Is it worth pursuing unpaid rent from a tenant?

[cherrysodalover]

Okay so whilst we are overseas we have rented out our 1 bed flat. The tenant has had to be evicted due to the fact that he stopped paying the rent 3 months go. He has left the flat in a dreadful state and we must now pay people to remove all his rubbish and the debris left. We have borrowed money to pay our mortgage( equivalent to the rent he paid).

So we now have the option to pursue him through the courts. The outstanding amount is just under 2000 K.
I have never dealt with soliciters but imagine they have the capacity to end up costing us on top of not being able to get the money back.

Has anyone had this happen to them and was it worth going through what i imagine will be a small claims court? We are overseas so could not afford to come back for any court dealings.

Thanks in advance.We can't really afford to just write it off but i fear it may be cheaper than chasing the money. The guy clearly had mental health issues( which is very tough for him ) so the chances of him being able to pay seem small.

Yes, you could pusue him through the Small Claims Court, and you'd likely get an order in your favour; but if he can't/won't pay, he can't/won't pay. You already seem to assume that he can't/won't pay, so...?

Have you any comeback against an agency, maybe?

I've been in this situation a couple of times. My position is that it simply isn't worth the hassle.

It will probably cost you more than that to find him, take him through court and even then you may not actually get anything back.

One of the joys of being a landlord I'm afraid. Everyone thinks you are raking it in but in reality often you are lucky to make anything.

Write this one off to experience and next time get the insurance which will pay for damages, pay your rent for 3 months & covers legal costs of pursuing the tenant.

Thanks Old Lady and Niceguy

EEMMM we have been thinking as much. We do have the address of his parents who are guarantors and received a very pleasant letter from a parent saying they would honour the outstanding amount.......but still no sign of payment.

I did not even know you could get that type of insurance-what does it run at cost wise niceguy, if you have had it before?

We will at least get to keep his deposit which is a third of the amount, but it is tough going paying the mortgage and our high rent where we live now. I guess some landlords do make money if they bought long enough ago that the mortgage is lower than the rent. Of course now we wish we had sold up before leaving the UK.Hindsight and all that.

Ah, well, if there are guarantors, that's a whole different ballgame; you can chase them for your £2000. Assuming that they can/will pay, I'd start with a letter (doesn't cost you anything but time/signed-for delivery) to the parents asking that they fulfill their guarantee, maybe suggest a payment scheme. Hopefully this will work, but if not send a solicitor's letter, then go to the Small Claims.

Good luck.

Yes a reasonable payment scheme offer to the guarantors is the way to go. One company I worked for took someone to small claims court for unpaid bills.
Her parents were horrified and offered to pay the debt in installments. And they did, though I did have to write and remind them every so often that perhaps another payment could be forthcoming.
So it sounds like you may get some of your money back that way.

i had a tennant who didn't pay rent - they owed us 1k and i took them through the small claims court. this was relatively easy - but i knew they couldn't argue against it as they would have had no receipts. I chickened out and didn't attend court - the court people said it wasn't compulsory and the ex tennant didn't attend either so they automatically found in my favour.

if its through the small claims court you don't use a solicitor - neither side can have one represent you - part of the point is to keep costs down.

i think the court then got involved in trying to get the money back, by writing to the person, who just ignored them. initially i got an attachment to earnings order as i knew where they worked. once they left there and became unemployed i got an attachment to property order (with loads of others who had done the same previously).

I would do all this again as i now have my 1k back. But if i couldn't have done the attachment orders it would have been pointless

ii have a feeling that i might have had to attended court under some circumstances - can't remember now. so probably worth checking this as well if you proceed - you might have to return to the UK and a court the extennant specifies

this all took some time - filling forms and dealing with the court and then the land registry - but looking at in on a hourly basis it was a pretty good rate

Just to clarify - can be represented in the small claims court. It's just that if you win, you won't get refunded the cost of that representation.

resolution - thanks for correction. i think its also that if they win they cannot charge for their legal costs - which i found quite reasuring. so if it all went pear shaped i knew i would only be £90 ish out of pocket (cost of court application)