Viewing 25 posts - 1 through 25 (of 25 total)
  • Evicting tenants
  • ianpinder
    Free Member

    So I need to evict a tenant from a property, has anyone does this before, I’m after a few pointers.

    Has anyone just asked them to leave before?

    5 people share a oint house and we only want to get rid of two of them, they are playing load music until 2 or 3 in the morning, smoking, and what looks like it dealling drugs from the house, and whilst 3 of the people are up to date with their rent the other 2 owe us £1000 each.

    I don’t really want to go to court but is this going to be the only way?

    surfer
    Free Member

    Has anyone just asked them to leave before?

    Yes and it worked. Its worth a try particulalrly if they think you are reporting them to the police for dealing. Risk is if they dont want to leave and you have to involve the police you may lose all of them.

    tails
    Free Member

    You may be better turfing them all out just say your moving in?? Sorry I am little help.

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    TandemJeremy
    Free Member

    Do it legally! You can get advice – I think there is a landlords forum somewhere. If you have a shared house but are accepting rent individually the situation is complex

    Asking them is worth a try. Especially if they are breaking the law themselves. What do the 3 think about the 2?

    I would start the legal process as well

    binners
    Full Member

    😀

    namastebuzz
    Free Member

    It’s not easy.

    Are you the landlord?

    They’ve most likely broken many of the conditions of their lease (assuming they have a lease). You can service a notice on them to evict but if they are as difficult as they sound it could take a while to get them out.

    How do the other 3 get on with the bad 2? Are they mates or not connected at all? If they want rid of them too it’ll help.

    I got some difficult tenants out a few years ago by telling them there was some dry rot and contractors were coming in so they’d have to vacate for a few days and I’d put them up in a B&B meantime. Once they were out changed all the locks and dumped their stuff on the landing. I’m not saying that was the correct way to do it but it’s a lot easier to argue the case if you’ve already got them out.

    I’m not suggesting that’ll work here but you need to decide what to do and then do it without hesitation.

    Good luck.

    nickf
    Free Member

    Mail me if you want the blow-by-blow of a long and bitter eviction process. Long and short is that it’s taken 5 months to get a non-paying client out; if you have a problem with a tenant who knows the law, then it takes a long time, a fair number of court appearances, and a lot of legal expense.

    Maybe I was just unlucky.

    TandemJeremy
    Free Member

    namastebuzz – you could have gone to jail / been fined thousands for that -major illegal. You are lucky they didn’t go after you

    surfer
    Free Member

    I had a friend who gained access when the tennant was out.
    Moved their goods into the street and waited for them to arrive home. They just collected their goods and left.
    He was pushed too far on this occasion by a drug selling low life.

    nickf
    Free Member

    Not that I always agree with TJ on legal issues, but he’s spot on with his last post. I was advised (by a specialist solicitor) that changing locks etc, especially with a single female parent, of a minority ethnicity, would be a less than sensible option for me.

    I could have faced criminal charges, and even without that, I could have been criticised by my professional body. Since I need my licence to work, that would be a very short-sighted move.

    ianpinder
    Free Member

    It’s 5 students, 4 from uni, and one from colledge, the uni can pull a fair amount of weight as it does not want its students creating a bad image.

    I am not the landlord, he is in hong kong, but for all intensive purposes he will sign over all legal responsibilty to me.

    5 signed the contract, 3 guys and two girls, all with good reffs etc. the two girls dropped out, and one guy never turned up. So they found 3 new people. We want to evict one of the new ones, whom isn’t really friends with any of the others.

    The landlord has always stated as a house they pay the rent togeather, however they split it accross the different size rooms is up to them.

    Obviously the guy who didnt turn up didn’t pay his share off the rent so they were already £1.2k down as a house. The landlord has let them off this, because as students, it’s not there fault and they can’t afford to repay the lost rent.

    In total as a house they owe us £3000 (including the rent the landlord is willing to write off)

    The neighbours have already contacted the police who have opened a file on the house. (the next door neighbour is a policeman) and they have effectivly asked us to throw them out. They can smell weed in their daughters bedroom due to the air vents in the terraced houses.

    toys19
    Free Member

    TandemJeremy – Member

    namastebuzz – you could have gone to jail / been fined thousands for that -major illegal. You are lucky they didn’t go after you

    Indeed you are either lucky or bullshitting. A landlady went to prison recently for almost exactly this behaviour.

