Trouble tenant

J

Jackie Smith

New Member
I have a HMO in London and one of my tenants isn't paying their rent. I have asked for the payment and they said they will but its now a month later and they still haven't paid for last months, let alone this months! This is the first time this has happened to me - what do I do?
 
T

totallyproperty

Administrator
Staff member
Hi Jackie,

welcome to the forum. Sorry to hear you're having trouble with a tenant... what reason have they given you as to why they haven't been able to pay? Has something changed in their personal circumstances (work, etc)?

Within your contract with the tenant, what notice do you have to give them to move out? We do have a specialist on the forum who deals with rent arrears and evicting problem tenants if the problem persists. They are High Court Solutions and you can find a link to their website here.

I've also asked the forum's owner @Nicholas Wallwork to join this thread with his years of expertise in HMOs.
 
Nicholas Wallwork

Nicholas Wallwork

Editor-in-Chief
Staff member
Premium Member
Hi @Jackie Smith

Welcome to the forum!

I personally like to find out the tenant's individual circumstances and see if we can come to an agreement to pay back the rent arrears either now in instalments or later once they get a new job (if they lost their job for example). Make yourself approachable and easily contactable and offer help in the first instance and the tenant should hopefully be receptive and work with you.

If they ignore you and unfortunately there are occasional "bad tenants" who go into arrears intentionally then you need to serve eviction notices (either a section 8 or 21 depending on the specific circumstances) and try to evict them to minimise your losses. Speak to High Court Solutions (mentioned above) and they can help direct you on the appropriate eviction action to take.

Good luck and post any specific questions you have going forward and we'll try to help!
 
N

nmb

Well-Known Member
In the past I have seen instances where judges have ruled landlords have not given tenants enough opportunity to correct their arrears situation and refused eviction notices. This seems totally unfair but taking the advice offered by Nick in particular should cover all bases. Are rental regulations now more supportive of tenants than landlords?
 
Belinda Grashion

Belinda Grashion

New Member
Premium Member
Hi Jackie and welcome to Belinda's Forum! Thank you so much for your question. Team BG here!

I have to say that I agree with the other posts about finding out why the tenant is in arrears. When Belinda used to manage her own properties (over 18 years ago) she used to be very clear that it was a 2 way relationship and if they had any problems with paying their rent etc. they should contact her straight away so they could move forward together, maybe with a payment plan. Is this something you have explored? So many tenants are scared of approaching their landlord as they think about the worse case scenario, so they bury their head in the sand.


Also, double check what is in your Tenancy Agreement because if you do go down the section 8 or section 21 route, you will need to show a copy of the agreement. You may have heard how judges have ruled in favour of the tenant if you have not adhered to your responsibilities in the Agreement.


Funnily enough, Belinda has been asked a similar question on her "Live a Bigger Life" Facebook page by a lady called Rachel who wanted to know about howsheI coped with stressful tenants. The video below for you. I really hope this helps.

https://belindagrashion.wistia.com/medias/p7juluqkw1

Hope this helps!
Live the Life you Love,
Team BG! xx
 
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