Problems with an alcoholic tenant who is now in hospital?

I would take full possession on 5th March. As far as you're concerned, you went to the property on the 5th March, the property was left uninhabitable with only rubbish/faeces remaining and a full set of keys was posted through the letterbox lying on the floor. All these things indicated the tenant had left following the section 8 eviction notice. Then change the locks. Wait 7 days incase any further rubbish/junk is collected by the tenant, which of course it won't.
Then get started with your clear out/renovation.
Forget claiming as you won't get anything back and move on.
It will be down to her family or social services to re-house her.
There is no future for you or her if she moves back into your property, only damage, stress, environmental health, social workers etc.
She needs help. This is the best solution for all concerned.

Reply to the comment left by DrT at 28/02/2023 - 11:06
As tempting as it may be, I'm afraid this is not good advice and may land the landlord with a conviction for illegal eviction. Presumably the tenant did not put the keys through the door and all her worldly possessions are in this property. She surely didn't take them with her to hospital!
The penalty for illegal eviction is up to two years imprisonment and an unlimited fine.

Hi Sarah,
Don't try to cut corners, do things by the book, or it may cost you a lot more than a few thousand pounds. As ground 13 is a discretionary ground, I hope you have taken the opportunity to take plenty of photos for your evidence.

I would suggest you try to get the council involved in terms of getting help for your tenant. As a vulnerable person, she will be prioritised for rehousing with an eviction pending. It does depend on the individual council I know, but it's worth trying, ours have rehoused a tenant with mental health issues who we've given s21 notice to.

It sounds as though her rent payments are set up on a standing order, otherwise there is no way she'd have been capable to make the payments, so there's a good chance you will continue to receive rent in the meantime.

Forget getting your money back for the repairs, that's a sunk cost!

Work with the council and the family to get her moved on, get evidence that she HAS moved, or keep written evidence if the family tell you they've moved her out etc. so you can prove that when you take possession you had good grounds for it. A person with a tenuous grip on reality is likely to contradict your version of events when they sober up.

In the meantime get your paperwork into the court as soon as possible. I'd also issue a section 21 notice if at all possible as a backup, especially with S13 being discretionary. All you need is for her to say that she's all better now, and she will tidy up and the judge says, okay let's give her a chance. Case adjourned!

There may even be something the council can do with regards to the property not being habitable for her to return to? Perhaps make some discrete enquiries to find out what would happen in that situation. It may speed things up for you if the council say she can't return to the property.

This is clearly too big a problem for you to solve alone. The Council, Citizens' Advice and other people may help. She probably needs supported accommodation.

Sometimes, we fail to support tenants. When we were sent letters to shield and stay at home during the pandemic, I could not visit a frail tenant (who was also shielding) for several months, and the tenant died. The flat had to be decontaminated.

Reply to the comment left by Kate Mellor at 28/02/2023 - 11:58
I know its obvious but video and photograph everything before you do anything and have a witness ideally.

This is such a tragic situation especially when there are clearly family who you've obviously managed contact with and in my opinion should step up here and aid the overall management in making decisions with regards to the tenants belongings and future decisions. It's a very unpleasant situation so good luck moving forward.

pat yourself on the back for getting her help and saving the dogs from more misery. It makes me think of Robbin Williams quote " i used to think the worst thing in life was to end up alone, Its not the worst thing in life is to end up with people who make you feel alone"

get a S21 out asap! Cal the council ask to meet someone from Social Services ASAP at the house then they can see she cant go back to living there themselves (and you have a witness).

They will then either take her under their care or be fully aware she will be evicted because of it so either way they she will be back on their books (cc in Housing to all/any emails)

Rent still coming in so she has a right to move back in if let out of hospital so you cant do much about this.

All you can do is go for possession asap using S21. At least you have notified all the Council departments that SHOULD now help the tenant.

I am reminded of the recent case in the news of a young woman with mental health who had lain dead in her flat or three years until a relative called to see her. This was social rented accommodation. It begs the question whether the relevant authorities and family had stepped up to their duties, as her mental health difficulties were known about and she was acknowledged to be an at risk individual.
Good for you for caring and alerting the relevant bodies. However, as others have said, it is not really your problem, even though under the vagaries of LL&T legislation and through buck passing it may well remain with you to manage if everyone else ducks out.
As harsh and cynical as it may sound, do keep a comprehensive audit trail of all that you have done so your attempts at resolution are evidenced, and ensure your insurance is up to date and as comprehensive as can be.