to suggest my DM makes her tenant's life 'uncomfortable' to get him to move out?? ask what your landlord would to do to make you movewho are renting privately move out

[norbettsauntie]

My DM owns a house that she rents out to a vile man who has stopped paying his rent. (He lives there on his own). DM is a bit of a sucker for a sob story and has allowed this man to get into several thousand pounds worth of arrears before taking any action to get possession of the property. She's now started proceeding after a big nudge from me but the process takes months and she probably won't have possession of the property until about September.

I've suggetsed that she should do something (not masked men with machettes or anything like that) but maybe make him 'uncomfortable' in some way. Any ideas that aren't illegal?

Sorry - messed up the title

No, she shouldn't 'do' anything - the judge will take a very dim view if there are mitigating factors and he presents them.

He sounds like an arse obviously but fgs don't cock up the eviction.

Is it furnished? She could take the furniture out?? Or the washing machine/cooker??

What Laurie said.

i wouldnt go down that line personally. my dad had the same kind of problem as he rents out flats and if he was seen to be 'interfering' in anyway it might have swung in favour of the tenent!
id let the courts to their very slow thing

There is nothing legally you can do, anything like cutting electricity etc is against the law. Landlords have been prosecuted for threatening behaviour. Best thing is do through a solicitor and make sure everything is correct.

I had a problem tennant last year- he eventually absconded but left a trail of debts at the property. Your DM has my sympathy.

I don't know about legally making life uncomfortable for him.

But i'd get on to the utility companies to ensure she's not landed with a huge fuck off bill when he moves out.

I'd follow the law, but I do think the courst are too slow, and they also seem to not understand that the tenants will probably trash the place too.

I agree with everton there is nothing you can do without breaking the law to make the tenant uncomfortable without breaking the law or at least imperil the case going through the court.

As slow as the legal process is, you should just let it take its course.

Your mother has my sympathy.
We had a tenant who stopped paying rent for a year, drove his landrover into the porch bit of our house (in a bid to kill his wife) and totally trashed our house.
There was nothing we could do about it.
His eviction took around a year on top of the year without rent.

I am both, the landlord of my old house and the tenant of my new (differnet countries - didnt want to sell).

i agree she shudnt do anything - if hes so vile it wont bother him, but it will go against her. tell me does she have a guarantee agreement? why has she waited so long? if my tenants dont pay im on it straight away, cos otherwise i cant pay my mortgage and rent.

I am not sure if you are naïve or just arrogant to pose the question. The legal framework is in place to protect tenants and Landlords. Redress through the courts is available to everyone to remedy any disputes. The conduct that you speak of is covered by the following two acts:
Protection from harassment act 1997

Protection from eviction act 1997

Get it wrong at your peril as the fines are a measure of the Courts dissatisfaction of LL?s who take such action. There are only two ways for a tenant to leave a property 1) voluntarily 2) under a Court order. A recent case I read the LL was made to pay £130,000 to the tenant for illegal eviction? Yes read that again - £130,000 and he had many thousands of pounds of rent arrears. I will find and post a link though I feel in that case the tenant came in under 1988 Housing Act (section 27) but it matters not it was still an illegal eviction.

You have been warned!!

It could be construed as illegal eviction

Courts are fucking ridiculous. How can it be an illegal eviction if someone isn't paying rent? It makes no sense at all.

It's not illegal for me to take whatever I want out if a shop as long as I give it back when I'm made to, so why is it ok for tennants to do it?

could she get electricity and gas meters installed

almost positive they are free to install

then any gas or electricity debt can be added to the meter and a percentage gets paid off whenever he tops up

then your mum wont be stung for massive bills for gas and elec as he would have to top them up to receive them

As a landlordy person I would go throught he proper channels.
I would imagine she has put it in writing to him and face to face.
Or she could take the front door off for essential maintainence

Does the lease give him the right to sole occupation? If not, a tenant or even your DM (who could then claim he is harassing her) could move in.

Has the property ever been your DM's main residence? If so, the courts will hopefully speed up the eviction process if she needs to move back into it to avoid becoming homeless...

I am sympathetic, but anything other than going through the court process could do more harm than good.

What amanspointofview said.

There is nothing you can do that's not illegal. The only thing I would advise you to do is take lots and lots of notes with dates about antisocial behaviour so that you can present them to the court to back your mums case. The minimum time to get a crap tenant out is 5 months, so it's a bit sad your mum got suckered and wasted tine, although completely understandable. Landlordzone is a fantastic forum for seeking advice about this stuff, but legally there is nothing you can do. Incidentally, I hope your mother has said crappy tenants bond in an approved scheme, if not I would advice her to do it immediately. Tenants can claim 3 x the amount of bond they paid from landlord (regardless of how shite they are) if the bond isn't in an approved scheme. Sorry, I know how shite it is, I've been there myself.

I am surprised that you have been given such an easy ride tbh OP. While I am sympathetic to your mother's predicament, I think it's incredibly unethical to suggest that your mother effectively harasses this man out of the property. Use the proper legal processes.

Bloody hell amanspointofview. Yes please post that link. I thought I was hard done by as an ex LL, but that is shocking.

Sorry - but doing anything at all to make this man's life uncomfortable IS illegal.

I know that it's infuriating when people stop paying their rent, but your DM MUST, MUST, MUST follow the correct procedure to get him out - notice, followed by court hearing followed by bailiffs if necessary.

If you or your DM even look at this guy funny, write too many letters or contact him too frequently about the rent he could claim harassment which, under these circumstances, is a criminal offence. If you effectively force him out (either literally or stealthily) that would be an illegal eviction which could see your DM fined thousands of pounds and possibly facing prison. Not being dramatic here - this is serious shit.

The court will not care that he's vile and owes rent money, they will side with him. Failure to pay rent is not a crime, forcing someone out of their home is.

Sorry to be the harbinger of bad news, but tread very carefully. And, for gawds sake, if you haven't given him notice yet then do so ASAP.