Accidental landlord, advice needed please

[fingersandthumbs]

i appreciate this sounds made up but I’m afraid it’s true.
My father was recently killed. The person arrested in connection with his death was his tenant. Signed 6 month tenancy agreement that started in October.

I am his executor. Bail conditions for the tenant include not contacting me and not residing at the property. It is a self contained “granny” flat in my father’s house. She has been allowed to collect some personal possessions from the flat accompanied by the police.

The tenancy agreement clearly states the rooms, areas she is allowed to use/occupy. She has significant possessions/property in other areas of the house, including several large items in the drive.

She hasn’t paid rent for the last month and receipts show she hasn’t paid in full for October or November so is in breach of the tenancy agreement, not just re non payment but also various other clauses.

The questions I have are:-
do I have to wait for tenancy agreement to end in April or can I issue a notice to end it sooner?

What rights do I have to dispose of her property if she won’t remove it when tenancy ends?

and any ideas on how I can issue any sort of notice to her when I’ve no idea where she’s living. I have got the solicitors details who are representing her in the criminal investigation.

Any help or advice regarding what I need to do as a landlord would be gratefully received.

many thanks

Hand the executor role over to a solicitor, I think you need to protect your MH as much as possible.

I'm sorry for your loss. Please take legal advice from a lawyer rather than randoms on the internet.

I am so sorry for your loss.
The tenancy contract continues and is part of your father’s estate, you should issue a section 21 no fault eviction as soon as possible. It is faster than a section 8 fault eviction and cannot be contested. The tenancy will then end 60days after the day the tenant receives the section 21 notice. She is still liable for rent until then, unless she surrenders the property sooner to you and you agree (as the executor). All rent arrears you can take from her deposit, and pursue her for any left in small claims court.

Any property not out of the house by the end of the notice, you can simply dispose of. She has to arrange for someone to collect her belongings prior to it. You can sell it to pay off arrears, have it all taken to the tip, or given to a charity.

I agree with using an estate agent- engaging a property manager to do this process on your behalf.

@MercanDede Thanks for this. The little bit of reading I’ve done seems to suggest that I can’t issue a S21 notice in the first 4 months of a new tenancy?

Yes sorry, I missed it was a 6mo tenancy started, 1 Oct. ?

You can issue it sooner, you just can’t have the vacate date be any sooner than 6mos after the start of the tenancy. The minimum notice is 60days, but you can issue a section 21 with more than 60days notice.

You could issue the section 21 (can do this ASAP) but want her to receive it no later than 31st Jan saying vacate no later than 31 March 24. I realise this is when tenancy ends, but you still have to serve notice because otherwise it goes into a rolling tenancy. So there is no do nothing, and the tenancy just ends option.

Its really to get all her possessions out as she is in jail, if she makes bail and you are worried about her coming back to the property, then that’s what you need a solictor for to do a court order & work with the police to keep her from the property sooner. A property manager (usually a letting agent) will have a legal department with solicitors that specialise in these kinds of circumstances.

One correction to the advice on here. You cannot simply dispose of her property. The Torts (Interference with Goods) Act applies. You can find some guidance on how to deal with it at A Tenant Left Belongings in My Property After Moving Out (nolettinggo.co.uk)

I am so sorry about this awful situation. On the useful link about it says write to the tenant. There will be a prisoner number and you can probably find the address and ask (or your solicitor or letting agent can ask) for the address to send the stuff and I would give something like 21 days for a reply. Eg the tenant might want you to send all the stuff including what is on the drive to a relative of the tenant. There is no reason you should have to store the stuff once a reasonable time has gone by.

Tenancy actually started on 15th October, so due to end on 15th April. If I’ve understood the info on this thread, then I need to make sure she receives the S21 notice by at least 15th Feb, as that gives 60 days notice to end of tenancy and prevents it from becoming a rolling tenancy contract.

I know she won’t pay any rent, is it better to consider a S8 order?

So sorry for your loss.

Do get legal advice as I'm pretty sure you can end the tenancy more quickly if the tenant has abandoned/won't be returning to the property.

And also, what a horrible set of circumstances to have to deal with, so sorry

I don’t have any advice, but I just want you to know how sorry I am about this horrid event.