Keep this as short as I can.
We slipped home to Oz for a couple of years and sold our house and bought a 1 bed flat. Rental agent founs a tennant(twunt) to move in- on benefits (not knocking benefits) and his benefit payment was stopped periodically as he's illeterate and throw his mail in the bin.

We come back Easter, (staying with Wife's parents) give him 4 months notice and last week he walks into the rental agent saying he doesn't have anywhere to go so he'll be staying put till he does.

Doesn't answer calls, doesn't answer the door- model tennant.

Guess it's time for (an expensive) baliff to move on in- in the meantime he's not paying rent and god know what the joint is like

Any advice? hopefully I don't sound like I'm crying poor- but I'm going to push my mother in law down the stairs in less than a week, so it's time to leave methinks:)

Dunko:)

advice – get proper legal advice and do things correctly – it can be done reasonably quickly but is complicated and can be expensive.

Do not try to DIY it – you could get into all sorts of bother.

It's the rental agents job to get them out, you employed them to find you a tennant and under the contract you have with them it's their responsibilty to ensure rent is collected and the palce it kept clean & tidy.

Nightmare – my sister went through this with a tenant and it took her about half a year to get the guy out. In the meantime, she and her husband were roundly abused on the rare occasions the chap deigned to answer the door. They received no income from the flat and when he was finally forced out, they were left with huge repair and cleaning bills (we're talking structural damage here!!).

So I offer you the same advice I gave my sister – hire a few heavies to turn the screw, giving a definitive timescale of, say, a week.

Nasty thing to do, but will save months of hassle and heartache (not to mention lawyers' bills).

EDIT: I notice that my post totally contradicts everyone else's, but my sis was told exactly the above ^^ and was left seriously out of pocket.

Im not moving out,and stop ringing me,late at night, ive told you ive got nowhere to live.

User removed – and if the tenant gets legal advice you end up in jail. Not a good idea at all. Most local authorities have anti harassment teams specifically for the situation where someone sends the heavies round. Its a serious offence.

True, but they have to prove it! There are (sneaky) ways and means.

If it was my property, I'd go round when they were out, kick the door in and replace the locks – the fine couldn't be any more than paying to sort out the mess that a problem tenant can leave – my sister's one had ripped up the floorboards and smashed the furniture up to burn 😯

Edit: you could also then claim that the tenant had agreed to move out – your word against theirs and posession is nine points of the law and all that!

User removed – thats not how it works – legal evictions carry a paper trail – if you don't have the paper trail you will be in serious trouble – not a small fine at all but big legal bother.

Don't do it.

Fair enough TJ – I guess it depends on the tenant and whether or not you're lucky. I know of people on both sides of the fence (tenants and landlords) who have been through both methods of eviction, and IM (limited)E, one is much faster, cheaper and more satisfying than the other.

Besides, isn't a verbal agreement sometimes upheld in (Scottish) courts? That is, couldn't you serve the notice of eviction, wait for the required time, then follow my suggested course of action, claiming a verbal agreement?

Still can't help thinking that a few evil looking / smelling characters on the doorstep at three in the morning would make most folk scarper ASAP.

Haven't bothered to read the other replies but do it through the legal channels. It is costly and **** frustrating. You will probably be out of pocket, we were, but not worth doing time for the scroat.

user-removed – dont be a tube. Threatening to get the so called heavies in or indeed getting them in is one way to get your house petrol bombed. Plus i'm guessing that they know more of them than you do.

Goan. Never mind.

Seriously though – I suppose I am doing the whole D's.A. thing to an extent. If time and money aren't massive issues for the OP then, yes, the sensible thing to do is obvious. I suppose also, that I'm still smarting from my sister's experience at the hands of a complete scrote.

One method has a guaranteed outcome, and is very expensive and time consuming. The other is a bit of a punt which may reap instant rewards for not much cash.

EDIT: threatening to send anybody is totally half-assed and should not be contemplated.

I get royalties every time that pic appears online.

I did it myself to save money but it took ages. You have to be mighty careful about using force. It they are a "professional" tenant you could end up in real trouble. Upto £5K fine / 6 months in prison and a criminal record!!

The cheapest and quickest thing to do is pay them to move out!?

http://www.landlordzone.co.uk is an excellent website.

Look in the forums for others in a similar position.

