Tenant charged with Arson?

Reply to the comment left by Julie Dawson at 15/04/2021 – 10:15
Yes just write to him, as others say it is informal.

What I would do is write the letter you want signed and sent back to you, and include that so all he has to do is sign it include a stamped self addressed envelope. This way you can ensure the wording is sufficiently legally correct and beyond a signature he has to do nothing.

Get someone to help you word it or search the net for a surrender letter.

S8 Mandatory ground 7A. Take the hit and do it this way. At least you know this is just a formality and the nightmare tenant is banged up!
Check your LL insurance. Legal fees like this and any lost rent may be able to be claimed?

I would have thought that you could claim the contract is frustrated as the property is uninhabitable. If I were you I would get some legal advice on this before sending any letters or notices as it might otherwise undermine your case.

Reply to the comment left by Julie Dawson at 15/04/2021 – 10:15
Julie,
Give us a call – send an email with your contact number.

Julie,
Give us a call – send an email with your contact number.

Reply to the comment left by Neil P at 15/04/2021 – 10:30
I had a similar problem, tenant was arrested for threatening other tenants with a 10″ knife, to my knowledge, the property is a licensed HMO. Didn’t know were he went, was one time put in temporary accommodation, after he was released from custody, as I wasn’t willing to put him in any other house, for the tenants safety. Incident was 28th October 2020, got a call from DWP on 15th January 2021, explained to them what had happened, and I didn’t know were he was, DWP told me he was getting housing benefit, and they were obliged to pay the arrears and would pay it up to 6 months, and then reassess. They took bank details were money to be paid and a reference, so I knew were the payment was from. After 5-6 weeks rang DWP, as I thought it was plenty of time to sort the payment to me. I was eventually told, payment was reassessed on 18th January and I won’t be getting any payments, DWP didn’t even have the decency to notify me. I’m now at a loss were to go next, but I’m thinking of calling my local MP, as I’m disgusted the way I’ve been treated, ironically 2 days after taking the DWP, I had a missed call, from another phone, as the police have his original, and he agreed to take his goods from the room, I didn’t know how to get him to surrender his tenancy, as I didn’t know were he was, he told me he was released from prison, and had lived on the streets for a couple of nights.

Yes, we had one of these… Drugs again, always the drugs. Cannabis mainly. This tenant decided to have a camp fire in his bedroom, and managed to gut two rooms and take some of the roof off. Luckily at was 1pm , not 1am , otherwise people in the other flats would have been at risk. Seven fire engines later, he was rescued from the roof, and got 3yrs for ARson. Now out again and banned from the area. Rebuild took a year. Never even thought about his tenancy …! His room been re-let now for ages…. Bring back euthanasia !!

My understanding is that a tenant being sent to prison does not automatically end a tenancy, even though this might seem to be a frustration of the contract.
So, whilst they are in prison, the fire damage to the property cannot frustrate the tenancy either as they have suitable alternative accommodation. The only way that the fire damage can frustrate the tenancy is if the property is still fire damaged when the tenant comes out of prison.
So, without a proper termination of the tenancy, either by way of voluntary termination by the tenant, or a Court order and bailiff action, it would appear that you could inadvertently ‘un-frustrate’ the tenancy if you brought the property back to a habitable condition before they were released from prison.

Reply to the comment left by Jessie Jones at 17/04/2021 – 10:21
Hi, yes prison doesn’t end their tenancy unfortunately !! .. so i will go down the route of asking him to surrender first and see what happens.

Reply to the comment left by Jessie Jones at 17/04/2021 – 10:21
The incessant growth of Rules, Regulations and Protocols has made old-fashioned Common Sense obsolete. So much for “Evolution” !!