Tenants separating and not paying full rent

Landlord Discussion
1

Hi, our tenants (husband wife) are telling us that they have separated. One of them (husband) is not contactable anymore and the wife is saying she can only pay half the rent. What are my rights?

2

Hi Kaveri,

We’re sorry to hear this.

In order to assist you, please get in touch with the team at https://www.openrent.co.uk/faq#i-have-more-questions.

Kind Regards,
George

3

This happened to me. Back in June 2018. She demanded I put just her name on tenancy agreement which I refused as he was the earner, and she was waiting for council support. Gave her 8 notice, followed by court order, the bailiffs are coming end of Nov. Mean while I have had no rent for over two months. Good luck.

4

Thanks for the reply Juliet. I’m sorry you’ve had similar problem with tenants. Can I ask if you hired lawyers or did you do this yourself? If so, anyone in particular you’ll recommend?

5

Did it all myself. Happy to help.

Juliet

6

Thanks Juliet. I don’t know if you’ll have time for a phonecall? Perhaps message me directly on kaverirajan @ gmail.com?

My questions are:

  1. This is the first month when they haven’t paid rent. Does section 8 apply now or do I have to wait for two months before I can serve them notice?

  2. The wife keeps on asking me to give a letter stating that only she is living at the address. I think she wants to take it to the council to get help. I am not sure whether this is at all a good idea?

Thanks heaps for your help.

Best,

Kaveri