medazaland Posted October 25, 2010 Report Share Posted October 25, 2010 Im a letting agent based in the North West of England. Im struggling with a tenant who is over 2 months in arrears with the rent. Am i correct in firstly issuing a Scetion 8 notice requesting the tenant leave the property. Dont really want to go down the legal route if we can help it. A court order would be the next procedure after the 2 week notice expires. Option 2 would be a Section 21 notice which would expire next February. I dont seem to be able to get access to carry out the Annual Gas safety inspection, despite over a month of trying? Any advice? Problems have stemmed from the local authority forwarding rent direct to the tenant rather than myself, despite a letter being forwarded along with their housing benefit application. The letter was from the local councils housing office who look after homeless people. I am part of the Landlords Charter so the tenant was introduced by the local authority. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SPEEDTWIN Posted October 25, 2010 Report Share Posted October 25, 2010 Call the council and ask about regulation 95 regaring your tenant and you will be able to get the payment made to you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trenners Posted October 25, 2010 Report Share Posted October 25, 2010 Hi Glenda, If your tenant is 8 weeks in arrears with their rent and they are claiming housing benefit then you can DEMAND that the local council make all future payments directly to you (as landlord). Call the council and ask that all benefit payments are suspended to your tenant and insist that all future Housing Benefit payments are made to you. At the same time, tell the Council that you are concerned for the safety of the tenant as they will not allow you access to perform the annual landlord's gas safety inspection. I would suggest you get the local housing officer involved and ask him/her to come with you to a "council of war" meeting with the tenant. Regarding Section 8 and Section 21 notices - I am astonished that you are a letting agent and you are posting questions (on this forum) relating to what notices you should use. Landlords use letting agents because of their expertise in the understanding of tenancy laws .... !! IMO - Section 8 is a waste of time. It takes too long, is not certain to gain you possession, costs too much money and will not get you possession before February 2011. Section 21 is a better solution .... but not my preferred option. Best way to get rid of a DSS tenant is to PAY THEM to leave - this advice is based on dealing with DSS tenants for 10 years. Do the meeting with the Council officer and make it clear that there is a breakdown in the relationship between tenant and landlord (ie: you) and ask for the Council Officer to help you to _peacefully_ move them. To sweeten the shock ..... offer to pay their removal costs ........ this approach will get you possession quicker and will enable you to relet it quicker (to a non DSS tenant) as well ..... Good luck and let me know how you get on! Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SPEEDTWIN Posted October 26, 2010 Report Share Posted October 26, 2010 I have to disagree with Marks comments about getting possession via section 8.Ihave used it a number of times over the years and also s21. The cost is the same (£150) unless done online the s8 can be used during the fixed term but you have to attend the court hearing or have a solicitor on your behalf but you dont with a s21 unless its defended. You also get a court order for the arrears with a s8 but not with a s21. (no good if they have no funds though). If you dont hang about from the time a tenant has 2 months rent owing (=1 month + 1 day)you should be able to get a possession order in about 10 weeks. So if you do the sums yes you could offer the tenant a bung to leave and it may not cost so much as the lost rent and court fees.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
resident Posted October 27, 2010 Report Share Posted October 27, 2010 Hi Glenda, Thanks for using the forum. Interesting to see your comments regarding LHA as a company we are working with are currently compiling a petition to take to Number 10 Downing Street. The aim is to stop the government paying LHA directly to tenants to help landlords and letting agents avoid the problems that you have outlined here. You will see a banner link to this peition at the top of this forum so if this is a notion you would like to support please do click the link and submit your petition - it only takes about 30 seconds to do. Thanks again for your usage of the site and please do tell other landlords about the petition. Many thanks, Resident (Admin). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
medazaland Posted October 27, 2010 Author Report Share Posted October 27, 2010 Hi guys, thanks for your comments. No contact from the tenant in over a week, I've popped round 2-3 times and called 4-5 times. I've suggested a meeting with the local housing office & myself & tenant - no response. I have recieved some drubs and drabs of housing benefit this week although we're still 2 months + in arrears. Still haven't gained access for LL gas safety insp. I'm going to issue a section 8 tomm and set up a meeting with the housing office, after all they introduced the tenant to me in the first place! If the tenant has moved on and we believe that benefits have been withheld from the landlord over the past 12 months, can we launch an action against the tenant via the local benefits office? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chestnut Posted October 29, 2010 Report Share Posted October 29, 2010 Glenda, Can you keep us informed about support you get from your LA Housing Office on this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
medazaland Posted November 4, 2010 Author Report Share Posted November 4, 2010 Ive issued the section 8 notice on the Tenant and delivered it by hand. Popped round to the local housing office and spoke to the manager, he managed an apology and stressed that all potential tenants are put through a stringent application process before they are offered to the private sector for re-housing. He pointed out that the Government are encouraging more private sector lettings! There is a clause in the Landlords Charter which entitles me to re-claim the bond if the property is damaged. Its laughable, the tenant is perfectly free to move to another housing authority and receive full support and full housing allowance with no questions asked. He also told me that the people who deal with all the LHAllowance (housing benefits) are sub-contracted by the council!!! There is no direct link between the Local Housing office and the benefits section therefore the passing of information is strictly forbidden. The whole system is farcical and given the cuts pending, things are going to get a whole lot worse. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trenners Posted November 4, 2010 Report Share Posted November 4, 2010 Ive issued the section 8 notice on the Tenant and delivered it by hand. Popped round to the local housing office and spoke to the manager, he managed an apology and stressed that all potential tenants are put through a stringent application process before they are offered to the private sector for re-housing. He pointed out that the Government are encouraging more private sector lettings! There is a clause in the Landlords Charter which entitles me to re-claim the bond if the property is damaged. Its laughable, the tenant is perfectly free to move to another housing authority and receive full support and full housing allowance with no questions asked. He also told me that the people who deal with all the LHAllowance (housing benefits) are sub-contracted by the council!!! There is no direct link between the Local Housing office and the benefits section therefore the passing of information is strictly forbidden. The whole system is farcical and given the cuts pending, things are going to get a whole lot worse. Hi Glenda, I am sorry to hear about your bad experience. It is not unusual for the Council to outsource the processing of benefits to a third-party, outsource, partner. The entitlement and payment of Housing Benefit is governed by Government legislation so the local Council has zero flexibility on Housing Benefit is paid. Although your tenant may be free to move to other properties and continue to claim their benefit entitlement - the Council do not have to provide a bond to guarantee their new tenancy. This bond is provided by the Council (not the Benefit Office). If you tenant damages your property and you claim from the Council via their bond scheme then it is very unlikely that they will receive a bond from the Council for their next property - the Council do not have a bottomless pit of money that can be squandered by bad tenants damaging landlords property. A lot of landlords (myself included) make a very good living from Benefit claiming tenants although the risk of dealing with non-working tenants are much higher - as you are now learning to your cost. I wish you luck in getting rid of your bad tenant .... and I would suggest you stick to "No DSS" for the future. Best Wishes Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SureChecks Posted November 8, 2010 Report Share Posted November 8, 2010 Im sure the Section 8 notice is the way to go as it allows you to claim for the rent and costs where the tenant is in breach. Good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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