harrycatcat1 Posted April 26, 2012 Report Share Posted April 26, 2012 I am sorry that this is my first post and I am asking for advice straight away but thanks for reading anyway. I have a tenant who moved in last September (2011) on a 12 months contract, in the meantime she has never paid her rent on time, moaned about the heating not working and I have sent a plumber out twice and he found nothing wrong and now she has informed me that she has moved her boyfriend in and wants him on the contract. The boyfriend is unemployed and they want to ask the state for money for rent that's why they want a new contract. Oh and she has had a baby and is on maternity leave. When she moved in she didn't tell me she was pregnant and would be struggling to pay the rent on maternity pay. Not that its my business if she is pregnant but it is if she cant pay the rent. To cut a long story short I have said that I will be serving a S21 notice and wont be changing the contract or renewing it but I did say that I would write a letter to say that he could live there till the end of the contract for the councils purposes so that they can pay the rent until they leave in September. My question is have I said the right thing, is a letter saying that he can stay there till September legal like giving him a contract to stay there and I then have no rights to get him out ? Thanks for listening Regards Hcc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richlist Posted April 26, 2012 Report Share Posted April 26, 2012 I have a tenant who moved in last September (2011) on a 12 months contract, Never issue a 12 month contract to a new tenant. in the meantime she has never paid her rent on time, Presumably yoy took appropriatte references, a guarantor and/or rent guarantee insurannce? moaned about the heating not working and I have sent a plumber out twice and he found nothing wrong Presumablly you demonstrated how to operate heating & left operating instructions with the tenant ? and now she has informed me that she has moved her boyfriend in and wants him on the contract. The boyfriend is unemployed and they want to ask the state for money for rent that's why they want a new contract. Thats the landlords choice and you can decline the request. Oh and she has had a baby and is on maternity leave. When she moved in she didn't tell me she was pregnant and would be struggling to pay the rent on maternity pay. Not that its my business if she is pregnant but it is if she cant pay the rent. It MOST DEFINITELY IS your business wether she is pregnant because it affects the rental situattion. You need to be more proactive and ASK the right questions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carryon Regardless Posted April 26, 2012 Report Share Posted April 26, 2012 Any type of agreement written or verbal is a contract, one side making the statement doesn't tie the other side in unless they agree. The demonstration of that agreement is the difficult bit. If verbal memories most often will corrupt the understanding to suit the parties desire. I assume you have left your AST to lapse into periodic. If you want to repossess on a S21 just do it, in your case I can see the intelligence in doing this anyway, you can decide later when to act on it. Just don't make conditions applicable to the S21 or it is void. Over a period of 17 months many things change in peoples lives your emotion over the pregnancy is a little out of touch. With the younger female it is almost an expectation that the hormones will cause her to want a family and that includes a sperm donor. You have choice of accepting the situation or not. Your dilemma is- without contract I wouldn't expect HB to pay for the bf, with they have a further 6 months minimum. Your call. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harrycatcat1 Posted April 26, 2012 Author Report Share Posted April 26, 2012 I have a tenant who moved in last September (2011) on a 12 months contract, Never issue a 12 month contract to a new tenant. Yes I can see the sense in this now in the meantime she has never paid her rent on time, Presumably yoy took appropriatte references, a guarantor and/or rent guarantee insurannce? Her father has stood as guarantor and yes I have the appropriate insurance moaned about the heating not working and I have sent a plumber out twice and he found nothing wrong Presumablly you demonstrated how to operate heating & left operating instructions with the tenant ? I explained the heating and the plumber has also and now she has informed me that she has moved her boyfriend in and wants him on the contract. The boyfriend is unemployed and they want to ask the state for money for rent that's why they want a new contract. Thats the landlords choice and you can decline the request. Yes this what I have done Oh and she has had a baby and is on maternity leave. When she moved in she didn't tell me she was pregnant and would be struggling to pay the rent on maternity pay. Not that its my business if she is pregnant but it is if she cant pay the rent. It MOST DEFINITELY IS your business wether she is pregnant because it affects the rental situattion. You need to be more proactive and ASK the right questions. May I ask what is the right question to ask a single girl if she is pregnant when embarking on taking on a house when I asked her "is the rent going to be a problem during your tenancy" and she replies "no I have a good job at the hospital". It seems to me that she was trying to hide the fact that she was pregnant when she signed the agreement. Thanks for your response Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harrycatcat1 Posted April 26, 2012 Author Report Share Posted April 26, 2012 Any type of agreement written or verbal is a contract, one side making the statement doesn't tie the other side in unless they agree. The demonstration of that