another person has said here it may be for rent!
Their attitude and explanation of the default will tell you all you need to know, so for example if it is for a trivial amount and it still went as far as court then think twice about taking them on. I have taken on people with ccjs when there are genuine circumstances but rejected others for being irresponsible.
As Emma13 said above, it really depends on the circumstances of the CCJ.
It may be for something totally unrelated, a small amount, many things.
Obviously if it is for unpaid rents it would ring alarm bells, but I don’t believe in people being penalised forever because of one mistake.
Thanks all for your replies. I looked into the CCJ’s and they were for trivial things and low amounts, but it appears the tenant only offered to pay them off once they became a problem for them (I.e. me raising them as an issue) as colin3 suggests, they should have paid them off long ago. I would have considered them had they had a guarantor and actually, they were able to provide one, but unfortunately Homelet would not offer me RGI even with a guarantor for this individual.
As I see it, no amount of deposits can let me accept tenants that can’t pass referencing because the ability to pay a deposit is only a reflection of someones current finances. Whereas, if their circumstances change for whatever reason, then there is no way a court will evict a tenant until the deposit i’m holding has been exhausted and they are at least 2 months in arrears.
Ian10 Hi You said it when you said THEY( more than one) were for trivial things. that tells us a lot about a persons attitude to owing money and you would become also someone to whom they owed money Regards Colin
Do not take anyone with CCJ as if they were careless enough not to pay debt,they will be careless with rent payments. I am going through eviction,section8 and its taking8months already! Law is on tenants side even if they are 100% at fault. Landlords are left with massive losses that i am surprised anyone is still renting!
Hi Vesna I’m sorry that your experiencing these issues and hope you get them sorted soon. I have to disagree with your comment thou as sometimes things happen in life and your struggle and fall into debt, I myself have fell into rent and council tax arrears when I suffered a stroke and was in able to work for 3 years due to the affects of the stroke and suffering from depression. I’ve paid off most of them now as I’ve been back in full-time employment for over 12th months but I don’t believe all People should be judged because of a select few who knowingly withhold rent.
pokerfroggy what you say is very true, Not everyone remains in good health Great that you have got back on your feet… Anyone in your situation should be totally upfront with their landlord at the start of any prospective tenancy
Hi Colin my name is phill and I will be upfront and honest with what I’ve been through. I have medical records regarding my health and letters and emails regarding my debits, I’m currently locked in a dispute with my local council/bennifits regarding bennifit overpayments as when I finally left hospital I was entitled to ESA and housing benefit and council tax, ( I admit I fell into about 6 months arrears as I was in hospital and the sick pay I received from work was disgusting) anyway I was unable to live by myself so told the council and handed in my keys to the property, with everything that had happened I didn’t think about letting the DSS know I’d left and they continued to pay rent and council tax to the local council, I have been told I’m liable for this as it was my responsibility to inform them but at the time this was the last thing I thought of and assumed the council wold of notified them that I’d given up the property. So as a result I’m paying back via attachment of earnings on my wages. I didn’t intentionally get into this situation but because of others who knowingly do this I’m branded the same.
Phil I have always been self employed since my apprenticeship, so have no idea about sick pay… Never needed it. Shows you need to let different departments know what is happening. Not assume they speak to each other. as the saying goes “there but for the grace of god go I”
It’s not brilliant tbh at the time is was about £35 aweek. Yes it’s been a costly mistake but a another lesson learned in life , I now have insurance incase I were ever that ill again but touch wood I won’t need it. I must say this community is great I’ve learned a lot over the past day about tennets rights also what a nightmare it can be for you landlords, it’s good to know your out there still providing lovely quality homes for folk like myself who can’t afford our homes.
Hi there Phil,
I read about your unfortunate events and I am glad you kind of sorted it out. But my case is a different story altogether. Tenant has knowingly witheld rent and never turned up in court or replied to Courts,legal people etc. I am sure this is not first time he has done it,but it looks like no one has ever pursued him through courts as I will, till the end. Many private landlords have got losses of up to8months rent plus legal fees which can be more than 2k if they take case till the end ,so many of them give up as soon as bad tenant is out. However this is giving crooks thumbs up as they go on to the next unsuspecting landlordd and do the same. If there is no CCJ against his name then he will cheat someone else. Your story was different as you were council tenants,and they always have money to pursue debt and usually get their money back,unlike private landlord.
If my tenants has any money issues he could have informed me so we can sort it out but he is a rent scammer and nothing else.
Sorry about lenghty story,its just to clarify situation…
Its beyond me why don’t landlords persist in taking things all the way,its already cost them an arm&a leg,numerous sleepless nights and all the stress and they forget all about it once tenant is out!? Hey,they robbed you of a couple of grand,your time and nerves etc and you will just let them go and do it to the next unsuspecting sod? No way,i might never get a penny out of them but they will certainly not go and do it again that easily! This has certainly been an eye opener for me and a hard way to learn a lesson.
I’d like to see it made easier for landlords to pursue tenants for arrears. I think it would actually end up benefiting tenants.
It’s a long, painful process to pursue arrears, and that discourages landlords from considering renting to tenants they see as more risky. That inevitably means that some tenants who would have been perfectly good tenants end up being avoided, because the risk of a painful arrears process is just not worth the risk.
So if it was easier to pursue arrears, landlords may well be more inclined to ‘take a risk’ on these tenants, who currently face a hard time despite many of them being great tenants.