Tenants late payment of rent

[werekitty]

I'm a reluctant landlord as I had to relocate due to work and rented my house out. My relatively new tenants who moved into the house in august are late paying the rent for the fourth time. The agents chase them but I don't get told if there are good reasons for this but I'm getting hacked off and I guess that they now won't be chased or pay the rent till January as the agency is shut till then but my mortgage payment is due.

They are keeping the house immaculate but should I consider evicting them when the initial six month period is up? They have always paid but I get stressed wondering when they are going to pay and whether new tenants would be any better. Difficult as I don't like the thought of evicting them. What would other people do in this situation?

I would give notice when their 6 months is up. We rent out a house and I have been caught out in the past believing tenants who havent paid their rent - will be paid in a week, will be paid next week etc. You cant actually start proeceedings against a tenant who doesnt pay until you are well out of pocket and, having lost quite a lot of money on my last tenant, I wont be a soft touch anymore.

I would issue proceedings to evict now - you need to give two months notice so it may already be too late to meet the end of the tenancy.

hope you have insurance, they will probably stop paying at this point and may not leave without the bailiffs.

they are stealing from you and need to go.

If 4th month's rent is already overdue then I think you've missed the timing to get them out at the end of 6 months but could serve 2 months' notice on next date rent payment is due. Unless you can afford to bankroll them they sound like trouble.

Does the contract become a periodic tenancy or is there just the option of a break at six months on a 12-month tenancy? As others have said, you need to give two months' notice but you may have missed your chance. Look at the tenancy agreement very carefully before issuing a S21.

It's a 12 month tenancy with a 6 month break clause and yes I would have to give 2 months notice, so have missed the opportunity to give notice for February.

I will have to give notice before the next rent date in January to get them out in March. I suspect it may not be that easy to get them to leave, but yes have insurance.

good. Give your agents a severe kicking and raise a complaint. Most agents do nothing unless kicked. You need to make sure that the notice is received in time for the next rent date.

there are NO good reasons for not paying the rent. Mortgage companies don't accept good reasons for not paying mortgage.

also speak to your insurers to confirm exactly what needs to be done so that you are covered for lost rent, legal fees etc.

You will need to make sure your notice is worded exactly right, I would take some advice on this to ensure it's correctly done.

I would not be happy with the frequency of lateness, and I would want them out.

If possible, you need to build up a buffer of cash to cover you for late payment - and also for void months when you have no tenant in place. This doesn't mean your tenants shouldn't pay on time, but there are often cashflow issues like this which mean you need to be able to cover the mortgage short term.

You could consider selling the property to another landlord, i.e. with tenants in situ. (Possibly not these tenants, admittedly!)