I am an inexperienced landlord seeking advice on a challenging situation. I rented out my flat to a tenant a few years ago under a tenancy agreement that lasted for two years. When the agreement expired, I requested a rent increase, but the tenant refused and chose not to leave. A notice to leave was served when the tenancy agreement expired. The tenancy has now been expired for almost a year, yet the tenant continues to live in the property, paying the same rent that was set a few years ago.
While I understand this isn’t the worst-case scenario—since the tenant is still paying rent—I am experiencing considerable financial loss. The rent was agreed upon when mortgage rates were about a quarter of what I’m paying now, which has made the situation increasingly unsustainable.
My managing agency has been unwilling to take any action to address this, citing that there is little they can do on this. While I am hesitant to switch agencies, as my current arrangement with the agency includes insurance for rent arrears and covers legal costs, I feel stuck. I’m also unsure whether it’s wise to “rock the boat,” as I’m concerned about potential damage to my property if the tenant reacts poorly to any action I take.
This has left me in a difficult position for over a year now without a clear solution. I would greatly appreciate any guidance or suggestions on how to navigate this situation.
Presuming your rent increase is not unreasonable, and you have a rent review clause in the tenancy agreementt or issued a section 13 notice should. you should do the following (if you don’t and haven’t you need to issue a section 13 notice before any unagreed rent variation between you and the tenant has legal effect.
a) provide you tenant with monthly rent statement showing the rent arrears and any interest accrued on unpaid rent (@ the equivalent of 3% pa above the bank of england base rate)
b) If the rent exceeds 2 months in arrears or there is a regular shortfall or late payment you can issue a section 8 notice and evict the tenant and claim back rent plus interest plus court and other legal costs from the tenant
c) For them ometn you can also issue a section 21 “no fault” notice . but this will change soon - so if you are unhappy with tenancy you need to act fast!
If you do this you canot claim any unpaid rent as part of this eviction action - but if you have given proper notices you can claim it + court costs back in a separate legal action.
YOu may ned to take professional legal adcice as to where you stand
The notice doesn’t end the tenancy. You have to apply for a court possession order once the notice expires and then bailiffs after that. If it was s s21 notice it only has a shelf life of 6 months, so you would have to start again.
I feel your pain as I have been in that situation (kind of). We were 2 tenants, one was despicable to myself and the landlord and wouldn’t leave the property (and kept paying). Here’s what we did that you could try.
Inform the Tenant of Your Decision to Sell:
You could send a formal letter (or have your managing agency do so) explaining that due to financial challenges, you’ve made the difficult decision to sell the property.
Mention that the property will soon be listed for sale and that potential buyers may want to view it in the coming weeks.
Highlight that a vacant property is typically easier to sell, subtly encouraging them to consider moving out voluntarily. You could also pretend that you will carry refurbishing.
Engage a Real Estate Agent for Appearances:
Even if you’re not fully committed to selling, consulting a real estate agent and having them conduct a valuation or listing assessment could add credibility to your claim.
You could also schedule occasional viewings (even if they’re not genuine) to reinforce the idea that the sale is progressing. You can ask friends.
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In my experience, we pretended the property was sold and I actually moved out for a month ( went on vacation) which forced the other tenant to leave.
Additionally, have you looked at small claim court ? If the contract came to an end and your increase was reasonable. Reasonable means you are following the market trends, not what the tenant believes if fair or not.
You can action a small claim court and ask for compensation in regards to every month the tenant failed to pay the new rent price + interest.
The case will go to civil court and a judge will decide. You don’t need a lawyer and the fees are about £300 ( back in 2017, so maybe it is more expensive now).
I have every sympathy for your situation, but that level of effort to deceive is astounding. I’m a bit shocked. Surely there are more transparent ways of dealing with the situation.
I cant see how this ruse would work with most tenants. Surely the difficult one would just see the desire to sell as leverage and start asking for help with “moving expenses”.