Rent-owing tenant did a runner – How soon can I access?

Reply to the comment left by "wanda wang" at "25/09/2015 - 21:52":

Hi Wanda. I don't think they can appeal it after it has been awarded - that hasn't happened to me. The best way to chase it up is to ring them and find out exactly what stage it is at. Eg. have they written to the tenant, have they written to the employer? How long has the employer got to respond etc? We have had a situation where they were told the wages office wasn't at the employers' address we had given them so they then asked us 'Do you want us to continue?' We said 'Of course we do!' and we had to find out the the address of the wages office and give that to the Centralised Attachment of Earnings office. That's what I mean about it being a bit cumbersome. But keep chasing and you will get there and then it is very nice to have the cheques fall through your letter box and on to your mat! I have had thousands off various people - money they owed and would never have paid if they hadn't been forced to through their pay packets...

Reply to the comment left by "Joe Bloggs" at "25/09/2015 - 16:33":

Hi Joe,

If the tenant still leaves there I think that would be a very bad idea. If it is clear that the property is empty then perhaps.
This is really a situation where formal legal advice should be sought first.

Thanks All for the suggestions. First time it's happened to me, landlord since 2005. It's an education.

If the tenant had informed the water supplier and the Council Tax office that he was no longer the tenant, would that be sufficient evidence of his having vacated?

I would look the tenant up on facebook. You can soon find out who all his friends are and where he might be.

You could send him a message asking him if he has left which he will probably ignore.

You can see if he has switched utilities but if he hasnt bothered to pay you it's unlikely he would bother to switch utilities

Find out where he works which may be obvious from facebook and then see him.

Take photos of the empty flat when you inspect it.

He might reveal his new address from photos on facebook or by comments he has made

Reply to the comment left by "Ros ." at "25/09/2015 - 09:46":

Hello Ros,

You say that you are ending tenancies without court orders, well we have all done it ourselves, but times are changing and no win no fee solicitors are still flogging PPI claims, but it won't be long before they take look at landlords that do things on the back of a fag packet and crucify them with claims for a damages for unlawful evictions.

The prevention from eviction act is quite specific, in saying that if a landlord does not end a tenancy without explicit notice, consent or court judgement the landlord has committed a criminal offence.

It's a complete ball ache, but if you can get a tenant to send an email saying they have left and won't be coming back, I would agree with you.. You have written confirmation that the tenant has ended their tenancy.

I would guess that the 14 day notice is fine in your mind, its fine in my mind as I actually give them 30 days, but it still breaks the law by not following procedures.
Chances are that the tenant won't come back, but they could and they would win any case brought for criminality.

The reason I am sticking to this point is that I have yearned for abandonment notices to be acceptable, but there are cases brought all the time for this sort of stuff.

Even going down the section 8 route isn't straightforward.

The worst court I have to attend is Birkenhead, where the tenants get a free solicitor and they look for anything from breaches of CPR rules to repair issues to ruin your day.
Leicester is another one to watch out for.

I am telling you this from experience that if that solicitor can prove that you have not followed procedures you will at best have a case postponed and at worst thrown out and the tenant may even get expenses against you as a counterclaim.

The new booklet "How To Rent" tells tenants that the only way a landlord can legally end a tenancy is by giving you notice and following with a court order if required.
It does not mention abandonment notices, 14 days, 30 days, ringing your guarantor or playing a game of cricket.
It says at practically the end of every paragraph that if you have any issues to contact Shelter.

If that doesn't give you any warning of what's coming, you should remove all underwear and brace yourself for a right good seeing to by a claims company in the near future.

I have 2 HMO properties at the moment with some empty rooms, due to abandonment, but live tenancies running,

Abandonment issues are a complete nonsense for landlords as one tenant has written to say that I have made his life unbearable and is now back living with his mum.
I have a faulty oven, fridge and many other faults apparently.
It's funny how these items fix themselves when you plug them back in.

I will have to prove that the tenant is attempting to mislead the court.

But he hasn't returned my keys and is in his fixed term, the chances of me risking my business future on that moron of a tenant is nil.

He and his guarantor will be receiving a court summons.

I will be paying a fee I don't want to and they will be getting a CCJ at the end of it with a repossession order.

I won't lose my licence with the council for unlawful eviction either.

The abandonment issue for landlords is fraught with dangers and if you are feeling particularly brave you carry on and change the locks.

But I wouldn't chance it ,with today's climate concerning BTL landlords, you are just one claim from financial oblivion.

I personally would try to retrieve the situation before getting involved with the courts ,text him and tell him you need to visit the flat 24 hrs notice with a reliable witness,having fully established that he has gone ,visit his brother or go to his place of work and get him to sign an END OF TENANCY SURRENDER FORM,this will allow you to legally change the locks and look to re-let asap as he has given up the property. if on your visit he is still living there then court action is your other course.When the dust has settled in both scenarios proceed to recover all monies owed to you from him via the courts .If you are pleasant to this person when requesting the signature you may well be surprised as he may just want to move on as well not realising whats still to come

Reply to the comment left by "Ros ." at "25/09/2015 - 22:32":

Thank you for sharing your experience. Certainly I will continue for as long as it takes.