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Tenant with housing benefit shortfall that's not being met - what can I do?

Started by andyreno205, May 08, 2014, 02:07:32 PM

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andyreno205

Hi everyone, newbie here!
OK so you've probably come across this situation a thousand times... So my tenant has just had an adjustment to her HB, nothing major it works out at £30 a week she has to find herself. She was paying weekly as she wished to do I had no problem with that. Then the payments stopped, so as of today she was £150 in arrears - I noticed today she has made a deposit of £50 knowing full well that the figure was £150 as we had a conversation only yesterday confirming that this was the case. So basically if this continues it's going to get out of control...Where do I stand...I have a feeling the response may well come back as 'On no legs'..
Please help somebody...cheers Andyreno205.

Riptide

The come back is to either evict her with a section 21 if she is out of her fixed period, or wait until she is in 2 months arrears and use a section 8 instead.  What contract are they on?

andyreno205

Hi, she's been in the property for around 5 years and is on a rolling contract.

Riptide

You can issue a section 21 which would give her a notice period of 2 months then. 

Or

You could speak to her and find out why she can't make the shortfall

Do you like her as a tenant?  Would you like to keep her?  Could you be flexible on the rent and maybe reduce it a little so it is affordable?

It's all down to you and if you want to keep the tenant or not and go through the process of finding another.

andyreno205

Yeah I did kind of figure that would be the response...
Yes I do like her, she's been no trouble at all and I wouldn't really want to sell her down the river if i'm honest...

Thanks for your advice, think i'll have to have a chat.

Hippogriff

As said, Section 21 is a guaranteed means of removing this particular Tenant, but you may not - after careful contemplation - decide that is what you want to do.

I have a similar situation in a property I now manage for my other half. My other half was acting as the Landlord with her LHA Tenant for all last year and it was all done very amicably face-to-face. By that I mean my other half let the Tenant get away with giving her £10 here and £30 there... she was nearly always in arrears. In private, though, my other half was pulling her hair out and grumbling to me! I now manage this property for her and I have given the Tenant my AST (which is pretty comprehensive), I have visited on a number of occasions to discuss deposit re-protection, rent top-up payments etc. etc. and I have finally removed any arrears, and I am now trying to 'train' the Tenant (excuse the visual imagery) that she must pay her LHA top-up, by standing order (or Internet bank transfer) on a certain date each month. The Tenant did not really understand that rent is what we know as a "priority debt"...

http://england.shelter.org.uk/get_advice/money_problems/loans_debt_and_bankruptcy/priority_and_non-priority_debts

...it may be a long road, but I think along the same lines as what is said here - keeping the Tenant who, in all other respects, is a very good Tenant is wiser than eviction. If the reality is that this Tenant is never going to be able to top up regularly and on time and the situation is going to run away from her, then you may need to reconsider - for example, what would your attitude be to a reduction? If the reality is that this Tenant is simply mis-prioritising her debts, and could manage her top-up if prioritised correctly, then a good open chat could work wonders.

Let us know how you get on...

As an aside, the Tenant I referred to has a monthly (important as we're talking LHA here) top-up of around £40... yours appears to be larger from the outset.

boboff

Agreed have a chat.

Although £100 is money, personally, as part of  the chat I would say that she will have to go if she doesn't keep up with her £30 a week, but as a gesture, write of the £100...

See I am soft as shit mind.....

Although as part of the chat I would also say, if you can't afford this place, find one cheaper, and then she only gives you a months notice?? (quite often when skint they can go back to "mums")