Tenant Abandonment

[darrylclemson]

Dear all

I have a tenant who owes me several months rent, but I have been unable to contact him at all. I have sent several letters, phone calls etc & called round many times over the past month, without any response from the tenant. I then sent a letter stating that if he didn't contact me I would have to assume that he has left the property and I would take back possession. Upon entering the property, the tenant was not there, but was obviously still living at the property. I then left the property as I am unsure as to what my next steps should be.

Any ideas?

Many thanks

[Mortitia]

Hi Darryl,

I take it you want to get rid of this tenant so start by giving him notice and take it round and put it through the door yourself. The longer you wait the longer it will take to get him out.

Be careful about entering when he is there or he will accuse you of harrassment. If you think unlawful things are happening at the property or you need to enter for say a gas safety survey or gas leak call the police and get them to come with you.

To make sure you do the notice right either go to a solicitor or search back through the links on this site. Also think about getting a CCj against him at the county court or money collection order. Go to HMCS online it is all there.

If you are lucky this might shift him if not you will have to let the whole notice thing run its course. It's tough I know.

Mortitia

[darrylclemson]

Thanks for the advice Morticia.

I was under the impression that I could not serve a Section 21 notice to expire before the end of the six months AST, which is not until June. Is this the case or can I serve it immediately?

Many thanks

Darryl

Hi Darryl,

I take it you want to get rid of this tenant so start by giving him notice and take it round and put it through the door yourself. The longer you wait the longer it will take to get him out.

Be careful about entering when he is there or he will accuse you of harrassment. If you think unlawful things are happening at the property or you need to enter for say a gas safety survey or gas leak call the police and get them to come with you.

To make sure you do the notice right either go to a solicitor or search back through the links on this site. Also think about getting a CCj against him at the county court or money collection order. Go to HMCS online it is all there.

If you are lucky this might shift him if not you will have to let the whole notice thing run its course. It's tough I know.

Mortitia

[Trenners]

Hi Darryl,

It is important that you force the tenant to make contact with you so that you can assess what is really happening.

If it were my property I would affix a notice to the front door stating that if the tenant doesn't make contact with you within, say, 5 days then you will be

changing the locks to secure the property. This usually frightens a tenant into making contact.

If they do not make contact then I would go ahead, change the locks, and put a different notice on the door stating that the locks have been changed and if the tenant wants to gain access then he will need to contact you.

When the tenant contacts .... you MUST give him a copy of the new key (otherwise you would have committed illegal eviction).

However, it is not unreasonable to change the locks to secure the property if you think that the tenant might have abandoned it.

That's what I would do ... I know it is sailing close to the law ... but it will force the tenant to make contact ... but it may not get you any money or

gain you an eviction order ......

Let me know how you get on ....

Best Wishes,

Mark

[web2dude]

Good advice Mark. I would push your rights without overstepping the tenants legal rights. Ultimately, you want him out, so you might be able to come to some arrangement suitable for both parties...