Scarlett Posted July 20, 2011 Report Share Posted July 20, 2011 Can anyone help. We had three young 'professional' tenants, one left without notice owing £880 in rent . His bond was used to repair damage to his room apart from £65. His room was re-let and the other lads left at the end of last year having wrecked the house. They lost their bonds and have finally agreed to pay the rest of the damages. They have been very fair, however the original tenant not only wrecked his room and didn't pay his rent but was certainly instrumental in the rest of the house which seems unfair on the other lads. Should I go through the courts to get back payment for rent, have I left it too long? I actually would feel inclined to reduce the payment for the others if I was to recoup from the one who I feel caused most of the problems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mortitia Posted July 20, 2011 Report Share Posted July 20, 2011 How do you know the one tenant was actually responsible for wrecking most of the house? Did you see it? Were you there? Probably not so don't try to put things right. could be that the other tenants are in touch with the one bad lad and have sorted it out themselves. If the £800 rent debtor can be traced and is working (or even better his parents) you may be in with a chance. Only you can decide if it is worth the cost and effort. Next time take bigger bond or deposit and if they are under 21 ask for a guarantor. Mortitia Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scarlett Posted July 20, 2011 Author Report Share Posted July 20, 2011 Thanks for that. The house was actually let through an agent who were being paid to look after it, they would have done all the checks and set the bond. Obviously they did a very poor job and have relinquished all responsibility! They were aware there problems but did not inform me. I have the home address of the debtor so will send a letter explaining that I would have to go through the courts if he doesn't pay or perhaps using the threat of baliffs? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melboy Posted July 20, 2011 Report Share Posted July 20, 2011 It all depends on how much stress you want. I would try a legal type letter sent to him outlining what you are proposing to do by way of court action to recover the outstanding amount highlighting the fact that a CCJ will affect his credit rating and any monetry actions he may wish to make like applying for a mortgage bank loans over a period of time etc. If this doesn't work then it depends then on how much you want to be chasing the debt or writing it off as a loss and moving on and being much the wiser about bad LA's and bad tenants. Down to you really. Mel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scarlett Posted July 20, 2011 Author Report Share Posted July 20, 2011 Thanks very much, really appreciate the advice Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LLAW96 Posted July 20, 2011 Report Share Posted July 20, 2011 You have 6 years to recover the debt, a skip trace agent will find your tenant for about 35 to 50 pounds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scarlett Posted July 21, 2011 Author Report Share Posted July 21, 2011 OK, not heard of a skip trace agent, do they just find the tenant or do they contact them. I have his parents address so I was going to send a letter there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grampa Posted July 21, 2011 Report Share Posted July 21, 2011 Were all the tenants on one contract as joint tenants or did they have individual contracts? If they were joint tenant you only need to chase one of the a people named on the contract to recover your loses. Did you have a well written inventory signed by the tenants of the property? If not forget about trying to claim through the courts or deposit schemes because you will not be able to prove it. If the tenants had individual contracts and there were communal areas how are you going to prove who did what? Was the property registered as a HMO? 3 unrelated tenants make it one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scarlett Posted July 21, 2011 Author Report Share Posted July 21, 2011 Yes it is HMO. The tenant who took the room on after him and the other 2 original tenants have admitted liability for damage and this is being paid privately as they didn't want to go through the Courts. It is the back rent of the one tenant of £880 that is the problem, they had a joint tenancy all done through the agent and I have copies of everything. However, I do have the address of the tenant and when the old agents rang him he just said he couldn't pay as he didn't have any money. I also have his current mobile phone number. I don't see why the other tenants should be responsible for his debt and i feel they have done the right thing and he should not get away with the debt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carryon Regardless Posted July 21, 2011 Report Share Posted July 21, 2011 Very noble of you to consider the other T's, as they have caused damage to your property I don't see consideration is deserved. As yet you are still out of pocket, with promises that may or may not be of value. Your emotion may be clouding your business judgement. My view is get YOUR money from where you can. If the other T's wish to do any of your the dirty work regarding the other T let 'em, it's less effort for you. It took me a while to realise that the more I get involved with T's situations the more they will let me, and even expect and infer responsibility. It's possible to become a social worker. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scarlett Posted July 21, 2011 Author Report Share Posted July 21, 2011 Sound advice, thank you and you are absolutely right.. What I am still wondering is why I paid an agent to look after the property and they clearly have not and I am now having to do all the dirty work. Is there come back on the agent as they allowed the property to be wrecked and did not bring in the rent owing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carryon Regardless Posted July 21, 2011 Report Share Posted July 21, 2011 Others are more qualified to answer this. But chasing unpaid rent seems a fairly basic expectation. The damage, well contractual promises regarding frequency of inspection might be a starting point on this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grampa Posted July 21, 2011 Report Share Posted July 21, 2011 You need to read the T&C's you signed with the agent to find out where any blame or reponsilbilty lies. Did you pay for inspections as part of the service? All agents are differant in the service they provide and if they havent done a service they said they would and you are now out of pocket you could have a claim against them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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