Page 6 | Tenants requesting a court order!

Emily2586 · 2022-10-29T20:49:33+00:00

Hi everyone, I would really be grateful for some advice. I have a property in England which I would like to move back to. I have given the notice on time and gave my tenants 3 months to find alternative accommodation. The three months have now passed and the tenants have come back to me saying they can not find any place to rent because of their low income and is saying they would like me to start a court order so they could give a letter to the council so that they could assist them. I wasn't expecting them to do this as I had given three months notice and I had some to them if this wasn't enough time they could let me know and it could be extended slightly to give them time to find something. I was under the impression they were finding a place to rent all this time. The tenants have been in the property for 10 years and I have no experience of about the legal proceedings in this case. I myself have kids and need to move into this property as I am currently staying with my parents until the tenants move out and I am worried that court proceedings could cost a lot. Could someone please kindly give any advice of what I could do.

Razzle5 · 30/10/2022 10:21

And the contradictions in the OP’s posts

She has “never tried to raise the rent”

oh but “every time I tried to raise the rent, the tenant refused”

”i felt sorry for the tenant as in low income”

oh but “he has a £70k car”

and not forgetting these poor tenants have been living in a house that “needs major repairs” with a landlady who doesn’t seem to know her arse from her elbow

VioletVesper · 30/10/2022 10:24

I don’t have any advice to add other than I agree you should consult a professional to help you but wanted to wish you the best of luck. You’ve had some really horrible comments. I hope it works out for you OP.

Fairylightsongs · 30/10/2022 10:25

Razzle5 · 30/10/2022 10:17

Quite simply OP
You should not be a landlady.

Quite simply there is no need for you to be mean because you’ve issues with people who own property

WahineToa · 30/10/2022 10:26

Exactly. Not just a drip feed, but conflicting stories.

you sound like a LL I had. I bet it’s a nicer house in a nice area that needs a lot of work but the LL doesn’t want to spend any of the rent on the house so they don’t repair and when they try to raise the rent the tenant exerts his legal rights to demand repairs are done first and then you don’t. Right?

I mean you didn’t even protect the deposit! That’s a basic!

Guess what I did to my shit LL who tried this? Reported them to environmental agency at the council who issued them with 2 category 1 hazards and forced repairs and then to small claims for 3x my deposit that was never protected and a share of the rent paid while it was in disrepair as compensation. I won too, no lawyer needed.

Razzle5 · 30/10/2022 10:27

Fairylightsongs · 30/10/2022 10:25

Quite simply there is no need for you to be mean because you’ve issues with people who own property

Show quote history

I am a landlord

and no way would I have my tenants in a property that “needs major repairs”

presuming you would

Razzle5 · 30/10/2022 10:28

And you missed fact op point blank lied she went from never having raised the rent because she felt sorry they were on a low income to… “every time I tried to raise the rent the tenant refused”

TwoRockSalmonAndAHaporthOfChips · 30/10/2022 10:28

Before you contact a solicitor - which you really must do - you need to have the answers to questions you haven’t really answered here.

Who owns the title to the house?
In whose name is the mortgage?
Is it a mortgage which allows the house to be let?
Is the tenants’ deposit protected?
Do you have up to date gas and electricity certificates for the house?

Make sure you’re in better possession of the facts than you seem to be right now. It sounds as though you’re in a dodgy situation, so need very good advice from a specialist solicitor.

Savoury · 30/10/2022 10:29

OP - Mumsnet is not the place to put landlord questions. You will not get a decent answer. I recommend talking to a solicitor straight away and resolve the anomalies like contracts, deposit, rent rate etc. Then proceed properly. You will need to put the emotion and perceived unfairness to one side and deal with facts only. A court doesn’t care about cars and affordability- just if they’re paying the agreed rent.

My broader point is that for every person posting here saying they can’t rent a place because they’re on low pay, receive benefits, or have a bad credit history, there is a landlord exiting the market due to constant changes in the law meaning that there are fewer places to rent. That would be fine if the same people then bought the houses the landlords are leaving but the truth is most are not. In my area, it’s newcomers buying up the ex-rentals.m and the ex-tenants are leaving town entirely due to lack of supply.

