Advise for landlords

[Dingdong99]

Can anyone recommend a a free advice helpline for landlords?

I've got a really tricky tenant and not sure how to handle things

Have a look/search or post on property118

membership for NRLA cost about £70 a year (tax deductible) they have advice line forum forms & training is available
I used the advice line for repossessing a property they had forms on line & were able to guide me through the process, including filling in the forms - I didn't have to use a lawyer.
They are very good & you will find most people on here will advise you to join.

Another vote for the NRLA. Well worth the small outlay

you can try posting on landlordzone - they have a standard set of questions to answer (location of property, when tenant moved in, type of tenancy, have you done all the legals etc) and then they can help you. All internet randoms of course, same as here.

BTW repo or eviction not happening for 18 months. I hope you have good insurance.

Thanks all

Murb are you saying that I cannot serve them notice? I don't intend to currently as I need to get through some issues with them first. But would like to in a couple of months

@murbblurb

BTW repo or eviction not happening for 18 months. I hope you have good insurance.

That's not entirely accurate. S21 now six months' notice and with court backlog it could be up to 18 months. However if tenant in serious rent arrears, S8 could apply with a much shorter notice period. It depends on the OP's situation.

I've tried looking this up online but I'm
Unclear if I can serve them notice and stick to 2 months notice period as per our AST

There are some rent arrears but they are paying these off in chunks each months

To be honest, if I cannot evict them this would explain some of their behaviour as they are being so unreasonable that I've been wondering where they're coming from. If they think I cannot ask them to leave within 2 months, this would go towards explaining their behaviour

You will have a free legal helpline number on you property owners insurance policy, they will be able to give yoyadvice.

You can issue notice - but even if it is two months (unlikely,) as usual they don't have to go. Tenants don't have to leave until the bailiffs, who only get sent after valid court proceedings. And that's the 18 month delay. Sorry.

Section 8 is easily circumvented (Shelter will tell them how to do it) which is why in normal times sec 21 is used even for non payers, skewing the statistics on 'no fault' evictions.

PropertyTribes forum has some very helpful and knowledgable posters.

There are certain documents which you MUST give your tenants in order to use section 21. These are a valid gas safety and energy performance certificates. In addition there is new legislation requiring an electrical inspection and resulting certificate. If you do not have these documents and issue them to your tenant then section 21 is not valid. You would need to secure them and begin the process again.

Just to add, you must have lodged your tenants deposit with one of the approved schemes. If you failed to do this then you can be in big trouble and the tenant can counter sue and you will be prevented from using section 21 thereafter.

If they are paying off some of their arrears then this is not too bad.
I mean at least you will not be stuck without any money coming in at all.
There is an all-party consensus in Parliament to get rid of Section 21
notices but they are waiting until the end of the current wave of Covid.
End 2020 0r start 2021 is the plan, NLA will keep you up to date.
Section 21 is a no-fault notice which IF DELIVERED CORRECTLY allows LL to ask them to leave without any reason.
Most LLs do have a good reason and most tenants leave albeit with
some comments.
What are the issues you need to address with the current tenants?

Lots of good advice here but you're probably wise to join the NRLA and use their advice line which is free to members and generally very good.

A lot will depend on how watertight the tenancy is. Did you serve all the correct documents at the outset? Did you protect the deposit (assuming you took one)? Have you maintained the tenancy with annual gas safety checks etc?

If any of these things are lacking, you'll struggle to serve either a S21 or a S8 until you rectify the problem.

@sneakysnoopysniper

Just to add, you must have lodged your tenants deposit with one of the approved schemes. If you failed to do this then you can be in big trouble and the tenant can counter sue and you will be prevented from using section 21 thereafter.

If you return the deposit in full, you can use S21.

That doesn't stop the tenant from claiming compensation which is a separate matter.

I can highly recommend the NLA helpline, they are very knowledgeable and have been worth their membership. I served a S8 last year and luckily receiving the court papers was enough to make my nightmare tenant leave.

Firstly post on landlordzone. The battle-scared landlords there will be able to advise you of the current situation with regards to evictions, but in general everything is slower and more complicated than usual due to covid and the government not wanting an epidemic of homeless and jobless persons.
Tomorrow ring up the NRLA, join them and then get over to the advice line.

@Dingdong99

I've tried looking this up online but I'm Unclear if I can serve them notice and stick to 2 months notice period as per our AST

There are some rent arrears but they are paying these off in chunks each months

To be honest, if I cannot evict them this would explain some of their behaviour as they are being so unreasonable that I've been wondering where they're coming from. If they think I cannot ask them to leave within 2 months, this would go towards explaining their behaviour

Just to address your point re: 2 months notice... no, you can't serve them this. Unless they are in serious rent arrears (I think it's 9 months) or they have an ASBO, you must serve six months notice. It's part of coronavirus legislation.

Some tenants will be aware of this and it may explain their attitude change as they will know there is little you can do. In your shoes, I would politely remind them that in the end, you will regain possession of your house and they could end up with a CCJ affecting their financial security. It's in everyone's interest to work constructively together to resolve the problem.

Thanks all. I will speak to NLRA tomorrow

Eviction aside, the reason I don't trust the tenant is his behaviour about a leak from the upstairs neighbour

I have a ground floor flat. Upstairs, the neighbours had a leak and some water came through my kitchen ceiling. My tenant saw this fairly quickly as he was home and the water was turned off

He's been insisting on getting a structural engineer over to check the ceiling is still safe, and was saying that it was bulging and sagging

He's fallen out with the neighbours about it, as he has sent me and them some quite aggressive emails about it. He's been saying I'll need to pay for his accommodation elsewhere. He also wouldn't let the neighbours in to see the damage. As a result, they had been open to contribute to repairs etc but now are not and say I should go thru insurance

I therefore went over to see the damage with a surveyor today. I couldn't see any staining, sagging or even any evidence of a leak, and the surveyor confirmed it's all safe (and will give me a report). All the start came thru a crack so the plasterboard didn't actually get saturated

However, tenant has now emailed me asking to replace the ceiling...! I'm not sure if he's genuinely concerned, being awkward or wants to have the last word. Not sure how to handle it

I would of course replace the ceiling if it was necessary, but