Profile incomplete
9:55 AM, 3rd July 2019, About 5 years ago 69
Text Size
My letting agent took on a lady in May last year who I knew was vulnerable. She was on the higher rate of both care and mobility Disability Living Allowance so her total income was £470 per week including her housing benefit.
Her rent was £850 per month which was at the higher end of the market rents for the area so I would not need to increase it for a good couple of years. The property is in a small town and my only other applications were from working tenants who could barely afford the rent. This tenant came highly recommended. Despite suffering a severe physical disability which left her confined to bed much of the time and mental health problems (bipolar 1 disorder for which she takes a lot of medication), she is a Catholic and regularly attended the local convent church for services when she was physically able. The Mother Superior of the convent was/is a good friend of hers and accompanied the tenant to the viewing. The letting agent also met her Deputy and some of the other Sisters when she was moving in. I have never had any doubt that she is a good person.
However on 15th July last year the Mother Superior telephoned the letting agent to tell him that my tenant had attempted suicide in my property and was in intensive care. She wasn’t expected to survive. Of course I felt terrible when I heard. Fortunately the tenant did pull through, but she was taken to a mental hospital out of area.
After 28 days of being in hospital her benefits were severely cut by the DWP. She lost all of her disability living allowance and her severe disability premium. This was a financial loss to her of over £200 per week!
My tenant was mentally ill in hospital, trying to recover and now couldn’t afford to pay all of her bills and her rent shortfall! I had the full rent at the end of August and after that she paid me all of her housing benefit and the remains of her saving account. She was unable to pay me any of the shortfall as her bills and direct debits left her with just £17 to live on per week and she needed that for her basic expenses. When she had to go to the emergency dentist for example she had to pay for the taxi herself-£9.70 each way as the hospital don’t provide transport and they don’t provide toiletries except for the first night. My tenant’s situation was further complicated by the fact that a week before she tried to take her life someone broke into the property in the middle of the day whilst she was asleep, assaulted her, threatened her and stole money and personal possessions from her. Being resuscitated in hospital caused an injury which has put her in a wheelchair so she has been confined to the ward and cannot climb the three flights of stairs to the property. The hospital kept promising my tenant physiotherapy as well as mental health treatment with the aim being for an eventual return home. It was understood by all parties that the wheelchair was not permanent.
It is now a year on and my tenant is still in hospital. The arrears are now in excess of £2500. The physiotherapy achieved little. The tenant is unable to climb stairs or walk more than a couple of metres. The hospital have changed their mind several times about where she would best be living. The tenant kept the letting agent fully updated as to her progress. But he got fed up with her and she says he threatened her and was very hostile towards her. He refused to provide her with a reference, speak to the hospital at all or to confirm in writing that my tenant had rent arrears and how much she owed. The Sisters at the Convent have confirmed this with the hospital.
Allegedly the letting agent actually told my tenant that if the hospital called him he would immediately evict her. But this situation just could not continue, so I served a Section 21 notice on her in May. It expires on 22nd. The problem is my tenant has no landlord reference and no guarantor. Her mother is lending her money for a new tenancy. The hospital are going to the huge expense of hiring a private ambulance crew to carry her up and down the stairs to oversee the packing of her belongings and the cleaning of the property when she does have somewhere else to go to, but I am worried as to how long this will take. The tenant does want to leave hospital and hospital do want her out so they are making every effort to house her, but she can’t be housed by any council as b&bs, hostels etc can’t cater for her needs. Two different councils confirmed that to be the case, she has to go down the private renting route and have care at home which has already been approved.
I have had enough now. I intend to take my tenant to court on 23rd if she hasn’t left.
The gas safety inspection was due last March. I didn’t want to bother my tenant at the time. I wrote to her last week asking for access to carry it out and she has contacted me insisting I leave it till she has vacated as she is unable to be present and the Sisters at the convent refuse to attend as they also say I am being unreasonable.
The boiler was apparently switched off at the main switch last Summer and there are no other gas appliances in the property. Do I have the right to send my engineer inside? Does my tenant have rights under the Equality Act?
What about her furniture and belongings if I do get possession? According to the letting agent she has a lot of heavy furniture and a lot of possessions up there-far more than most people and there are trip hazards all over the property due to furniture in the hallways etc. I have nowhere to store it and I don’t want to touch it either.
What do you think I should do?
All advice and feedback gratefully received with much thanks.
Joyce
Editors Note
Dear Joyce, I have asked Paul Shamplina and his team at Landlord Action to assist with your question and have received their response below:
Hi Joyce,
I am sorry to hear about the difficult situation you are experiencing. The position the tenant finds herself in does naturally lead one to feel extremely upset and sorry for her.