agreement is the difficult bit. If verbal memories most often will corrupt the understanding to suit the parties desire. Mmm sounds as though if I have said that I would "write a letter for the council"and not a new tenancy for the council then I have entered the agreement verbally I assume you have left your AST to lapse into periodic. Sorry the agreement was 12 months from September 2011 so it runs till September 2012 If you want to repossess on a S21 just do it, in your case I can see the intelligence in doing this anyway, you can decide later when to act on it. Just don't make conditions applicable to the S21 or it is void. Thanks for the advice Over a period of 17 months many things change in peoples lives your emotion over the pregnancy is a little out of touch. With the younger female it is almost an expectation that the hormones will cause her to want a family and that includes a sperm donor. You have choice of accepting the situation or not. As above she has not been in 12 months yet and she has the child. Your dilemma is- without contract I wouldn't expect HB to pay for the bf, with they have a further 6 months minimum. Your call. Yes its a difficult situation but I can always rely (hope)on the guarantor paying without going to court. The joys of being a landlord. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carryon Regardless Posted April 26, 2012 Report Share Posted April 26, 2012 Apologies my maths is out. A S21 will have no value until after the fixed term has run it's course. Reading you have a G'tor I would involve them or at least make them aware. I often send a statement of arrears to a G'tor with a polite letter reminding them of their responsibility. If the G'tor is willing to assist in the situation becoming palletable it could be an acceptable tenancy. A family situation statistically should be more stable than a single person tenancy, of course there are no G'tees there. If you inadvertently commit to a new tenancy the G'tor is off the hook for the original tenancy. The g'tor situation would need to be addressed again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richlist Posted April 26, 2012 Report Share Posted April 26, 2012 May I ask what is the right question to ask a single girl if she is pregnant when embarking on taking on a house when I asked her "is the rent going to be a problem during your tenancy" and she replies "no I have a good job at the hospital". It seems to me that she was trying to hide the fact that she was pregnant when she signed the agreement. Well I have policy of not taking tenants with children so I am very particular to make sure there are none and none on the way. Its quite easy to quiz people whilst being polite & diplomatic. * Is the property just for you ? Do you have a partner ? Where are they living ? Will they be moving in with you ? Are there any children ? Are you planning to start a family ? etc etc If they don't like the questions they don't get the property......there are lots of other properties for them to choose with landlords that don't ask questions. Its not 100% ..... but then nothing is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harrycatcat1 Posted April 26, 2012 Author Report Share Posted April 26, 2012 May I ask what is the right question to ask a single girl if she is pregnant when embarking on taking on a house when I asked her "is the rent going to be a problem during your tenancy" and she replies "no I have a good job at the hospital". It seems to me that she was trying to hide the fact that she was pregnant when she signed the agreement. Well I have policy of not taking tenants with children so I am very particular to make sure there are none and none on the way. Its quite easy to quiz people whilst being polite & diplomatic. * Is the property just for you ? Do you have a partner ? Where are they living ? Will they be moving in with you ? Are there any children ? Are you planning to start a family ? etc etc If they don't like the questions they don't get the property......there are lots of other properties for them to choose with landlords that don't ask questions. Its not 100% ..... but then nothing is. Yes I accept what you are saying I never thought about asking if she was about to start a family. Anyway the appointment with the council/dss or whoever it was, was at 10am this morning and I have not heard anything, so no news is good news. I hope they have been in town and found another property. I would release her out of the contract early if she has, just to get some peace. Thanks for your advice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snorkerz Posted April 26, 2012 Report Share Posted April 26, 2012 I would be concerned about writing the letter for the council. They should make a joint claim for LHA and her existing tenancy agreement should be enough to establish that they have a rent liability. Why grant him tenancy rights if you don't have to You could write a letter saying 'I confirm that you have an assured shorthold tenancy from date X to date Y and that Mr Bloggs is a permitted occupier.' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harrycatcat1 Posted April 27, 2012 Author Report Share Posted April 27, 2012 I would be concerned about writing the letter for the council. They should make a joint claim for LHA and her existing tenancy agreement should be enough to establish that they have a rent liability. Why grant him tenancy rights if you don't have to You could write a letter saying 'I confirm that you have an assured shorthold tenancy from date X to date Y and that Mr Bloggs is a permitted occupier.' My worry was that if I did write that letter would I be giving him a "contract" and have bother getting him out as well Thanks for your advice. Hcc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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