UK Landlord Forum / Life

I rented out a property to a young unmarried couple with a baby.  No deposit or rent in advance available, were going to get Housing benefits and wanted to help them out.   Did not pay any rent for the first 2 months except for a few quid to keep me quiet! After many domestic incidents, i said enough was enough.  the house was being trashed and police kept being called.  on last incident, police moved her to her nans for the night. i decided to let the boy stay for a week until he found somewhere else, and she agreed to remain at her nans for the week.  Took her back to get a few possessions at which time she told me she did not want to stay in the house again and he could have it.  Gave her a week to cool off.  Later that week they had apparently got back together and following another domestic incident, her nan informed me that she had moved down south and would not be returning.  The nan, who was also guarantor, collected her granddaughters remaining possessions and gave me the key back saying she was sorry for everything and she was definitely not returning.  A week later i get a letter from a solicitor accusing me of unlawful eviction and saying that i have 48 hours in which to return the key to her or they will be taking me to court and claiming compensation for making her homeless and for keeping her property!! I know this country is crazy but surely this cannot be right.

Your question is: "Is it right?"  The answer is: No.

Did you really mean to ask: "Is this legal?".  Lets replay your story filling in some of the blanks, but as told by the young lady...

"Moved into a flat with my boyfriend.  Yes, he has a temper but I know I can change him.  Applied for LHA, it's taking ages for them to process it, it's been two months now.  And the Landlord's getting my back, so I give them what little money I can to try to show goodwill.  It's not going well.  We're always fighting.  One time it got serious, I had to move out to nan's for a week.  Landlord was good, helped me get some things, I was so shook up.  Told her I don't think I could live there again, that was a bit stupid thing to say.  We got back together again, we do love each other so much.  Oh god, I had to go and stay with nan again.  It's been a couple of weeks now but we're going to give it one last chance.  I don't beleive it.  Nan says the landlady's terminated the agreement, I can't live there.  But I had a six month tenancy.  I can't live at nan's.  Not three of us in this pokey flat.  What can I do.  I know I'll ring my solicitor friend..."

So it's not an implausable story to decide that nan becomes amateur social worker.  Realising the boyfriend is a complete disaster for her granddaughter and deciding to become anti-matchamaker, works out that if she can get rid of the rented house then granddaughter's not no property which will allow the two to meet up.  Nan certainly won't be allowing boyfriend to visit round hers.  So nan takes posession of all of granddaughter's chattels (threw away the stuff connected with the boyfriend) and tells you the "moved down south" story because it sounds so final.  And you've taken your instructions not from the tenant, but from someone completely unconnected to the legal tenancy agreement.  Then nan can tell granddaughter the landlord's pulled the rug on the rent: Looks quite plausable to nan, no rent paid and place being trashed.

To a solicitor it looks like you've failed to issue a Section 8 notice to a court to terminate a tenancy agreement early.  Look at the blog on Section 21, you've got non-payment (she should have kept the payments going, even if she had moved out) and trashing the place as grounds.

So you are in a legal pickle!  What can you do?  I think your best approach is that the nan spoke with the apparent agency of the single tenant mentioned in this agreement.  You thought she's probably been secreted in a battered wives centre.  These places run by keeping their locations secret and preventing the battered wives from seeing ANY old contacts as that stops the abusive men from tracking the women down by using their contacts.  So nan cancelling the tenancy was acting the wishes of the young lady.  If the solicitor says they will press to sue for compensation then your retort is that you'll name the nan, as agent provocoteur in the cancellation of the tenancy, as a co-defendent.  Lets see if grand daughter facncies suing her own nan.  Whether you chose to take this directly to their solicitor or approach your own solicitor is up to you.

I hope this helps.  Please let us know how you get on.