When our last tenancy was ending and the Landlord wanted the house back, the letting agents told us we didn't have to move out until we found somewhere else, and the Landlord would have to get a court order. She also said the court would not evict a family with children if they had made reasonable steps to find elsewhere during the notice period.

Children probably make a difference though.

do it through the legal channels. It is costly and **** frustrating. You will probably be out of pocket, we were, but not worth doing time for the scroat.

I couldn't agree more.

Rich – your letting agents were telling lies. If the landlord wants you out, he can get you out whether you have somewhere else to go or not, and whether you have a family or not. It just takes time. How long does it take to find somewhere else once you've been given notice?

Once you have been given your legal minimum notice (which can be 2 months, can be longer depending on the tenancy agreement), the clock IS ticking.

Having said that it took 5 months to get our last scumbag out, through the courts. We gave him 2 months notice in September of one year, it was April the following year before the twunt moved out. We had to remove ALL the carpets, curtains, all the sh*t he'd left behind (including the dogsh*t) and then have it professionally cleaned. Only then could we bear the smell of the place long enough to go in, strip the filthy wallpaper, paint the walls, put in new carpets and leave some air fresheners behind.

Total cost? a damn sight more than 5 months rent

How long does it take to find somewhere else once you've been given notice?

It took us 5 months to find somewhere reasonably near the school the kids had just moved into, but seeing as the landlord asked for the house back a month after we moved in, that was just about OK time-wise.

I'm no hard man and hate getting into fights (I'm also not Rudeboy) but a very little mildly threatening behaviour is sometimes worth its weight in lawyers fees.

L(andlord)TFU.

Me & my brother "gained possession" of my Wifes house that we were renting to a young couple. It was highly illegal & totally wrong, but there was no way they were staying there.

wait till he goes out to buy food, go in pack all his stuff put on pavement change locks sorted.

You gave notice you were also nice enough to help with his moving costs.

Take a couple of strong mates to help with the lifiting.

Pickaxe handle 😈

If you want technically correct advice. mail me.

Of course you could just follow the advice on here and end up in prison…
And sometimes it is easier to assist a tenant a to move than evict them Landlords miss this very simple strategy, to evict someone can take minimum 3 months, and cost hundreds in lost rent, court costs etc. to pay deposit for someone can be as little as £200. you might think its bonkers to pay a deposit for someone, but think of the money you are losing which easily get into thousands especially if you make a mess of the eviction process.

To all those suggesting illegal eviction, you need to consider that you are possibly facing up to two years in prison.
Here is the rules
http://www.opsi.gov.uk/RevisedStatutes/Acts/ukpga/1977/cukpga_19770043_en_1

A month after you moved in? What a twunt. Why let the property at all?

user-removed = Nicholas van Hoogstraten
😉

as its your house, are you not allowed to "let yourself in"?
i thought, as lonjg as you ive 24 hrs notice, you could go into the house whenever you liked?

john_drummer – Member

A month after you moved in? What a twunt. Why let the property at all?

Yeah, ridiculous!

Especially considering the kids had just started to settle into a new school. They even offered to give us £100 towards moving costs if we moved out straight away, without staying the 6 months!

Not really relevant to the discussion though, heh.

Olly, yes you can let yourself in. Give notice and my advice would be to take a witness.
I rang a difficult tennant of mine who then refused to take calls etc. I hand posted a letter saying what time I would turn up, then let myself in.

Its wrong to assume you have no rights you just have to be careful.
The right to stay is squatters rights I assume as once the tenancy agreement has expired and you have served them notice etc then they are obliged to leave.

Steve Austin that is a dangerous precedent. People now expect to be rewarded for breaking the law and whilst you criticise those above who take matters into their own hands you condone paying tennants who are legally obligated to leave!

I know of people who have walked into houses and moved tennants furniture out into the street, a risky strategy but they had a long history and his house was being destroyed. They collected their furniture and left.

what's he ever done to you??

😉

Olly – Member

as its your house, are you not allowed to "let yourself in"?
i thought, as lonjg as you ive 24 hrs notice, you could go into the house whenever you liked?

nope, unless it's an emergency you have to give a minimum 24hrs notice of a visit but the tenant has a right to say no.

as for getting the person out, it can be done in about 2.5 months if you instruct a solicitor to serve the correct notice of court proceedings and go to an eviction hearing, after which the judge will rule in your favour and give the person a couple of weeks or so after which they have to go.

you'll also be awarded costs, so should in theory get most of that cost back, but if the tenant is on benefits and has no money then that may well be tricky to actually get your hands on.

