Tenant has moved out but left person behind

[LumpyandBumps]

I recently found out that one of the tenants in a 3 room HMO was not staying there, but had allowed another man to use the room.

I visited the property and spoke to the man and told him he should not be there.

The Tenancy Agreement has clauses regarding visitors and states specifically that they should be supervised by the tenant and not given a key.

He told me that he was there whilst the tenant stayed with his partner, who had recently given birth.

He said he did not pay any rent to the tenant.

I advised the tenant that he should not have anyone in the flat when he was not there to supervise them and asked him if he still wanted the tenancy to continue. He said he did, and for the first time mentioned that the man was his brother.

The tenant has now said that he wants to terminate the tenancy. He didn’t quite give the required one months notice to end on the last day of his rent month, but I accepted this on condition that vacant possession was given, all keys returned, etc.

He had been due to pay his rent 2 days before he gave notice. He hasn’t made that payment, and has only replied by text that he wants to give up the room.

His rent is now 2 weeks overdue, according to the other tenants he has not lived there for over 2 months, and all of his possessions were removed around that time.

I currently have his deposit, which is slightly less than his month’s rent, but would be willing to end the tenancy straight away and refund the balance.

As the person staying in his room is not a sub tenant ( Tenancy Agreement forbids subletting but know that if he was a sub tenant I would have to go to court) can I legally just ask him to leave?

I don’t want to do anything which is not correct but similarly I don’t want an unknown person, whose references and right to reside have not been checked, living in the property.

I had this. My tenant was sub letting, and I made the illegal tenants move out immediately I discovered it. Fortunately the letting agent was with me.

If he doesn't move voluntarily, you can call the police, but it's unlikely they'll do anything. Worth a try though. After that, it's court.

I've had similar during COVID. 2 people moved out of a house and simply handed the keys to a friend. When the rent was not paid I text the tenant but no reply. After a further month I visited them but no one answered the door. I put a note through the door
to call me. No call came. I visited again and this random person answered the door. He said he lived there. I told him he had no tenancy agreement and he must leave. He slammed the door shut and put on the chain. I rang the police to ask for help as I thought it was trespass. Police said he was squatting and it was a civil matter. He trashed the house, ran up hundreds of electricity. I rang online solicitor and was told as I had no contact with this person and never had I could wait until he left the house, which he did, then go in and change locks. I bagged up all his stuff into black sacks. I left a note on the door to ring me when he wanted to collect his stuff. It cost me over £1k to get the place straightened up and repainted in the sitting room as it stank of smoke. He eventually came to collect his stuff. If I'd ever had a contract with him I would have had to go to court to evict.

Horrendous experiences here!
I wonder why anyone would want to be a landlord withsyuch potential for disaster and financial chaos!

Thank you for this.
He has a key to the flat and bedroom. None of my keys open the bedroom door, so it looks like the lock has been changed. I can easily get it picked and get access when required though.
It’s slightly complicated at present by the tenancy not formally ending yet, but at least I have a better idea what to do when it does.

If the person in residence is not the one on the tenancy, you should act immediately. Any delay on your part could be argued to be agreement.

Yes, I am a bit worried by this aspect. I have already told him he shouldn’t be there and asked him to leave. If I lock him out now though I will also be locking out the actual tenant, which is not legal.

Sort of. You are only locking them out if you deny entry. If you lock the door, and they call you, you let them back in.

How far is it away from you?

Also, you have reasonable grounds to suspect your actual tenant has abandoned the tenancy.

The tenant has left and hasn’t paid the final months rent. Just let it go; text and say that as rent has not been paid, you’re happy to waive the notice period and consider the tenancy ended as he moved out two months ago anyway. You’ve reasonable grounds to believe he has abandoned the tenancy.

Treat the other guy as someone who has moved in without any kind of permission, go in and change the locks and pack up all his stuff. You haven’t engaged with him so you can do that. If you wait and talk to him or try and come to an agreement then you’ll have to go to court.