Covid rent reduction fraudulently obtained?

Reply to the comment left by Ian Narbeth at 25/01/2024 - 11:31
Thanks Ian. The guarantor was aware as I contacted him and told him after I had agreed to the rent reduction on the understanding that the tenant wasn't going to living in the flat i.e was moving back to parents but he didn't. Moreover the tenant became particularly belligerent from that point on making up spurious complaints, demanding gas emergency engineers attend (when no defect could be found). Complaining about phantom bad smells. Essentially making life as difficult as possible for me, even though he wasn't supposed to be at the flat. So it's a complex and probably untested case. I did agree to the reduction but only on the basis that he would be temporarily vacating the flat, the guarantor was made aware of this at the time.

You are undoubtedly in the ‘moral’ right. However I personally don’t think you will automatically win in court. The tenant may have originally intended to move out (or did for a week) then changed their mind & decided to stay. Unless you had a written contract to state when the rent would return to the previous level and under what conditions, then he may only be guilty of being an odious human being.

I reduced the rent on one property to a couple who claimed hardship during the Covid period when I suspect they actually had no change to their financial circumstances. They clearly just tried it on, but I knew if they stopped paying altogether then I’d be in much more trouble with no evictions and court proceedings. So I decided to take a small hit rather than risk a bigger problem.

On the other hand, I had a genuinely lovely couple who did really struggle after losing work, and despite my offer to reduce the rent by 25%, they simply couldn’t even afford that. We agreed to end the tenancy early so they could move out to somewhere cheaper.

Hi Helen
Just a few questions....

What was the nature of the employment of this tenant? Was his income likely to have been adversely affected during the pandemic? Was he furloughed?

Also, what were the reasons for taking guarantors for his tenancy?

Quite a few of my tenants who were furloughed actually saved quite a lot of money during the pandemic due to nil transport costs and nowhere to spend disposable income. Your tenant might have been in a similar situation - so don't naturally link the pandemic with financial loss.

All the best with the claim! That's what I would do, but on the claim form, I would refer to this as 'misrepresentation of facts for financial gain' rather than 'fraud'. Magistrates don't like that term in their courts so compile your evidence in support of your case calmly and professionally. Detail your loss as a result of the reduction which you offered in good faith at the time, believing the tenant..... Explain that you subsequently had reason to question the tenant's integrity (over the call outs, etc) and as a result you found the online evidence. You found yourself exploited and wish to be reclaim your losses.

Stay polite and calm, stick to non-accusatory language and rely on the facts to demonstrate your willingness to work with the tenant with the best of intentions at the time. That should be enough for justice to be restored - if the claim against the guarantors doesn't come to anything. Try that first though.

Lord

Reply to the comment left by LordOf TheManor at 27/01/2024 - 12:12
Many thanks that's really helpful advice. The tenant didn't work he was a mature student dependant on his parents, so his income wasn't affected at all. I felt pressurised to agree to the reduction in case he stopped paying at all and all evictions were ceased at the time. What was also extremely stressful was that after I had agreed to the reduction , and when he wasn't suppose to be at the property as the agreement was he was leaving to return to his parents. He made constant spurious complaints which involved expensive tradesman's visits. Thanks again for your advice.

Reply to the comment left by Helen Mary Thomson at 27/01/2024 - 12:28
Hi Helen

Well, in that case, his income wasn't affected at all! He would still have been in receipt of his student loan & any bursary (if applicable). None of that changed.

Students (unless they have permanent work alongside their studies & earn enough to support the rent) are not considered to have 'income'. Your claim therefore lies with his guarantors.

Write to them to formally call in the debt based on misrepresentation of facts by the student they sponsored. Politely remind them that they are responsible for the shortfall and they remain signed up to that effect. In your letter, assume that they will pay by saying you look forward to the receipt of £x in 7 days time.

If they don't respond, send a chaser later - saying you had hoped to hear from them by now. No response to that then needs a letter of your intent to pursue via the Courts - give them a final specific date. Say no further correspondence will be entered into beyond that.

Then make a Moneyclaim online and let the civil process take over. That drives the dates for responses from both parties so it's just following postal instructions from then on. It might not come to that... but if it does, post again!

Go for it, Helen.

Lord

Reply to the comment left by LordOf TheManor at 27/01/2024 - 14:38
Thank you so much, that is highly valuable advice. Would you know what the time limitation is for bringing the claim? I googled it and it states six years, but I'd always thought breach of contract was five years. Either way I have still have enough time.
Thanks again.

Reply to the comment left by Helen Mary Thomson at 27/01/2024 - 16:29
I'd say 6 years....

With the mess of the pandemic and the backlog that followed, a lot of time has stood still when claims would have gone nowhere in the system. Doing your own 'mopping up' now is the earliest sensible time.

Reply to the comment left by LordOf TheManor at 27/01/2024 - 17:18
Thank you