Tenant not paying rent

[keepingsanity]

I have a property that I rent out. The tenant hasn't be n paying rent properly since March.

Prior to that they had been in the property 10 years with no issues. Therefore when he stopped paying rent back in March I gave him some leeway. His mum had died and he was struggling. Then by July I had still had no rent and it's not sustainable for me. He has paid the occasional amount like £100 a couple of times.

He's looking to be places in council accommodation and is on the list. But as he is a single man in his 40/50s he's low priority as I understand.

I had been made redundant myself and am going through a divorce which the property is part of. The situation isn't sustainable. He owes over £3600 in unpaid rent.

We are now in December and nothing has moved on. He keeps saying he will give the keys back but does not. I do t hold out much hope of the council placing him soon.

I have looked into eviction but have been advised this will cost me a minimum of £1500 and could take a minimum of a year due to court backlogs.

Is there anything I can do to move this along without having to use the eviction process? He's obviously having a hard time but I can't keep this going I definitely

I should note that he was given his notice and should have left by mid September

Do you have insurance that covers unpaid rent?

Hi no I don't. Although I do have landlord insurance

Over a payment/financial incentive for him to leave immediately?

You need to go through the formal notice, court and eviction process. He could be waiting years for a council place. Try CAB for advice.

I expect he wants you to evict him, that way he can be accepted by the council as homeless, so I would crack on and start the process of getting him out legally.

It is usually council housing department advice to sit tight until the bailiffs arrive with a warrant or whatever it's called to evict you

This is what I was going to suggest

I think my hands are tied on this unfortunately. Looks like the legal route, It's a shame as I've given him leeway at a difficult time and wanted to see him right. Now he will have an eviction against him and difficulties in getting another rental.

Serves me right I guess

I did think of this, maybe I try that I'll have a chat with the agent

As a landlord I can wholeheartedly agree with the statement that no good deed goes unpunished.

Your tenant is clearly seeing your empathy as an opportunity to take the piss and as a result you're now thousands of pounds out of pocket

Have you issued a s21?? Surely that would be the quickest route to remove the tenant without having to declare fault?

Legal is the only way to do it and it will cost you and take ages unfortunately.
You probably won't get the rent arrears either

The letting agent issues a S6? S8 ? Which was a no fault eviction in an attempt to get the council to move forward but nothing has happened.

Part of my problem is that I was hoping he would move out so I can get it on the market without the expense of legal fees for eviction as I really can't afford them as I've been made redundant. Looks like I'll just have to bite the bullet.

Potentially your tenant has messed up, a no fault eviction would have given him a chance to be housed by the council. If you go ahead on the basis of unpaid rent they would say he has made himself intentionally homeless and are then not obligated to help.

Hi similar situation here we started the legal route in June and are awaiting bailiffs to evict after he didn't leave after the court told him to in September. it has cost over £2000 (london) and the bailiffs won't give us a date till Jan25.
so I would start sooner rather then later
He will owe 15,000 in rent by then
we used a company called ast and they have been great

@keepingsanity you need to stop setting yourself on fire to keep him warm.

Next steps (and i'd do this immediately)

After you give notice
Keep proof that you gave notice to your tenants - either:

• fill in the certification of service form (N215)
• write “served by [your name] on [the date]” on the notice

If your tenants do not leave by the specified date, you can use your completed N215 or notice to:

• apply for a possession order
• apply for an accelerated possession order - this can only be used if you’ve given your tenants a Section 21 notice

You've been kind enough to give him all this time. Now you are forced to legally fight for possession and make sure to include costs if you can in the summary.

Oh no. Your letting agents are utter idiots OP. A section 8 is a fault eviction, for example for rent arrears and it will require a lengthy court action.

A section 21 is the no fault route and will be much quicker, not requiring the court to approve it.

Do it whilst you still can!