My fairly new tenant hasn’t paid his rent this month. I’ve texted and left a voicemail for him but no response. Right now it’s only 5 days late but I’d love advice about what my next steps should be and at what point of lateness. Thanks for your thoughts!
Oh dear. Sorry to hear this. I think you have to start with a letter, (posted to the address and copied electronically) stating that his rent was due on a particular date and he is now in arrears. Ask for him to contact you and to clear the debt within the next 48 hours.
If he doesn’t respond, you could send a section 8 notice under ground 10. This is a discretionary ground and I wouldn’t recommend you go to court solely based on this. I would still include a note to ask him to contact you to discuss it if he is having difficulty paying the rent.
I think the next step if this doesn’t work would be a s21 notice. Then you just have to wait and hope he gets in touch at some point or it will be many months before you can evict him.
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Hi @Mitra, I think @David122’s advice is pretty good.
I think when it’s this early in the tenancy you have to assume the best but prepare for the worst.
I rent and at the start of my tenancy I was a week late with my rent. I had simply forgotten to pay since my previous tenancy had a standing order, and I wasn’t in the habit of manually paying every month.
My landlord simply sent me a text asking if everything was ok and I immediately set up a standing order so it wouldn’t happen again.
I think this was a great way to deal with the situation because it gives the tenant the benefit of the doubt, which they will certainly appreciate if it is an honest mistake. That will help keep a good relationship between you for the remainder of the tenancy.
Sam
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