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Tenant Eviction options


beckif6

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We are overseas landlord in Sydney with a property in Somerset, we have had problem tenants since 2019. Timeline below
Possession order granted by County Court in October 2019 - pre lockdown
Following UK Ban on evictions - County Court Bailiff date given for November 2020 - Cancelled due to UK 2nd lockdown.
We have received no rent for over 6 months and the tenants now owe close to 10K - despite claiming many benefits - Guarantor on tenancy keeps advising he cannot pay!!
We have landlords insurance and are being represented by Stephensons solicitors - our solicitor just continues to advise that County Court Bailiffs are not operating and we have to just wait.

Can anyone advise what options we have to evict the tenants from Hell and look to start recovering the thousands of pounds in unpaid rent
many thanks

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I see you have a guarantor in place. If they are a home owner then you should be able to arrange to have a 'charge' placed on their property for the outstanding amount you are owed. If the guarantor realises that you will be perusing them for outstanding rent......irrespective of whether they have any ready cash to pay you....it can result in them putting pressure on the tenants to pay.

The downside is that you may need to wait until they move or sell their house before you get paid.....which could be many years.

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I agree with Richlist. You should be instructing solicitors to start proceedings against the guarantor. It doesn't matter that the tenancy hasn't ended yet, start a claim for funds owed to date. That should focus their mind to maybe start offering something towards the rent. 

Also if there is a possibility the tenants are receiving benefits it will either be Housing benefit via the local council or Universal credit. Both sources have a mechanism in place to redirect any further payments directly to the landlord if the tenants are ay least 2 months in arrears. So contact both (see below)

1. Housing Benefit: Write a short letter to the Housing benefit dept at the local council the rental  property is in. Explain you are the landlord of xxxxxxx and the tenant xxxxx is £xxx in arrears and therefore over 2 months rent is owed so under regulation 95 you require all further Housing benefit to be paid directly to you and your account number is xxxxxx. Important: Also include a simple rent schedule clearly showing payments made and the total arrears to date. If the tenants has been getting HB the payments will be suspended while they contact the tenant. It can take a few weeks to process but payments should be back dated to date they receive your letter.

2. Universal Credit: Use this link https://directpayment.universal-credit.service.gov.uk/

One or both will reply to say the tenants don't have a claim in place.

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