Olly, yes you can let yourself in. Give notice and my advice would be to take a witness.
I rang a difficult tennant of mine who then refused to take calls etc. I hand posted a letter saying what time I would turn up, then let myself in.

no, you definitely can't, as above. many landlords will state this and will even turn up unannounced, but if you do so and the tenant has refused then you are trespassing.

Olly, yes you can let yourself in. Give notice and my advice would be to take a witness.
I rang a difficult tennant of mine who then refused to take calls etc. I hand posted a letter saying what time I would turn up, then let myself in.

no, you definitely can't, as above. many landlords will state this and will even turn up unannounced, but if you do so and the tenant has refused then you are trespassing.

Fraid you can. The tennant has to allow "reasonable" access. I had concerns over the safety of a gas fire and as my calls were not returned, the door was unanswered and my letters were not responded too I have the right to gain access if I have tried all reasonable methods. Nobody is talking about simply turning up! this process took a couple of weeks. Stop spreading disinformation.
If the tennant had answered the door at the time, I knocked when I arrived of course, then I would have simply requested access. My issue was my tennant had done a runner without paying rent.

Just an idea, but how about getting the gas, electric and water turned off? If they aren't paying rent, I can imagine they are not paying the bills, and if said person is illiterate, I'd wager that you could go round with 24 hrs notice and turn them all off yourself, and they wouldn't have a clue how to turn it all back on…..

yep, surfer, if you read what i've said, access is permitted in an emergency situation for safety reasons. but you're wrong about allowing reasonable access – the tenant has the legal right to refuse entry, however much notice you give, if they have informed you so.

you can put in a tenancy agreement that you require access for inspection purposes every 6 months or so, but if the agreement does not explicitly state that then they have every right to refuse your notice that you require entry, unless it would stop you adhering to your requirement to provide safe appliances and similar, which you may well have got away with in the scenario you describe.

edit – to be fair, none of this is really relevant to the OP, either, aside from the bit i put a while ago:
"as for getting the person out, it can be done in about 2.5 months if you instruct a solicitor to serve the correct notice of court proceedings and go to an eviction hearing, after which the judge will rule in your favour and give the person a couple of weeks or so after which they have to go.

you'll also be awarded costs, so should in theory get most of that cost back, but if the tenant is on benefits and has no money then that may well be tricky to actually get your hands on. "

as for getting the person out, it can be done in about 2.5 months if you instruct a solicitor to serve the correct notice of court proceedings and go to an eviction hearing, after which the judge will rule in your favour and give the person a couple of weeks or so after which they have to go.

you'll also be awarded costs, so should in theory get most of that cost back, but if the tenant is on benefits and has no money then that may well be tricky to actually get your hands on.

In a perfect world ^^^

Unfortunately, if the tenant chooses not to go, there's not a lot you can do about it, other than continue down the long and pricey legal route – as I said in my first post, and as several others have said since, a difficult / clued up tenant can draw things out over several months.

yep, in a perfect world. also, sadly, in our world as you don't have a choice about the route you go down to get someone out of your property if they refuse to leave, and you don't want to get on the wrong side of the law yourself.

"as for getting the person out, it can be done in about 2.5 months if you instruct a solicitor to serve the correct notice of court proceedings and go to an eviction hearing, after which the judge will rule in your favour and give the person a couple of weeks or so after which they have to go"

thats just wrong isn't it.

Two months notice minimum, then apply for possession, then apply for eviction.

well it depends – if you serve a two months' notice section 21 and simultaneously start accelerated possession proceedings then in theory the above time frame is possible, but admittedly it's probably accurately described as very best case scenario.

Nothing like a response like that to provide some ideas on which way to go here.

Kinda like the idea of getting the electrickery turned off and I'm getting a copy of the Notice to vacate and associated documents tomorrow to take into court myself to lodge a (section 21 is it called?).

In the meantime, I appreciate the advice of heavies etc, but better leave that until I see what the condition of the flat is like.

I'm also about to call the letting agent who he is supposedly getting a place with to give the the hurry up

Thanks heaps for all the replies. Might hand pick our next tennant:)