HMO tenant vanished?

HMO tenant vanished?

10:10 AM, 10th February 2022, About 2 years ago 5

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I hope someone can help me after I issued a section 8 about 3 weeks ago. I have had no reply from the tenant, who is also 3 months in arrears with their rent.

I visited the room in the HMO property today, but no one seems to have seen him in over a month.

His clothes etc are still there etc… but he’s not been there!

His phone is always switched off.

Has anyone any initial advice, please?

Many thanks

Paul


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Comments

Alison King

11:19 AM, 10th February 2022, About 2 years ago

The first thing I'd do is try googling his name. Maybe he's in prison in which case it may come up in court judgements, or perhaps he has had an accident which has been reported or a Facebook account that might shed some light.

Blodwyn

11:33 AM, 10th February 2022, About 2 years ago

Ask the Police as a potentially missing person?

David

15:16 PM, 10th February 2022, About 2 years ago

Yes, I would agree that this should be reported to the Police. Was the person a foreign national who may no longer be in the country?

Ian Simpson

7:14 AM, 12th February 2022, About 2 years ago

I would send a formal s21 (and s8G8 if no rent) notice to his last known phone number, and last known address and also leave a copy in the room for another month.(Take a date-stamped photo of the notice lying there in the room) Then bag up his possessions, put them in storage somewhere ( eg Big Yellow etc.) , change the locks, wait another month ands then re-let the room.,

I have had 10-20 just disappear over the years, we usually give it about two months (which is the notice period on (the soon to be defunct) s21. The chances of people like this coming back to sue for wrongful eviction are slim to none.

Mike

8:14 AM, 12th February 2022, About 2 years ago

I have had that, one of my EU tenant said he was going home (that's his true home by the way) and he would be back in 4 weeks and when he comes back he will sort out the rent for that month he is gone away.

I am a easy landlord so I said no problem, off he went, 2 months went by no sign of him, so I started to send him text messages, asking him to contact me, or if he is not intending to come back then either way to let me know, still no reply from him, so after another week I started to give him ultimate warning or notice using text messages that unless I hear from him, I will assume that he has abandoned his room and I shall therefore remove all his remaining belongings and store it in my cellar, and seek another tenant.

Still not heard from him, almost coming to 3 months, I put abandonment notice outside his room door, as is required by law, also put a section 8, two weeks Notice for failing to pay rent for over two months. After two more weeks, I filed court proceedings, my hearing came a month later and I attended the court, I continued to text him when the court hearing was and so on, he never turned up and court awarded me immediate possession, no need for bailiffs or anything, just cleared his room and stuffed his belongings in my cellar, I was glad I took this legal route as he turned up two weeks later smiling asking for new set of keys, as I had also changed the door locks, soon his smile faded away when I showed him the court order, he then went away and came back a few days later to collect his belongings. Glad I got rid of irresponsible idiot.

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