HiveBee · 30/10/2022 10:30

@Razzle5
well one of the first things her solicitor is going to advise her to do is to put the rent up to cover the costs of all of this.

To be honest with you it doesn’t matter whether the tenants are living in a (legally compliant) shit hole they still need to be paying the market rent and if they don’t like what they getting for their money then They kknow where the door is dont they.

One of the earliest lessons I learnt is you never ever charge under the market rate no matter what, people very quickly forget that they getting a bargain and start expecting the same level of service/decor as somebody paying £500 a month more up the road.

WahineToa · 30/10/2022 10:30

due to constant changes in the law

Not constant. Protecting tenants in a market that’s known to favour LL. that’s a good thing. UK had little protections for tenants compared to other European countries.

HauntedCabinet · 30/10/2022 10:31

OP - Mumsnet is not the place to put landlord questions. You will not get a decent answer. I recommend talking to a solicitor straight away

TBF that's most of the responses the OP has received: speak to a solicitor.

WahineToa · 30/10/2022 10:32

To be honest with you it doesn’t matter whether the tenants are living in a (legally compliant) shit hole they still need to be paying the market rent and if they don’t like what they getting for their money then They kknow where the door is dont they.

Major repairs doesn’t sound legally compliant. We don’t know if it is do we? We also don’t know if it’s market rate. The tenants according to OP refused the increase and the OP accepted. The OP could have given a section 21 when they refused but didn’t. Works both ways doesn’t it.

YouSirNeighMmmm · 30/10/2022 10:34

PritiPatelsMaker · 30/10/2022 07:16

Please kindly advisez

Get a Solicitor.

I am tempted to say that this is dreadful advice!

I would advise getting a very good solicitor who specialises in precisely this, because it will cost a lot of money if you don;t get things right first time.

ZeldaWillTellYourFortune · 30/10/2022 10:36

ReformedWaywardTeen · 29/10/2022 23:55

I'm sorry but whether you currently have money or not, you've said it yourself, their rent low or otherwise has paid off the mortgage on the property.
The law very much sides with you, although you are aware that there has been discussions from the government of removing no fault evictions?

They've paid their rent at what you set it, it's not their fault you now want it back and if you're aware they've been paying very much under rental market value I can't see why you would think they would find somewhere in 3 months. It's also incredibly difficult for low income families who probably need UC top ups to find a landlord or agent to take them on, and that's without fees etc.

Yes, you will have to take them through court eviction, which luckily for you no longer takes very long. Then they will require you to get a bailiff order to remove them. Unless you do that, as someone up thread said, they will be classed as intentionally homeless and the council will not help- not that they will do very much for them with all that except probably at most a substandard B&B with shared bathroom facilities. They will likely lose not just a home they've paid for for ten years but won't be able to store their possessions so will probably end up losing those too

Sorry if I sound heartless but you are plunging people into a very nasty time for them that will uproot them, and their children if they have them. It's extremely hard to rent anywhere right now with a low income. You're putting them out on the street so my compassion is for them. I would also hope for your sake of the house is in bad condition they don't report you to environmental health.

The OP has done nothing wrong. This anti-landlord stance gets tiresome.

One could say the tenants have had 10 good years to save up a contingency fund or a deposit for purchasing a house, if they didn't like the terms of their rental contract, including the notice period.

If they became complacent, that's on them.

Razzle5 · 30/10/2022 10:38

What’s the chances of the OP complying with (or even being aware of) the legal requirements re electrical and gas compliance checks?

Nil

Razzle5 · 30/10/2022 10:39

WahineToa · 30/10/2022 10:32

To be honest with you it doesn’t matter whether the tenants are living in a (legally compliant) shit hole they still need to be paying the market rent and if they don’t like what they getting for their money then They kknow where the door is dont they.

