My tenant is not paying me rent AIBU?

[Euly]

The background to this scenario is that I have a rental property who I, against my better judgement, rented to the mother of a work colleague. She has lived part time in the house for the last 12 months and during that time has only paid me two months full rent (and both of those payments were late). She has had a tough year, with several close bereavements, however I have tried to be as supportive as I could, not chasing her and helping her apply for UC. I am now receiving part of the rent directly from UC. Her initial 12 months tenancy is up, she wants to stay, I want her to go. How do I tell her this nicely bearing in mind I work with her daughter and am I being unreasonable? I can’t see that she will ever be able to pay the rent (works part time in a low paid job) and furthermore still lives some of the time with her ex partner and daughter in his house. I am having a moral dilemma!

Yanbu.

I would just say you need the property vacant because you are extending/selling/moving in yourself. At this point she’s lucky you haven’t evicted her and made her bankrupt.

Will your morals see you bankrupt?

Will her morals encourage her to pay the 10 months rent owed?

Don’t renew the lease.

Get tenants who pay.

If the daughter asks, ask her is she wants to pay the rent.

Do it all properly and give her notice

Just give her notice. Tell her you can no longer afford to subsidise her rent.

You need to evict her I’m afraid. It’s the only way, otherwise you are subsidising someone who isn’t even your relative

Singlebutmarried sums it up

Pretty outrageous you have been treated this way - she can move in with her daughter

You need to get her to leave. This is business not charity and I can't see how your colleague can criticise when you have already given her mother the best part of a year's rent free. How come she isn't helping or arranging her mum's benefits? She can take her mother in if need be. Get rid with a clear conscience.

Really you don't have a choice unless you are happy to become a charity.

Yanbu. Just tell her you can't afford to manage the outgoings without the income, and she's only increasing the debt each month.

S8 and s21. The latter presuming she is outside of the fixed term.

Just be honest.

“ I appreciate you’ve had some real issues this year and I’ve tried my best to help you where I can but the fact is that I’m £xxx behind with my mortgage because I wasn’t getting paid by you and now I’m just getting part payments of the rent instead of £xxx per month so I’m really really sorry but I can’t afford to let my flat be repossessed and I really need the rent to be paid in full. I’m so sorry, I really am. If your circumstances change in future and you’re in a position to pay back the arrears and pay the rent in full of course I’d be delighted to have you back. I’m just very sorry I can’t continue to do so just now. I can’t afford to not have full, regular rent payments, it’s nothing personal. I’ve booked the rental company to come on xxx date to photograph the place so I hope that’s sufficient notice for you to leave per the contract terms as I cannot extend it any further’.

Give her the 2 months notice required under the AST and don't feel guilty for one minute. If she can't pay the rent, she can't pay the rent. You're out of pocket already, why on earth would you carry on? The work colleague can surely understand that. If she can't, then she's the unreasonable one here.

I have no idea about the process or correct terminology - is it eviction if you simply choose not to continue at the end of the 12 month tenancy?

Whatever the process is, this is your opportunity to get her out now relatively painlessly.

Has she ever mentioned the rent arrears to you? Or did it just never come up in conversation?

You've let a woman live in your rental property for 12 months and she's only paid for two of those months? Which you've allowed because she's had a hard time and you don't want things to be awkward with a colleague?
Jesus Christ, OP.
She's literally got no reason to start paying properly because you've not done a thing to make her. Where is her incentive?!

I'd be evicting her, whether she starts paying now or not.
And I'd be telling her daughter very loudly that you've had to cover 10 of those 12 months yourself, making it very clear what a freeloading scrounger she has for a mother.

There's being nice and being a complete and utter mug, OP.
I'm afraid you're the latter and both mother and daughter know it.

I wouldn't say sorry. She's paid 2 months of full rent in one year!

Her daughter doesn’t have any spare money herself. Thank you to everyone who has replied, in my head I know what I need to do but I get sidetracked by my heart. Think I just needed a sense check - thank you.

Op sounds as if this may not be a good business for you.

She lives elsewhere part time. No wonder she’s not prioritising rent - she’s not desperate to keep the roof over her head. Give her notice. Problem tenants tend to remain problematic- they never reform and you lose more money the longer you wait.

And if the colleague says anything get her told that her mum owes xxx thousands and she should be grateful you are not taking her to court for non payment.
Yet.
Id ask was she aware that her mum owed so much?
And if any hassle, I’d tell the colleague - However any more hassle or any damage or pissing around with the exit date and i will have to consider court as i just can’t afford to have my flat repossessed and I have no more money to fix this situation.

Lots of people have awful years and still pay their rent. Her daughter should be horrified, no normal person would be upset you’re deciding to stop subsidising a working adult. She has to go. You’ve been unusually relaxed about this for an incredibly long time.

Thank you, I am going to meet her on Thursday and say this.

If you send Elieza's email I would delete every single "sorry "

@Elieza any discussion with the daughter without the tenant's express consent will be in breach of data regs.

What’s the point of a rental if you’re not getting rent?