UK Landlord Forum / Life

Hi All

I wonder if anyone can help with the problems we are having with one of our tenants. The tenant has been a nightmare from the start of the tenancy, demanding things be put into the flat which were not there when she took over the tenancy, (a washing machine for one). She was in receipt of HB and the rent was being paid directly to us, but now the council have suspended the benefit as they are 'waiting for more information from the tenant'. Having been in touch with the tenant to get this situation resolved she is saying that she has no intention of paying her rent and we can 'take her to court'. She has told us she is going to buy a washing machine out  of her rent cheque. She rings up when she is drunk and is constantly abusive. We have been to the police as some of her messages were of a threatening nature (her boyfriend said he was going to find my husband and sort him out 'man to man'. The police rang the number we gave them, and as the person who answered the phone denied making the calls, the police left it at that. This person has taken over our whole lives and whilst we realise we should never have had her in the first place, we know we are stuck with her until a court throws her out. We have looked into getting her thrown out through a solicitor and the cost is somewhere in the region of £1,000, added to the 800 pound she will owe us by the time the 8 weeks is up, that is an awful lot of money. We also stupidly did not register the deposit with a rent deposit scheme, having heard nothing good about them, and now we have discovered that we may have to pay her five times the amount of the deposit back. Obviously if we have to wear this then we will, but I wonder if anyone knows of any reputable firms which can help us get this nightmare out of our lives for a reasonable cost.
Thanks in advance
Linda

hi tadsul,
i have been in the same positon as yourself and i got lots of very good advice off a solicitor from a forum, he even helped my fill in the n5b form for the courts at a very reasonable rate, if you want his e mail addy please let me know.

Hi jan2

Thank you for replying, that would be most helpful. my email address (unless you want to post on here) is tadsul5@gmail.com


Again many thanks
Linda

I don't think this is stupid question from things I've read, however, are you certain it's too late to register the deposit with a rent deposit scheme? I'm not convinced....

Hi have you still the problem?
we have similar male tenant who is constantly drunk. we are about to go to court to evict him.
have you spoken to the housing ben manager about when payments will be paid to you again. after eight weeks arrears they normally do anyway? tell them she has alcohol problem. put money into rent deposit scheme and draw up statement showing the amount due to you and send her copy with the deposit deducted plus costs for late payment to which you are entitled. then take deposit in lieu of rent.
when you take her to court you can then show deposit paid to scheme plus reason for taking it. you must give notice though anyway. and dont tell council you havent paid it into scheme. they are always on the tenants side!!
if you still have  her there then i can give you further help?