My patience is being tested – Should I evict?

My patience is being tested – Should I evict?

14:47 PM, 16th April 2018, About 6 years ago 24

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I currently have a problem with a tenant who has been with me for over 7 years in a HMO renting out a room on an individual AST.

He notified me and the agent that manages the property at the end of February that he has run into financial hardship having lost his job. He stated that he would not be able to make the March payment (due last day of Feb) and has subsequently failed to make the April payment which was due at the end of March.

He requested the agents don’t add any interest onto the debt. The agents asked for a plan and an update a few weeks later. Unfortunately the tenant has not responded to the agent however has picked up the phone on a few occasion when I called him.

I am getting really frustrated as I told the tenant that he has to communicate with the Agent so we can work together to resolve the issue. I feel for the tenant, but his failure to respond to the agent is worrying me. I know the agents letters and emails may be worrying the tenant, but I did explain that by updating them that is the best way!

My questions are 1) Should I evict the tenant? I believe he is already in rental arrears violation
and that a Section 8 can be issued.

2) Have other landlords used a company to do this or is there clear guidelines available in a pack form or a reputable company that can do this?

I am not naturally a hard person but this is testing my patience.

Many thanks

Raj


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Comments

Siobhan Southern

11:06 AM, 17th April 2018, About 6 years ago

Reply to the comment left by sam at 17/04/2018 - 10:45
This forum helps and advises all landlords - some not as experienced or battle weary as others. If the responses become 'Facebook style', it'll put some of us off. No question is unreasonable. We're in this together.

Darren Peters

11:10 AM, 17th April 2018, About 6 years ago

Ensure you have all the paperwork correct then issue a Section 21 so the clock starts ticking for the tenant. Then have a friendly chat with the tenant to see what is going on. Perhaps he's working through universal credit or whatever in which case you can be sympathetic and if you see he is progressing back towards normality you don't have to enforce the notice but if he's spinning you a line you haven't wasted any time.

Luke P

11:38 AM, 17th April 2018, About 6 years ago

Reply to the comment left by Siobhan Southern at 17/04/2018 - 11:06
Whilst we are all in the same industry, we are not 'all in it together'. You should ensure you have sufficient foundation of knowledge to do the job first rather than holding a sense of moral entitlement to assistance from others, merely because they are in the same line of work and you have chosen to get into BTL.

Of course there will be a certain amount of incredulity when a landlord is lacking in the very basics and seemingly assumes their hand will be held (moaning when it's not).

If the OP is so stressed and, I'd guess, close-to-the-wire monetarily, they should not be in this game. Playing so dangerously leads to irrational/poor decision-making, which in turn leads to bad press for the rest of us.

Learn to fly the plane, THEN apply for the airline job -don't claim it's not your fault that you don't know what you're doing and lose control, blaming the other pilot for failing to show you what's what. There job is not to carry you. You are not entitled to be a landlord...certainly not an ill-informed one, just because you got yourself a property!

Paul Shears

11:42 AM, 17th April 2018, About 6 years ago

Wow tha''s a bit harsh!

Luke P

11:45 AM, 17th April 2018, About 6 years ago

Reply to the comment left by Paul Shears at 17/04/2018 - 11:42
But right on the nose.

Ken Johns

14:29 PM, 17th April 2018, About 6 years ago

But then you get some very helpful people in the world

Chris @ Possession Friend

23:28 PM, 17th April 2018, About 6 years ago

If you want a reasonable cost Possession service, post your email address and I might be able to recommend one.

Gary Dully

7:19 AM, 19th April 2018, About 6 years ago

It’s time to evict, especially if your tenant has stuck his head in the sand.
He will still be entitled to his day in court, If you use the section 8 route, with section 21 you will get possession, but will have to do a separate claim for a money order.

As for being a Landlord, only if you are wealthy enough, i’m of a different opinion to Luke.

It isn’t your fault that your tenant has gotten into difficulties, it isn’t your fault that people have an opinion of your right to be a Landlord.
But this can be a lonely industry to be in and you won’t find many friends outside of it.

The beauty of the BTL industry, is that anybody deemed able to rent to a certain standard can join it and become successful.

You can avoid costs of eviction with rental insurance and employ agents with the necessary knowledge as you learn the ropes, so all possibilities can be covered.

That is true ‘social mobility’, instead, it is becoming a “closed shop”, for those who feel entitled because they can project their wealth and keep newcomers out, with their ideas of who can and can’t be in their realm.

So Luke, I will have to disagree on your comments, it’s bad enough that the World and his granny attack landlords, he doesn’t deserve it from people within the industry.

Luke, your not being helpful, you are dismissive of someone trying to learn how to deal with rent arrears.

That’s why this forum exists, long may it stay that way.

Paul Shears

9:02 AM, 19th April 2018, About 6 years ago

Reply to the comment left by Gary Dully at 19/04/2018 - 07:19
Gary, I could not agree more. Very well said.

Luke P

11:04 AM, 19th April 2018, About 6 years ago

Reply to the comment left by Gary Dully at 19/04/2018 - 07:19
I didn't say you should be wealthy, but you should ensure that you have a reasonable knowledge of the basics and not run a on a shoestring. Six weeks of arrears (seemingly for the first time too), especially as a fraction of the overall income of an HMO, should not cause the communicated level of stress. It smacks of complete naivety, but

Asking the question isn't a problem. Expecting tenants to pay their rent on time isn't a problem. Not having enough working capital to sustain an realistic level of arrears (<1.2% of the annual rent in this case), being aghast when it happens is and not furnishing yourself with a reasonable level of knowledge to either deal with it (what is probably lesson 1 of BTL...arrears) and expectation is a problem. It makes you and the rest of the industry look like amateurs, which is not what we want.

In a perfect world all tenants would pay their rent in full and on time. In reality that doesn't happen. You should know this *before* getting into this game and reasonably prepare for it.

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