Fears of arrears
Andrew Strange talks to a landlord who is urging others to check references carefully and identify good prospective tenants from the usual suspects
Landlord Dharmesh Bhardwa has been left £6,000 out of pocket by a tenant that he was forced to evict and who then disappeared without paying the outstanding rent.
Despite trying to track the man down he now believes his former tenant may have gone overseas, so is warning other landlords that thorough referencing, credit checks and even insurance to cover unpaid rent are essential.
Legal process
Dharmesh says: “The tenant had a tendency to pay late and he would sometimes go two or even three months in arrears, but before this time he would always pay up eventually. So I was a bit slow to catch on until he went four months without paying. I went to see him but he just gave me a range of excuses.
“I thought, ‘I can’t keep going like this’, so I started the legal process to get him out. The process went on for several months while I wasn’t getting the rent. When the judge finally did say that I had a valid case I still had to apply for bailiffs to remove him — and that takes a further four to six weeks.”
In all, it took Dharmesh four and a half months to gain possession of the flat in Coventry. Although he was fairly sure the tenant had already left he had to wait for the bailiffs to enter the property legally.
Check them out
Dharmesh also found that the tenant had left an unpaid electricity bill for £3,000 and power to the house was cut off. He had to pay a deposit to the electricity company to get it switched on again.
“It’s proving to be difficult to find him and claim the rent back,” says Dharmesh. “I’ve spoken to different agencies but there’s not a great deal you are able to do. It shows that you have really got to get tenants referenced and properly checked before you rent to them.”
He now has good tenants in the property that he interviewed himself rather than leaving it to an agent. He says: “I have a good rapport with all my tenants. If they are local I drop off a bottle of wine at Christmas and send cards. It all helps.”
Gain possession of your property
Be sensitive because some tenants will be struggling to pay rent. The first course of action is to try to reach an amicable solution.
- If two months’ rent goes unpaid, you can serve a Section 8 notice giving the tenant 14 days to address the situation.
- Should the tenant fail to respond, hand in an N5 Claim Form and N119 Particulars Claim Form to the County Court. You can download these forms from www.hmcourts-service.gov.uk
- A possession hearing will usually take place within six to eight weeks. This can give the tenant up to 42 days to leave the property (often just 28) and award rent to the landlord.
- If the tenant still refuses to leave, you will need a Bailiff Order to have the court’s decision enforced.
- Don’t forget that you can apply for an Attachment of Earnings Order or a Third Party Charging Order to force the tenant’s employer or bank to reimburse you.
If problem tenants are leading to difficulties in you paying your mortgage, contact our Customer Care Centre on 0870 850 7536 and we’ll do our best to help. (Calls may be monitored and recorded. 0870 numbers may be charged at a higher rate than local and national calls and will vary between different providers. Check with your provider.)
