Were you successful in getting back rent?

Only in a few cases have we fully recovered outstanding rent, we have used the Sheriffs as seen on the tv program, this was really successful and attachment of earnings, which took ages to recover the money

Reply to the comment left by Toni at 22/02/2023 - 11:25Like others, I have found that a court decision is not sufficient as a former tenant may simply ignore the court order. However, I have found that applying to the court for a third party debt order can be very effective, so long as you have their bank account details, as it effectively freezes the debtor's bank account. Obviously that only works if they have the means to pay.

Hi had a lovely couple move into my house. They were there for years, with no problems. Then the wife left him with the baby. He wanted to stay but it was a 3 bedroom property. So he paid rent for a year OK, then things went south. Sometimes he'd pay, other times not. More promises than a politician, of course, so when he was 2 months in arrears, I went to visit him with my wife, and have a calm and respectful chat.
He said he resigned his job, but had an insurance policy to cash in. I said why not move to a cheaper bedsitter until you get you self sorted, but he refused.
Gave lots more promises, but the situation was clear.
He had no money to afford the rent payments.
I issued a S21 and a S8. He stuck it out, and it was decided by the court, just on the paperwork. He still didnt move out so the bailiffs were called in and the locks changed. The bailiffs said he cant move as he has nowhere to go. By this time I was getting annoyed,
And insisted the bailiffs evict him, as I was not a charity, and I paid good money for him to do his job.
I agreed the Tennant could leave all his stuff in the garage for storage for 1 week, as long as that ment he was officially evicted, and I had legal possession at that point. Job done. I asked the Tennant why he never bothered to pay the rent, and he replied "It was not a priority of mine".
Well getting the £8k rent arrears was tricky too. Fortunately I had a Guarantor. I phoned her and explained the situation. She was horrified and blamed me for letting the rent arrears get to such a high level.
I find compromise and calmness is the best way forward in these situations. I said if the amount is paid within 2 weeks, I'll knock £1000 off as a good will gesture. Well there was some objections by the Tennant, but I stood firm. Eventually I got a cheque in the post after a few days.
A really stupid situation, but thankfully resolved eventually. I still feel that tennants have more rights than they deserve, when they dont pay their rent. Try that trick on a bank with your mortgage, and you'll be out, in no time. Now the situation is getting worse, with all the new legislation we have, and it's become totally unfair to the LL, and that's why so many LL are leaving the PRS.

It all depends on the tenant and the leverage possible. Common sense usually applies as to the financial situation of the tenant in question. If they have a good job then you are more likely to get paid.
Bailiffs usually want all or nothing when it comes to debt collection payments. Working with a decent professional debt collection agency can work out well even if they can just agree a weekly repayment schedule. The recovery rate for unpaid rent arrears isnt great but can certainly worthwhile IMHO
Our Branches work with Frontline Collections. They are very good at recovering Private Rent Arrears and usually tell us at outset if there is any chance of the debt being collected rather than painting false rainbows and charging us unnecessary fees.
It is best to always have realistic expectations and prevention is better than a cure. I think this is why Tenant vetting is so important

I would suggest that your best course of action once you have a judgement against your debtor is to apply for an order to obtain information.
"It is not a form of enforcement which will get you your money. But it is a way of getting
information from the defendant (called the ‘debtor’ when you use this procedure: you
become the ‘creditor’). The information which will help you decide:
• whether it is worthwhile taking an enforcement step; and if so,
• which of the methods available is most likely to get you your money.If you use this procedure, the debtor will be ordered to come to the court to be questioned,
on oath, by a court officer. The sort of information you will receive from the questioning
includes:
• employment status;
• if appropriate, details of employer and wages or salary;
• details of dependants and outgoings paid from income;
• details of any additional income;
• details of any property owned (house, car, caravan, etc.), which may have a saleable
value;
• details of any bank or building society accounts and the balances in them.
The questions the court officer will ask the debtor are set out in form EX140 Record of
examination, a copy of which you can obtain from the court....
complete Form N316 (Application for an order
that the judgment debtor attends court for questioning). You can get the form from
hmctsformfinder.justice.gov.uk You must make the application to the County Court hearing
centre where the debtor resides. You can find this at courttribunalfinder.service.gov.uk..."

This information is from EX324 information leaflet available online from HM Courts and Tribunal Service. Google it and have a good read.

Make sure you engage a private process server in the area as it is cheap and quick. You will wait until you die from old age before a court appointed process server EVER gets it served! Ask me how I know!

Once they front up with the information you have the choice to apply for an attachment to earnings and or a third party debt order, or you will know that there is nothing to be gained from pursuing the debtor further.

I've done this before and when I eventually got them into court, one of the couple had become self-employed the week before the court appearance (convenient!) and the other party was employed. She made an agreement to pay £50 per month at that point and did pay until they moved house and they thought they were free of me!

Their new landlord helpfully provided me with their new address however as they left his house in a hideous state, and I shall be applying for the order for information all over again and I will this time insist on an attachment to earnings!

I'm pursuing them on principal in this case, I don't normally bother, but this pair are very special and they can certainly afford to pay, but choose not to.

if you rent to a benefits recipient then you basically kiss goodbye to any possibility of recovery of any debt let alone fees that just add more on. Total pointless exercise.

The ONLY way money orders etc are useful if you KNOW the person has money and you can prove beyond doubt they owe it to you. Then you have to run the gauntlet of the courts/ the process. Add in the stress and hassle of time spend doing this...