Am I being too harsh?
The tenant comes across as a nice and pleasant individual who is trying her utmost best to resolve the situation. Contrast that to cases where some tenants wilfully refuse to pay rent in the hope that a landlord serves a section 21 notice in order for the Local Authority to provide them with social housing. Due to the unfortunate events and circumstances, it is clear that the property is not suitable for her needs and she is simply unable to pay or reduce all of the rent arrears. I am sure that she will understand your decision to evict her. The issues with the tenant have been ongoing for a long period of time and I therefore am of the view that you have been reasonable to the tenant throughout this difficult period. Please also remember that it is not your fault that the tenant cannot afford to pay the arrears. You should not take the burden on your shoulders.
Will the Court automatically grant possession?
If a deposit was payable by the tenant, you will need to ensure you have complied with the deposit regulations on time. You will also need to ensure you have served the tenant with the prescribed documents (gas safety certificate, EPC and how to rent guide (if applicable)). Failure to adhere to both of these requirements could result in your claim being dismissed.
If the section 21 notice was served correctly and the claim form is completed to reflect all of the above, the court should automatically grant possession. The section 21 notice is also known as the “no fault” notice so the Court will need to grant a possession order regardless of the tenant’s situation. By going down the section 21 route, you will not be awarded a judgement for the arrears owed to you. You simply require the tenant to vacate so that you can have your property back.
Equality Act 2010
Another important consideration for you is the Equality Act 2010. The tenant may claim disability discrimination under this act on the basis that you are discriminating against her because of her disability and the eviction is not a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim.
Discrimination can be direct (e.g. treating a tenant less favourably simply because they are disabled), indirect (e.g. you would decide to evict any tenant, but a disabled tenant is put at a greater disadvantage) or simply treating someone less favourably because of something they have or have not done as a result of their disability. In this scenario, the tenant may seek to rely on discrimination arising from her disability. She may argue that whilst you have not (in)directly discriminated against her, the rent arrears are linked to her disability and your decision to evict is based on this.
Discrimination arising from her disability can be justified if it can be shown that your decision to evict her is a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim. There is a four-stage test to consider here:
If the tenant raises discrimination as a defence, the onus will be on you to satisfy the above test.
Who will pay my court fees?
You will have to pay a Court fee of £355.00 in the first instance which the Court will order your tenant to pay you back. If you have a Solicitor representing you, the Court will award you fixed costs only of £69.50 to be paid by the tenant. The tenant can apply to pay in instalments but this will be very difficult as the tenant clearly does not have the wherewithal to pay your costs. You are entitled to your costs but you can also chose not to claim them.
Tenant’s belonging still at the Property?
After the tenant has vacated or has been evicted, you should afford her a reasonable period of time to collect her belongings. What is a reasonable period of time depends on what items are left in the property and of course her disability. If there are bulky items, you may have to afford her longer to collect her belongings. I would suggest that, if the tenant fails to collect her belongings within a reasonable period of time, you should place the items in a storage facility as that will be cheaper for you than leaving the property sitting empty due to the items. You should inform the tenant where her belongings are and provide her with a reasonable time frame to arrange to collect her belongings.
Hope the above helps your situations and I wish you all the best.
Specialists in tenant eviction and debt collection. Regulated by The Law Society.
Next Article
Universal Credit Landlord engagement
CARIDON LANDLORD SOLUTIONS
17:58 PM, 8th July 2019, About 5 years ago
It may be worthwhile you assisting the tenant and contact Housing Benefit (I presume she is on Housing Benefit as she is on high rate mobility and DLA) to ascertain why there was breaks in her Housing Benefit claim and to see whether she qualifies for a back date.
There are also other avenues you could explore to recover arrears incurred as her case seems quite complex. As she has disabilities the council should also have a duty of care
20:39 PM, 8th July 2019, About 5 years ago
Reply to the comment left by Seething Landlord at 08/07/2019 - 09:56
Yes I have been receiving her housing benefit directly since last October and I don’t see how it could possibly be clawed back. I checked the law. The tenant still lives in the property as the tenancy agreement is still valid as she hasn’t ended her tenancy. All of her furniture and belongings are still there. Housing benefit can be paid for up to 52 weeks of the tenant being in hospital but if during that time the tenant spends just one night there then the year starts all over again. She spent two nights there in November though she tried to end her life on the second. She is entitled to the housing benefit as she is still on ESA and I have been receiving the one bedroom LHA rate for her. It’s the shortfall which she can’t afford.
