Exhausted by tenant

[MrPickles73]

I had a tenant move in on his own in January 2021. I'd already known him some years and let to him previously and he was fine. Due to ill health he was retired late 40s and said he didn't need to work to pay the rent. Property is in Wales.
Almost immediately after taking on the tenancy he was applying for UC and it took months to get rental payment then things settled down though COVID was on and off so I did not visit the property.
8 months after he moved in he was found by a relative having taken an overdose. .. the council were very good and kept paying his rent and rent arrears. I kept in contact with him but was careful not to make any demands in terms of visits / rental increase. Lots of emails and phone calls to council to keep them updated on his situation etc.
Last autumn council stopped topping up his rent and he looked for a job. December started a job so UC stopped.
He didn't pay the rent and rental arrears soon over £1000. Then he paid a month's rent so amount owed was just under 2 month's rent.
Plumber went to the house and found it filthy and that someone was living with him. Tenant got very tetchy and didn't want to let plumber back in to finish the job etc..
Tenant suggested he'd move out at Easter for a fresh start. Hurrah. So I gave him a section 21 no fault notice giving 2 month's notice to move out.
He gave no response. 3 weeks before notice date ( 1 week after he said he would move out) I emailed to organise a time and date to move out. No response to this other than to say he's looked at other rentals but not found anything yet and by the way his ex is living with him..
So emailed again to say section 21 runs out in 3 weeks when can I pick up keys. His reply was very angry re I am harassing him and the council has told him not to move til he finds something else..

So he's meant to move out this week.. no sign of moving.. owes me over £1000. I've been Uber patient and understanding and I just can't take the endless hassle any more.

What can I do?

You have to start court proceedings.

The council won't house him unless you do and private rental is a nightmare just now.

If he doesn't leave on the date the section 21 runs out. Then you file to the court for the eviction and likely will need bailiffs to get him out. You will need to provide evidence of things like gas safety cert has been done every year and any other legal components including protecting the deposit.

The council has likely told him to stay put until bailiffs arrive as if he leaves before then he will be making himself intentionally homeless..

It's a horrible system op, but agree with the above, he would have been advised that its in his best interests for you to have to forceably evict him. The council have done a blinding job of pass the buck, in making private landlords responsible for social housing. Some friends have been stung this way op and ended up in court, so be very careful to do everything very carefully and by the book.

You’d be better off for a short while trying to negotiate him to leave by offering to write off the debt and even paying him to go.
Once you issue an eviction notice, he could stop paying for the next 6 months. You’ll never get the money off him.

OP, my sympathies. He does sound like a nightmare. With any luck you will soon have your property back.

Just wrote a reply which disappeared..

I appreciate your support. I'm at my wit's end. Agree with everything said.

Will contact council and make court application.

What hurts is I've bent over backwards and now the chips are down and I need him to do the decent thing he's being an arsehole. For context he has a £50k new car on HP.. but can't afford £500 a month rent..

Tbh the rent doesn't matter for me. I'm fortunate. I just don't want the grief. But on principal as he's become such an entitled narcissist I'm not willing to let it go.

And don't forget he's now in full time employment earning over £30k and has his ex partner living and earning with him..

First, get a good solicitor to sort out a possession order from the courts. Accept this will cost money and you won't get the arrears back.

Then once the tenant is out, sell it. Being a landlord is a job, and you don't enjoy it. You'd make more from other investments.

Welsh landlord and tenant law changed on 1st December 2023.
Is he not now occupying under a standard contract rather than assured shorthold tenancy? Were you still in the transitional period when you served the s21? If not there's a different prescribed notice now...

2022 not 23

Will you sell up? I was an accidental landlord and it was too stressful for us. Sold up a few years ago. Never again. Good luck 🤞

boomboomboomboom yes the Welsh law changed December 2022. I served before June so 2 month's notice still applied for section 21 as contract started before December.

I've been a landlord for about 15 years with up to 5 properties. I've had some PITA tenants but usually they recognise this, resolve their personal issues and move on. This guy is worse than the rest. You're right I don't enjoy it and yes when he moves out I'll be selling up. And investing my money elsewhere..