    OP You need legal advice dude, coming on here is waste of time, other than taking our advice to get legal advice. I am a landlord of 10 years experience and I have evicted some tenants but this sounds a bit tricky and I would defo trot off to my solicitors pronto.

    Q’s you need to ask yourself.

    1) Are they on an AST?
    2) Is it a joint and several contract or individuals?
    3) Is their deposit in a deposit protection scheme?
    4) Has the tenancy passed the intial period or are you still locked in?

    Steve Austin on here works for shelter and sometimes gives advice (Although I often don’t agree with all he says, he is defo a useful guy, albeit his knowledge is tenant oriented.)

    namastebuzz
    Free Member

    namastebuzz – you could have gone to jail / been fined thousands for that -major illegal. You are lucky they didn’t go after you

    They weren’t my tenants – I just acted for the landlord.

    We weighed up all the options and that was the best one in the situation. As I said it wasn’t the right way of doing it but in the circumstances it worked the best.

    Most people don’t have the stomach for a protracted legal battle no matter how much bluster they come out with initially and you rely on that fact when you deal with problems.

    Normally being upfront and discussing things amicably with tenants is the way to go and you can reach agreement on most disputes.

    ianpinder
    Free Member

    We are going to get legal advice, though I am going to go and speak to the tenants tonight because the nieghbours are starting to get really peeved off.

    Te contract is a joint one.

    their deposite is in a protection scheme.

    not sure what ast is?

    they are tied into a year long contract which they started in june.

    toys19
    Free Member

    They weren’t my tenants – I just acted for the landlord.

    Wouldn’t have made any difference, you still would have got into and still could get into major trouble.

    ourkidsam
    Free Member

    intensive purposes

    ianpinder
    Free Member

    thanks, we all know i can not spell……

    toys19
    Free Member

    AST assured shorthold tenancy.

    You can talk to them and try and persuade them, mentioning courts and eviction procedures etc may well shake them into leaving, in which case ensure you get them to sign an agreed document stating they have abandoned the tenancy (you may well get this easily if you offer to write off the missing rent.)

    Other than that its court and its not easy as they need to be 3 months behind for eviction under money owed and as its joint, the three months is the total house rent.

    Discretionary for eviction under sections 9-17 of the 1988 housing act if its an AST are found here

    Go to lawyer first before talking to tenants as it will give you ammo to rattle their cages. Also get any police reports on dodge behaviour or dob them in pronto.

    BoardinBob
    Full Member

    thanks, we all know i can not spell……

    It’s not the spelling 😉

    namastebuzz
    Free Member

    Wouldn’t have made any difference, you still would have got into and still could get into major trouble

    Thanks for the warning – I’ll bear it in mind. 😉

    Anyway, came on here looking for a 19/20″ HT Frame to build up into an XC bike. Wish I’d stayed in the Classifieds…..

    ianpinder
    Free Member

    Cheers toys19, from the list

    you have rent arrears (check but not 3 months)

    you are constantly or regularly late with the rent (so far, apart from the first month not one month rent has been complete or on time)

    you have broken the terms of your tenancy, for example by subletting when you are not allowed to (it’s a no smoking house, they are smoking in it)

    you have allowed the condition of the property or furniture provided to get worse (it was an absolute state, no bedding on any of the beds, and last time i went there there were two random guys just getting up)

    you have caused nuisance or annoyance ( too neighbours, police have been informed)

    I think I’m going to go down the lines of asking one guy to leave otherwise we shall evict the lot of them on the above grounds. 3 of them really want to stay, it’s a nice house 42inch plasma on the wall, nicely decorated nice furnishings.

    toys19
    Free Member

    dealing drugs comes under illegal activities, i would inform the police, try and stitch them up.

    john_drummer
    Free Member

    You provided a houseful of students with a 42in plasma TV???

    Have you never seen The Young Ones?

    ianpinder
    Free Member

    The landlord bought it when he bought the house, we were all students then and it was fine, he went to hk to work so couldn’t really take it with him. it’s attached to the wall, and they pay a seperate deposite for the tv.

    We have no proof that they are dealling, just what the police man say who lives next door.

    We have pleanty of grounds to kick them out, just wondering what the best way of doing it was.

    missingfrontallobe
    Free Member

    If they’re dealing drugs then shop them to the local plod. While the lodgers are busy “helping with enquiries” go in & tidy the place up, and replace the front door that the police will have battered down. Just don’t give them any keys to the new door!

    OR, seeing as they owe £3k, give them chance to leave and you won’t shop them to the police.

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