Section 8 or Tenant from Hell?

Section 8 or Tenant from Hell?

13:49 PM, 29th March 2016, About 8 years ago 22

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I inherited a tenant who has been in situ since 2011. An annual Agreement is signed each year for a following 12 months.section 8

A recent inspection has found numerous breaches of the Agreement, some of which had been advised as remedied by the Tenant. Quite frankly the damage she has caused through pure negligence and laziness has to be seen to be believed. Tradesman visiting to quote say they have never seen anything like it.

The flat is a very small studio flat. It is designated as sole occupancy in the Lease.

A brief summary is – additional person staying permanently even though sole occupancy, large dog living there, no maintenance whatsoever, no opening of windows for ventilation, damage to walls, ceilings, fixtures and fittings, boiler system (new in 2011) damaged,, bathroom flooring wood and tiling needs replacing due to non replacement of shower door after breaking it, shower cubicle needs complete replacement due to grime which cannot be removed, and more including the flat is overcrowded with furniture contributing to mould which has damaged walls and two windows along with the non ventilation. The Property Manager who inspected advised she had to climb over furniture to get into the kitchen, she also said it was so cramped and felt that the living conditions with two adults and a dog residing there, plus smoking were the prime cause for all the mould damage.

At least 30 days vacant possession is needed to remedy the problems and will cost about £5000 minimum dependent on what else is found. As rental income is only just over £300 pm this is a disaster.

The tenant has her rent paid by the Council but it transpires the original Landlord did not have a formal contract or bond with the council, just an agreement to pay rent. Speaking with the council and showing photos of damage has led to them suggesting she has intentionally made herself homeless if evicted.

My options are Issue Section 21, with a view to eviction in December when Agreement finishes.

Issue a Section 8 because of all the breaches and go for eviction in 2 months.

Regardless of which I need the property empty for the repairs – what comeback could there be on myself if I waited for December ?

What implications are there if she vacates voluntarily for the work to be done, but I don’t allow her back in – what protection can I get legally if any.

My concern is if I don’t evict her and she moves out for 30 days, she will still have a period of time between then and December to cause problems again

What should I do ?

Andy


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Comments

Andy Blue

7:19 AM, 30th March 2016, About 8 years ago

Reply to the comment left by "Gary Dully" at "30/03/2016 - 00:29":

Thank you so much for this advice - it is all very scary Im not afraid to admit.

With a Section 21 if they do offer a defence, is that dealt with by a Court Hearing or Postal Hearing normally

Whereabouts in the country are the Hearings usually heard, I ask this question as I live a considerable distance away from the property

Gary Dully

9:48 AM, 30th March 2016, About 8 years ago

The County Court nearest the property is the one that's used.

The tenant and yourself would be allocated a court and date to attend.

Section 21's are automatically awarded, unless you make a mess of the application and it is deemed invalid.

The tenant normally questions its validity and pleads hardship to try and delay the repossession order.
Validity grounds would be, deposit not protected, prescribed information not given to tenant, HMO license or mandatory licence to rent not obtained and disclosed to the court, prescribed information not reissued when tenancy became periodic or was renewed etc.

It's the validity grounds that defeats most applications.
If the application is deemed valid, the court must grant possession back, the tenant may plead hardship and ask for a delay or for it to be set aside.

You can subscribe to a solicitor or specialist for doing this for you or use Pims and other web services such as the service on property118 etc.

If you can't get through the validity checklist, you can't use the section 21 route anyway.

Right now, today, you appear to only qualify for the section 8 route, based on what you have told us.

If I was the tenant, And I was section 21'd, I would attack you for not giving me the prescribed information, not being in a qualifying period of the tenancy, not renewing my tenancy deposit protection when the tenancy was renewed and claim that I never received the section 21 notice. That should throw a spanner in your works.
(Yeah, shock horror tenants lie).
So make sure your paperwork is up,to scratch.

Andy Blue

13:43 PM, 30th March 2016, About 8 years ago

Well just got back from meeting the Tenant. I did a formal inspection and pointed out the issues, she argued initially then realised it was futile.