Major repairs doesn’t sound legally compliant. We don’t know if it is do we? We also don’t know if it’s market rate. The tenants according to OP refused the increase and the OP accepted. The OP could have given a section 21 when they refused but didn’t. Works both ways doesn’t it.

And don’t forget the OP originally said that she’d NEVER tried to raise the rent as she felt sorry for them as On low income (and I suspect living in squalor!)

NukaColaQuantum · 30/10/2022 10:40

ZeldaWillTellYourFortune · 30/10/2022 10:36

The OP has done nothing wrong. This anti-landlord stance gets tiresome.

One could say the tenants have had 10 good years to save up a contingency fund or a deposit for purchasing a house, if they didn't like the terms of their rental contract, including the notice period.

If they became complacent, that's on them.

Show quote history

The OP has quite a lot wrong, going by her own posts.

HiveBee · 30/10/2022 10:42

Razzle5 · 30/10/2022 10:39

And don’t forget the OP originally said that she’d NEVER tried to raise the rent as she felt sorry for them as On low income (and I suspect living in squalor!)

Show quote history

Living in squalor with a £70 grand car parked on the driveway is fairly unlikely.

by the sounds of it even if The landlord isn’t aware of the legal obligations, I’ve absolutely no doubt that the tenants are.

it’s a shambles on both sides I think we can all agree on that.

pickleandpolish · 30/10/2022 10:42

@ZeldaWillTellYourFortune

The OP has done nothing wrong. *
*
😆 what? You don't have to be a complete fool to see the OP has, in fact, got quite a lot of wrong and is legally up shit creek.

Kolarbri · 30/10/2022 10:44

Another shitty landlord!! There are so many people like the OP!
You sound absolutely clueless!!

Razzle5 · 30/10/2022 10:44

HiveBee · 30/10/2022 10:42

Living in squalor with a £70 grand car parked on the driveway is fairly unlikely.

by the sounds of it even if The landlord isn’t aware of the legal obligations, I’ve absolutely no doubt that the tenants are.

it’s a shambles on both sides I think we can all agree on that.

Show quote history

but the OP supposedly “never tried to raise the rent because I felt sorry for them as on a low income”

and yet the op raises the £70k car on the driveway and the £30/40k gift

yet another contradiction

JesusMaryAndJosephAndTheWeeDon · 30/10/2022 10:45

Sounds as though you might be better off selling with sitting tenants and then using the funds to buy yourself somewhere new to live.

You don't sound equipped to be a landlord and getting tenants out who don't agree to move will be a long business if you aren't squeaky clean.

WahineToa · 30/10/2022 10:45

The OP has done nothing wrong.

Yes, they legally have. I hope you’re not a LL

Charlieiscool · 30/10/2022 10:45

You need to run a rental like a business and keeping them on such a low rent for 10 years has come back to bite you on the arse. Feeling sorry for tenants and letting this situation arise is not ultimately appreciated by the tenants, as you can glean from some of the comments posted here. Some landlords are dreadful sure, but so are some tenants. They have had an easy ride all these years and of course want it to continue forever and your needs is not something they are concerned about at all.

IncessantNameChanger · 30/10/2022 10:46

ZeldaWillTellYourFortune · 30/10/2022 10:36

The OP has done nothing wrong. This anti-landlord stance gets tiresome.

One could say the tenants have had 10 good years to save up a contingency fund or a deposit for purchasing a house, if they didn't like the terms of their rental contract, including the notice period.

If they became complacent, that's on them.

Show quote history

I'm a landlord, but there are rules and laws and not having a deposit in a DPS means they have done something wrong. Even in theory she has the deposit ready in cash to repay it doesn't matter. It should be in a dps and without it, you can't serve a legal section 21. Like any business you have follow the laws of that business. When those individual things tot up too hassle you stop doing if you manage it all.

My tennants have been in my house for over ten years so I have seen a lot of changes. I ether accept them or stop letting the house out. If I decide to ignore them I risk loosing that asset in situations like this one, getting stuck in legal battles for years.