UK Landlord Forum / Life

  Good afternoon, I have a problem tenant(s)
In short a husband and wife live(d) in my house, they were bad payers,/ nuisance ( drugs bad parking , drug dealers turning up at their house (allegedly!))
I won't go into detail but they ran up arrears of around £3500 by feb 2022.
They were going to leave in Feb 22 but somehow convinced me to let them stay, and to be fair in 2022 they paid in full, on time from feb to november 22.
December was short but the shortfall promised for january.
It didn't come neither did January's rent.
In all discussions and negotiations we only ever spoke to the wife, the husband literally never even came in the room while we were there.
We had a meeting she said she and her chap were separating and going their separate ways, and she volunteered to leave at the end of feb 2023. I said ok

On the 1st of march I go to the house to change locks expecting it to be vacant. The husband is still there, he says he has nowhere to go so is staying.
I have been trying to negotiate with him to encourage him to go but it's got nowhere, meanwhile the wife (ex wife?) is often round the house just watching telly with him?? She is very aggressive and abusive towards me and seems to think that because "she has left" she is clear of any ongoing responsibility for rent etc. ( she has started to pay £100 a month to pay down the arrears. we didn't agree to this, we think it should be more as it will take years to pay down that money, but are not going to stop her from depositing £100 per month for the time being.)

There has been back and forth between us and the housing trust that has taken his case and they have now said that because there is substantial rent arrears he will not be entitled to any social housing payments so he can not afford the rent ( he doesn't work, Supposedly ill??)


The questions I have are these;
1
As I understand it, they are joint and several on the tenancy agreement, so just because shes gone, does that mean that she is still partially liable for the rent payable for that property, as the other person on the joint tenancy is still there? is she still liable for half of the rent each month?

2
the housing trust have said I MUST give him a new tenancy agreement as he is now the only one living there...
I want him gone
I dont want to give him a new tenancy agreement because surely that would affect the joint and several situation, that I'm hoping will help me get some of the rent via attachment of earnings on her wages when we get to that stage. Do I have to give him a new tenancy agreement? surely  this will render him as rent up to date if he pays from now on? and so no grounds for a section 8?
Many thanks