SMF - Just Installed!

NEED HELP

Started by Danielle1, September 24, 2021, 09:21:10 PM

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Danielle1

I'm looking for advice,
Basically my landlord friend has rented out his property but at the start of the tenancy he never protected the tenants deposits, they are aware of this! One tenant has now stopped paying rent for 2 months, he would like to evict both the tenant, how can he go about it! He does have their bank details to return the deposit! Thank you

eps501

You don't give many details. How long is the tenancy and what type is it eg joint? Generally he can't give notice before the 4th month with 2 months' notice and there could be a ban on actual evictions still applicable due to the pandemic. There's a difference between giving notice (to leave) to end the tenancy and evicting. Your friend needs to check. If he is allowed to give notice then he can begin and see how the tenants react and go from there. If they want to leave but with some sort of 'compensation' then your friend can choose to do that because it could still be cheaper than going to court ultimately. On the other hand the tenants can just stay put, not pay rent and your friend will have to go through the whole eviction process.

Danielle1

Hi, it's a periodic tenancy, the two guys are living in separate bedrooms, where he hasn't protected their deposits he has been told he has to refund the deposit back to them because he can serve them a notice, although he hasn't got there bank details. How can he give them their deposits back without them, eg: PayPal, cheque. He doesn't have any contact with the tenants and now they are trying to live in the property rent free.

heavykarma

He must have some means of contacting them surely? He does sound a bit clueless.I am sure they would hand over their bank details for a refund if he simply phoned/wrote/visited. He needs to meet or correspond with them to see if he can negotiate a deal, to avoid being taken to court for the unprotected deposit.

Simon Pambin

As I understand it, he doesn't need to return the deposit at this stage. If he protects it now and provides the Prescribed Information to the tenants, he can then serve a valid Section 21 notice (subject to all the other requirements re EPC, GSC etc). That's separate from any penalty he may face for failing to protect the deposit in the first place. However, given that the tenants already owe him money, he's in a good position to negotiate a settlement.

If the tenancy is two months in arrears, he can serve a Section 8 notice instead of or as well as a Section 21. A Section 8 isn't stymied by a failure to protect the deposit.

Danielle1

The tenant he is wanting to serve the section too has been in the property about a year, can he still protect the deposit now? Thank you for you advice