20:51 PM, 8th July 2019, About 5 years ago
Reply to the comment left by CARIDON LANDLORD SOLUTIONS at 08/07/2019 - 17:54
Her claim hasn’t ended. Her housing benefit claim for the property began when she moved in last year but it was being paid to her until October. She last paid me in full the payment due in late August but I didn’t receive it till 3rd September. She didn’t pay on 24th September or October so Housing Benefit then started paying directly to me but she says she had already asked them to pay me directly hence didn’t pay me again and paid me a couple of payments in November which she received in October. I think she has pocketed a couple of payments. It’s very confusing because housing benefit pay us in arrears. She owes now maybe £2300?
colette
15:42 PM, 9th July 2019, About 5 years ago
If she has been sectioned then she cannot leave hospital voluntarily. She then becomes subject to S.117 aftercare and social services must pay for her care/support. if if she went into a house and was assessed as needing carer calls they would have to pay this in full. If she went into a care home then social services would have to pay the full care home bill - I would think social services and the nhs are fighting over who pays what and helps her which is the usual scenario in these cases. If the convent is so involved why are they not offering to accommodate/support her in the interim and also store her belongings? As the kicked in door showed no damage according to your agent then how could it have been kicked in and therefore become your responsibility she was attacked by friends of a carer she employed directly. Just because people have mental health issues does not mean they are not capable of con tricks and other actionsd. As I said before if she has a deputy you should be chasing him/her
17:18 PM, 9th July 2019, About 5 years ago
Colette it was a temporary Section to stop her returning to the property when they needed the bed in the general hospital not a treatment order so no Section 117 aftercare rights. She has told me she is waiting for a financial assessment of how much she has to pay towards her home care as that will affect how much she is able to pay me in per week/month of her rent arrears. So nobody is fighting over who pays for her care as she will have to pay for some of it herself and social services the rest. The NHS won’t be paying for anything. The kicked in door had minor damage where it had been kicked in but nothing major such as coming off its hinges as the lock was a
simple Yale lock. The convent mostly consists of elderly sick Sisters nowadays. They could not possibly accommodate her or her furniture and belongings there as it is only a small convent and the Mother Superior lives there with just two active Sisters (aged 82 and 89) and 11 sick elderly Sisters aged 81-98 crammed in who all require a lot of care and attention and who only have the Sisters and three part-time carers to look after them! It is only because the Mother Superior and the tenant are very close friends that they are involved in the first place. My tenant has NO deputy. I have no idea why you think that she has. There certainly is nothing to suggest that the door was a con. The women who kicked it in were NOT friends of someone she employed as I have stated twice. They were friends of someone who APPLIED but for some reason she chose NOT to employ them. Perhaps they didn’t have the relevant experience or she didn’t trust them. But what took place is legally known as “aggravated burglary” and it was THAT which led to her breakdown which caused her to attempt suicide and nearly die. Twice. No other happening has ever been mentioned as a trigger to her mental decline. The Mother Superior explained to the letting agent how the AB left the tenant a nervous wreck and from then she just went downhill.
Paul Maguire
20:00 PM, 9th July 2019, About 5 years ago
Reply to the comment left by Fuming Landlord at 09/07/2019 - 17:18
Presumable the door is still easy to kick in as there's no-one inside to actuate the bolts ?? Or did the letting agent think to renew the Yale lock too? Just wondering about her possessions. A mortice lock would've been better. Wish I could stop thinking about this lol.
20:33 PM, 9th July 2019, About 5 years ago
Reply to the comment left by Paul Maguire at 09/07/2019 - 20:00That’s all there was. The Yale lock. No bolts. The letting agent did fit some bolts on the back of the door eventually but that wasn’t until the tenant had been almost died from suicide and been transferred from the general hospital to the mental one the first time.
CARIDON LANDLORD SOLUTIONS
21:02 PM, 9th July 2019, About 5 years ago
Reply to the comment left by Fuming Landlord at 09/07/2019 - 20:33
This is a very complex case and I can understand your frustration.
Are you able to give me a call to go through your case.
There are other options that you can explore to recover the rent arrears such as a DHP ad the tenant is clearly vulnerable.
Paul Maguire
21:19 PM, 9th July 2019, About 5 years ago
Sorry. I was meaning the current situation. If he fitted bolts to the back of the door, they would only be working if there was someone inside to close them. If no-one's in then there's just the Yale to deter entry, and it doesn't seem to do a good job on it's own. If he didn't renew the Yale with something more substantial....what's to stop some crook going round and emptying the flat.