Asked why she did not sign and return the contract in December - answer because she was happy there but was thinking of moving !!

Asked her if she had read any of the previous contracts and understood them - both her and her daughter said Yes - at this point I had not mentioned about the daughter not being allowed there.

I then asked her what her intentions would be regarding payment for the damage - stock answer no money.

When asked her what do you think is a solution - she said if we move out as soon as possible.

I then advised her what would be necessary and more importantly the future problems she would have if I issued a Section 8 or 21.

I have given her 48 hours to advise me her intentions and issue a Surrender notice - what I think I would do as well is still Issue a 21 and an 8, incase she tries backing out etc.

What do people think of this proposed course of action - is there anything else I need to consider. Obviously Surrender is the quickest and easiest so that we can get it and repair everything and then get it relet out.

Hazel de Kloe

14:31 PM, 30th March 2016, About 8 years ago

It's good news that you've had a meeting with her and it appears that you have almost reached a conclusion.

As far as I understand it (and I stand to be corrected!), as soon as you have a signed 'Surrender of Tenancy' notice to which you have both agreed, this would then constitute a new agreement between you. Perhaps there is someone with more experience in this particular matter than me on here, however, in my experience, when someone has signed a surrender agreement, they have always moved out. It is when they DON'T give you this that you still need to go down the Section 8/Section 21 route...

Indeed, this would be the quickest and 'cleanest' way out of the tenancy and would allow you to get on with repairs and re-let...with lessons learned!

Andy Blue

14:55 PM, 30th March 2016, About 8 years ago

Reply to the comment left by "Hazel de Kloe" at "30/03/2016 - 14:31":

Very very true - in a way Im relieved its me having to deal with this rather than my daughter as it could have been.

I look forward to any other comments, but am very grateful for the support I have received on here.

regards

Gary Dully

17:26 PM, 30th March 2016, About 8 years ago

Get that surrender carried out as soon as possible, because she is about to make herself intentionally homeless.

(I'm sure this web site has a template for surrender somewhere).

My surrender documents state the following assertions.
That the tenant and landlord have come to a mutual agreement to end the tenancy.
That the tenant is aware that they have an opportunity to have a court hearing before ending a tenancy, but after due consideration have decided not to and instead are ending the tenancy of their own free will.

The date it is ending and the amount of money due, payable at a future date upon demand by the landlord.

And also that if they are unsure they should consult an independent legal advisor before signing.
Then it's signed by both parties and a copy given to the tenant.

Andy Blue

17:32 PM, 30th March 2016, About 8 years ago

Reply to the comment left by "Gary Dully" at "30/03/2016 - 09:48":

thanks Gary

Andy Blue

8:53 AM, 31st March 2016, About 8 years ago

Ok just completing the paperwork for issuing.

Using the suggested form I have prepared up a Surrender Notice.

I have also produced a summary of the meeting discussion, and the fact that she had not signed a new agreement for the reason given to me. I also referred her to her Last signed Agreement where clause 7.5 reads:

"If the Tenant stays beyond the end of the fixed term and you have not received two months notice to end the tenancy, it will carry on from month to month as a monthly tenancy. If you give up possession on a date earlier than the date specified in the notice, the tenancy will end on the date specified in the notice."

I now go to the online resource to prepare a Section 21 to include.

And there are the 2 options of Section 21

Fixed Term
Periodic Term

Obviously the Fixed Term was the original basis of the Agreement but does the reversion to a Monthly term mean it is now a Periodic

Just double checking this with you guys for peace of mind

thanks

Gary Dully

9:29 AM, 3rd April 2016, About 8 years ago

If she out of the original fixed term, it's periodic.

Andy Blue

17:07 PM, 7th April 2016, About 8 years ago

Thanks everyone.

Today I have received an Offer to Surrender letter from the tenant based on the template recommended to myself.

She seems determined to leave amicably but as always Im cynical.

If we get to the appointed time and she has not vacated what should I do next - better to be prepared now, than panic later 🙂

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