UK Landlord Forum / Life

Hi, my tenant stopped paying his rent 4 months ago. he has been there a few years and we trusted him when he said it would be paid soon. but last month we sent him notice of termination as he had stopped contacting us.

We visited the property today to find he has ran off leaving it in quite a state. He has ripped up and removed all the carpets. doors are missing, there are huge holes in walls and ceilings, the list goes on. we estimate it will cost about £4k to repair the damage and make it rentable.

I'm just looking for some advice on what to do next? Do I contact the police about the damage and missing carpets etc? Who do I contact to start trying to chase the money owed?

It's the first time this has happened to us and feeling very stressed right now as I am only starting work tomorrow after a lengthy lay off so I don't have any funds to put this right and on top of that, the mortgage needs paying

  Any advice is appreciated, thanks.

In this case, they have simply vanished without paying and damaging the property - this is a fraud and theft - a police case.

All the best with this.

Try police first but they can unfortunately be a waste of space and try to wriggle with the "its a civil matter" cop out

Personally, I sue as a matter of principle in small claims with no solicitors.  Get order.  It catches up with them eventually even if you can't get anything for a while.  Persevere.