Huge debt to landlord. What to do next

[NotMyMoneyWorries]

My daughter (25) has got herself into a huge financial mess, and owes over £12k in unpaid rent

We didnt know about this, she’s very difficult to talk to and wasn’t living anywhere near us. We thought she was working, and managing ok (as this is what we were told) but it turns out she was getting very few hours on a minimum wage zero hour contract, and was getting deeper and deeper into debt with interest added. She didn’t have a guarantor, as she’d paid upfront for her first two years rent (one year at a time), but there’s no more money

We first heard about this after she asked her grandparents for the money and they told us. Apparently she had a letter saying goods would be seized to the value, or something like that.

Four weeks ago my husband hired a van and drove up and brought her home. She contacted the landlady who has about 240 flats, apologising, and asking if they would get in touch regarding a payment plan. She explained she wasn’t currently working but had applied for jobs. Since then she’s found a job, and as she’s not paying us rent, I think she could afford to pay £1000 a month off her debt. She’s not mad happy about this. I don’t care.

The problem is that they haven’t been in touch. I think my daughter would happily keep her head in the sand and pretend it’s not happening, however I’m a worrier, and I think until somethings sorted her debt will keep growing

I want her to ring up today, but does anyone have any advice on what to say?

Sorry this is so long, and a bit vague. We only know what she tells us, which isn’t much

I agree @FriendlyNeighbourhoodAccountant

no she hasn’t had post redirected

No not going to pay her debt! Even if I had it I wouldn’t, because what’s that teaching her

I’m really glad people aren’t suggesting we pay it

No, you shouldn't pay it.
She will not learn anything and quite possibly you'll have a relationship damaging battle on your hands getting her to pay it back.

If she's not being honest, there will be a limit to how much you can help her.

The main thing I would want to check is that she has definitely ended the tenancy (or a court has awarded possession to the landlord). If that's not happened, she's racking up further debt through unpaid rent.

Would she be open to talking to someone about her mental health? Perhaps she'd open up to someone impartial. Also someone at a debt charity too. I got myself in a similar situation at her age and it was mostly due to my mental health being at absolute rock bottom and everything spiralling out of control. There was absolutely no way I could speak to my parents about it either.

If she is not receiving post then there's no true picture of what's happening. I think she needs to make this a priority. Post redirection can be done online.

Oh OP, what a nightmare.

i too would be doing what I could to get her back on track, and address whatever the root cause of her dysfunctional behaviour is. And not pay her debt.

I would also be wary of her attracting bad credit references to your address so would look into how you protect yourself.

Be very careful your address can quickly become linked to a bad credit person and you end up losing all your good history etc because of one person's bad credit. I would find it very surprising if there's not also overdrafts,credit cards loans etc owed. Sadly my brother did something similar years ago and it was more than un paid rent. Fortunately he did stick to parents rules,gave them a mini rent and paid every penny back. Took 4 years but he now has his own place again and a partner and works for what they need

@JimBobsWife has given good advice - the first and most important thing you need to do is to make sure she has legally ended the tenancy, otherwise the debt will just be growing each month.

You will need to speak to the landlady to confirm that, as she may need to sign a deed of surrender. There should be an address for service on her tenancy agreement so if you can't get a response by email or phone, write to this address to confirm she is giving/has given the landlady vacant possession.

After that I should think most landlords would be happy to accept a repayment plan of £1000 per month - the landlords I work for definitely would be.

Good luck!

I agree, a condition to moving home and getting support is accessing her credit file. Tell her theres no judgement, its just best to have it all in the open so theres no surprises and no more hiding it.

Def both go and speak to CAB to see what the options are.

And just to say I also made a massive mess of things in my early 20s including getting CCJs while also being at home playing The Sims! Its very easy to make these mistakes when we are young. Financial literacy should be taught in schools.

To go bankrupt incurs a fee of £680!

Madness!

She needs to redirect the post. Otherwise debt letters will turn up over the next few years as they track her down. Is there a court order against her for 12k? Might that rise with fees and interest?

I think you need to get some proper debt advice from Step change or Citizen's advice (who know all the best services to signpost to for debt advice). She is probably going to have to either get an IVA/ payment plan for the debt or declare bankrupt. It will screw her credit rating over for a few years but so will having loads of debt anyway.

My advice having been a landlord and having my tenant default on the rent...

You insist to Daughter on knowing everything from her and tell her if she is living under your roof you want to help her sort this TOGETHER.
Stay calm!

Speak to the agent/landlord yourself.

I took my tenant to court after serving section 21 notice and getting no response.
Taking him to court was also frustrating because he had no money to repay me, no job and neither did his family.

I incurred costs /mountain of stress and still got nothing back.
My point is that the Landlord may therefore think court is pointless if she is an experienced landlord.
Oh and Supermarket money does quick credit check in the app.

Here to help.

But she needs to be willing to be completely honest about this and all other debts

She's an adult. She won't appreciate you playing the martyr. Let her sort her own mess out, be clear that you'll help if asked but you're not tidying up her mess. She's got a job.

do you have children?

She doesn’t need to speak to the landlord. You have the letter from the debt collection agency. They almost all have an online facility to set up a payment plan. Go to their website, go to the propose payment plan section and set one up. You don’t need to wait for anyone to call you.

Yes and they'd get really annoyed at my demanding £1000 from them while making it clear I'd rather they weren't living there.

so what would you do in this scenario?

Just a thought re. Redirecting post.

If you’d rather not have your address associated with your DD, you could consider setting up a PO Box if they’re available at your local Post Office.

Of course you’ll have to pay for it, but just an idea if you don’t want to receive her post at your home. Good luck, what a mess. 💐

But she is living there. Because she can’t afford to live alone, can’t be trusted to live alone and won’t be alone to provide a reference for a new place. So, while she is living at her parent’s because of her own terrible decision making, she can hand over £1000 in “rent” which her mum will very sensibly use to pay off the debts.

@NotMyMoneyWorries

You really need to get her to log onto her council tax account and check she has been paying the council tax. She can go to prison for not paying that one. Get her to log in and show the payments.

I assume the LL has washed her hands with this as it’s already been through court. I’d expect the bailiffs to turn up at your door now she’s living with you, what a mess.

Has she notified utilities and council that she is no longer living there? If her tenancy has not formally ended she may still be liable.