littleblue Posted February 9, 2008 Report Share Posted February 9, 2008 For 2 years I have had a husband and wife in one of my flats, rent paid by DSS. In the middle of last year, their son joined them, and the contract was put in his name. The son was paid the rent to himself by the DSS, but then he stopped giving it me. I approached him and his Mum and Dad, who all blaimed each other for me not getting any rent. I am now owed £1300.OO, and the son has gone, but his parents are still living in the flat, and they are now paying the rent, but will not pay any arrears, they say it was their sons responsibility not theirs. Can I take them to court for these arrears , or will the judge just throw it out, because the son has gone. I will be glad for any help and advice.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SPEEDTWIN Posted February 10, 2008 Report Share Posted February 10, 2008 I beleive the person who owes the rent would be the one who name is on the contract during the arrears period. Has a new contract been issued now the son has moved out?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GPEL Posted February 10, 2008 Report Share Posted February 10, 2008 Firstly, always name all adults living in the property over the age of 18 on the tenancy agreement, secondly always make it a joint & several liability and thirdly always get an employed guarantor for DSS tenants. This is a good example of why this is done. Not sure why you'd change the original contract to just the son's name, which may influence who you'd chase for payment. It could be argued that a tenancy was created for all therefore all are liable whether on the agreement or not. I would do what I could to recover it from any of them and ignore the excuses. However, if you go thru the small claims court for the parents to pay, you may lose and offend rent paying tenants. If you go after parents or son, what are your chances of getting anything even if you win the case? Personally, if I persued it with a small claim, I'd go for their son and also report it to the office who paid him benefits as he may have acted fraudulently. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
littleblue Posted February 11, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 11, 2008 Thank you for your advise. The son has gone and the parents do not know were he is.The contract weas changed to his name, because he could get more benefit than his parents.That was the biggest mistake I made. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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