Tracking down a bad tenant – advice sought please

Tracking down a bad tenant – advice sought please

15:46 PM, 29th January 2013, About 11 years ago 41

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Tracking down a bad tenant - advice sought pleaseI have a single rental property which I bought in 2009. I refurbished it to a good standard and rented it to a young couple using an agent on a tenant find basis. The agent took the deposit. I allowed them to have dogs at the property.

The young lady and dogs left, and a new young lady arrived, as did chinchillas.

In October last year they gave me notice and when I spoke to him on the phone he said they would need to move to her mother’s for two weeks before moving on to their new home. I rather nicely said that they could stay on until it was convenient and pay rent accordingly, they agreed and left the property 8th December 2012. They left a disgraceful mess and didn’t pay the extra rent.

They now owe me £1,200 for damage and unpaid rent, but I only have £550 deposit.

I have no forwarding address, and only an e-mail and mobile phone number. I have sent a full report with photos etc. and a breakdown of the costs to them by e-mail, giving them 28 days to pay. This 28 days is up now.

I want to pursue the outstanding amount and I’m looking for advice as to how to do so.

The deposit holder has apparently said that my case will be weakened if I take the deposit money now, so I have left the deposit with them.

Is there an easy way to track them down? I don’t think they have moved far. And do I need to track them down to start proceedings?

I think I know who his employer is. Can I try to contact him there, or does this move into harassment territory?

Should I go straight to the online small claims court? And if so how do I do this without an address.

Any advice gratefully received.

Kind regards,

 

David Adams


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Comments

John MacAlevey

1:16 AM, 31st January 2013, About 11 years ago

Pressurise the agent as the only visible target to recoup and/or get them to find the tenant.

Jonathan Clarke

6:03 AM, 31st January 2013, About 11 years ago

I use a company called Finder Monkey , Costs about £50 last time I needed it. They go through all the databases that would have info on their new address. Saves a lot of time and hassle

Mark Alexander - Founder of Property118

9:09 AM, 31st January 2013, About 11 years ago

I have just had a look at their website Jonathan, very interesting. I particularly like their money back guarantee if they put you in touch with the wrong person.

Omran Baker

10:12 AM, 31st January 2013, About 11 years ago

My experience with tenants moving with unpaid rent & known address is that the hassle of taking legal action is not worth it since nothing can be achieved & best course of action in my case was to ignore the outstanding rent & move forward

12:18 PM, 31st January 2013, About 11 years ago

The issue is that as most landlords do this so the problem tenants know they can get away with it, without even getting a CCJ to their name. What if ALL landlords and agents in a town had a policy of taking all possible level action, including sending in the bailiffs to remove good from the ex-tenant even when not cost effective in the short term? How long would it be until tenants
got the message…

13:21 PM, 31st January 2013, About 11 years ago

It' always worth having a snoop around the social networking sites like facebook. You would be surprised how many people don't have high privacy settings, and you can gain access to all sorts of information about them. If they don't list where they work, they may mention it in a post. You can often also see who their friends are. Anyone with the same surname may well be family, and you could try contacting them to find your ex tenants. Perhaps worth a try?

14:24 PM, 31st January 2013, About 11 years ago

My understanding is that you need an address for litigation. If you can't get one from the employer or otehr easily available contacts try Steve Hemmings 0121 449 3045. This is a cheap person tracing service. Less than £30. I don't know how good they are, but it's worth a try.

15:25 PM, 31st January 2013, About 11 years ago

chip them when they sign the lease. It's the only certain way. The canny ones who leave with arrears, and the fridge, spend the next few years sofa surfing. We have a judgement against one, know where he works but can't get a lien as he has no fixed abode so we can't give an address.
The data protection act is mishamed - it's the debtor protection act.

16:30 PM, 31st January 2013, About 11 years ago

Many thanks for all the comments.

I am annoyed that I gave these people a good reference when I received a call from a referencing agent. They had always paid the rent on time and had promised to redecorate before leaving. I will add their names to the sites suggested. There seems to be a bit of confusion about the agents. They only found and referenced the tenants, I did the rest myself.

The tracing service sounds like a great idea. I will contact them. I've dug out the original references from 2009. I have an old address, but no NI number.

I've found him on Facebook, and as I said I think I have the employer. Just not sure how to turn this into an address for service of documents. £30 for a tracing service sounds like a good deal.

I also feel like giving up and it not being worth the hassle, but I feel very peed off that they took advantage, and if it is not expensive to do I will go to the small claims court.
The deposit taker was DPS and the comment came through the agent. I also struggle to see how taking the deposit can weaken a case for the rest of the debt, but I've got a number for them now and will call directly. I suspect however that they will simply say they aren't allowed to give advice.
Thank you all very much for your comments. I'll keep you posted.

Jan Martin

18:38 PM, 31st January 2013, About 11 years ago

Hello Omran I feel you do achieve. Getting a judgement means that another landlord will see this when checking. Why should they get away with arrears. I pay all my bills. When they go for a loan etc they find it a lot harder to get and its a reminder and hopefully teaches lessons.I have received money from judgements.

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