How do you deal with uncommunicative former student tenant?

How do you deal with uncommunicative former student tenant?

9:28 AM, 29th August 2024, About 2 months ago 14

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Hi, I have an HMO let to students and one of the students has decided not to continue at university and get a job if he can.

He says his parents will pay for his rent for a year but when asked about arrangements I get silence.

I have tried contacting the student several times but mainly have been ignored but when he did respond, he said that the situation is very difficult for him and causing him anxiety. Since then I have heard nothing.

I spoke to the university and they said there is nothing they can do even though he signed the contract while a student.

Any advice welcome.

Lawrie


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SteveFowkes

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9:42 AM, 29th August 2024, About 2 months ago

Nope - nothing to do with the uni

Are his parents guarantors? If not ( they should have been!) then you'll need to issue a MCOL against the student.

If parents are guarantors the issue MCOL against them - probably best to issue a LBA (Letter Before Action) setting out that you propose to issue a court order to recover the money( ie MCOL) - I suspect the guarantor will cough up and no MCOL will be necessary

Good Luck

Graham Bowcock

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10:10 AM, 29th August 2024, About 2 months ago

Couple of questions -

is the tenant a former tenant (as per your headline), or current tenant (as implied in the text)?

does the tenant owe you anything?

As Steve said, nothing to do with the uni.

If money is owed then you need to correspond formally with the tenant at his current address. If he hasn't given you one, then you will need to use a tracing agent to find him.

The tenant doesn't have any legal requirement to assist you in your pursuance of him. He should give an address for service, but, of course, in practice tenants don't.

You can only speak to his parents if they are already guarantors.

Your message implies you may be worried about future rent payments. If the tenant currently owes you nothing, then you will just have to wait and see; if the agreement is signed up then the tenant does not have to explain to you how they are going to pay.

Martin Thomas

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10:35 AM, 29th August 2024, About 2 months ago

Surely the answer is to find a replacement tenant. If the other students could find someone, that would be best because they will be happier with someone they have approved rather than having someone foist upon them.
Then the outgoing student won't have to pay rent. You should have a 'joint and several' tenancy agreement so that if one student defaults, then the others have to pay - that concentrates the mind!

Graham Bowcock

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10:50 AM, 29th August 2024, About 2 months ago

Reply to the comment left by Martin Thomas at 29/08/2024 - 10:35
Joint and several liability is a good angle - chase the other tenants if one is not responding.

As for reletting you can't do this unless the tenant has actually vacated (and not just cleraed his room). Tread very carefully.

Yvonne Francis

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11:32 AM, 29th August 2024, About 2 months ago

Is your student house let as a group on a Jointly and Severally liable lease? Do you have Parental Guarantees? If you have guarantors, and if his parents may pay you, you just have to wait and see. Is there any reason you don't want working people? If it is on J&S lease then it's best to inform the others, because if he fails to pay the rent then it affects the others. What is difficult about this situation is if he is no longer a full time student then Council Tax will be levied on him.

Lawrie Madden

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12:33 PM, 29th August 2024, About 2 months ago

The tenant has not vacated his room and does not intend to do so therefore unable presently to relet
He is in sporadic contact and talks about changing payment from termly to monthly
He is currently 2ninths behind and about to go into a third month ,has no job and is currently on a camping holiday
His termly payment is due next month so will have to wait until then to see if payment is received before I can consider anything

Judith Wordsworth

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13:11 PM, 29th August 2024, About 2 months ago

RE Council Tax liability. Many Local Authorities require ALL the students in a student HMO to be full time students therefore getting no council tax liability. Should 1 person live there without the student council tax exemption then these councils require ALL the students to pay council tax as no longer a student HMO.
Check it out and if the LA require all to be full time students then serve s21.
What is in your tenancy agreement about loosing student status?

DAMIEN RAFFERTY

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13:34 PM, 29th August 2024, About 2 months ago

The now ex student would be liable to pay council tax but with the 25% discount as he is the only tenant liable to pay CT.
However we need to know all the others questions others have asked !
Joint and Several tenancy agreement ?
Parent Guarantors
Unemployed EX student can afford to go on holiday !
Do you have parent details ?
Have they signed Parent Guarantor form.
You could explain that the son has dropped out of University and your worried about the mental wellbeing
Will the tenant move out.
You can find a replacement tenant NOW as there maybe a number of students looking for a home for September.
Act now don't wait for the EX student to drag this out.

Lawrie Madden

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14:29 PM, 29th August 2024, About 2 months ago

Tenant is on a term contract which is not due for payment for a few weeks when university academic year starts which is not ideal plus not easy to get someone in residence out
I did not get parent guarantee which was a mistake

Yvonne Francis

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12:32 PM, 30th August 2024, About 2 months ago

Reply to the comment left by Judith Wordsworth at 29/08/2024 - 13:11
Judith, Council Tax is only on the person who is not a student. I've had the same problems in a sort of way when a group of students I had wanted to share with someon not a student. I checked with my council who told me it was on the person, not the house.

I can't understand your bit on whether or whether not a student HMO was a student HMO. I did not think it mattered if a HMO had students mixed with non students: it was still a HMO. There is no way a council could dictate students only.

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