CORONA VIRUS AND TENANTS
Many of us are seeing images of a perfect lock down scenario; celebrities playing with their children in perfect gardens, or baking in their contemporary expensive kitchens, but this is sadly not the norm.
Most tenants are living in cramp, overcrowded and unsuitable accommodation; they do not have gardens, they do not have the space to enjoy cooking. 3.6 million tenants are living in overcrowding situations and 1.4 million in disrepair. a quarter of houses in the West Midlands were found unfit for human habitation, yet the Midlands and the North are in the new UK Corona Virus epicentre.
Many Local Authorities are continuing to ignore their responsibilities as Landlords and allowing this to continue. It does not stop due to a lock down.
If you are a tenant, you must continue to pay rent, but there is financial and legal help and support available to you; Landlords should offer you solutions during this pandemic. They should be working with you to resolve your rental problems. They cannot apply for an eviction order until this pandemic is over, or at least, under control.
If you live in cramped, unsuitable, Local Authority Properties, then you do not have to continue to put up with it, you deserve a safe and healthy place to live.
If you do not have a housing lawyer who can help tenants with advice and support, then please email housing@newboldsolicitors.com and we may be able to take on your matter under a NO WIN NO FEE policy, offering free telephone advice to give you some guidance and support during this most challenging time.
Take the decision to stop living like this and take action.
The Government has brought in emergency legislation for all Landlords and Tenants in England and Wales.
The changes include an extension to the notice period that Landlords must provide to Tenants, an extension to the pre-action protocol rules that a Landlord must adhere to before he/she serves a notice for rent arrears, and additional financial support for both Landlords (with mortgage holidays) and Tenants (with additional benefit allowances).
Tenants must continue to pay their rent during the corona pandemic, but Landlords are asked to be flexible during this time. If a Tenant can evidence that they are waiting for a reply from the benefits agency on an application for financial support, then it is unlikely that the Court will grant the Landlord a possession order.
There is currently a moratorium for possession hearings, and once this challenging time has passed, it is likely there will be a delay with eviction claims being placed before a Court.
Due to the change in legislation and this fast moving and fluid situation, it is suggested that you contact an experienced housing, landlord and Tenant
Some of you may have read the article in the Mirror regarding a landlord from Bridgend in Wales who was left almost in tears because a tenant had trashed his immaculate home. If you haven't had read it yet, you can here.
This is a very sad, but not unusual story. We have heard of many landlords suffering similar issues. For example, one tenant in Cardiff took off all the internal doors for firewood, and took up the wooden floor for the same reason. Another landlord in London had their immaculate home trashed because the tenants used it to grow cannabis.
How can landlords prevent tentants ruining their homes?
Most tenancy issues are preventable if a landlord takes initial steps to avoid a nightmare tenant before the tenant moves in.
The first thing a landlord should do, is obtain references from previous landlords, and if possible employers. Obtain bank statements to check that the tenant has the means of paying the rent. If a tenant asks to pay 6 months upfront, it can be tempting, but sometimes it is because they want to be 'left alone'.
You should always ask "why"?
On one occasion a landlord rented out a central London property to tenants who claimed they could afford it, despite the fact that their employment status just simply did not add up. If your instinct tells you something is wrong, it probably is.
After confirming the tenants' means to pay, make sure your agent is chosen well. Ask yourself; are they agents who will take the commission, but fail to keep you up to date on rental payments, or fail to attend and complete inspections.
If you are holding a license and you may not have an agent representing you, then ensure that you attend the property for inspections, that you keep an eye on the rental income and when the tenant falls into arrears, you take immediate steps (this could be an initial telephone call, or a letter, establishing the reason for the arrears). Just please do not let the situation deteriorate.
If you find there are any issues, then attend a housing Solicitor (Landlord and Tenant Lawyer) and they will explain what steps you should take to ensure you are not dealing with nightmare tenants for more than one day more than you need too.
We always believe that most 'nightmare tenants' can be avoided. It is all to do with preparing the tenancy, managing the property and then getting the right advice at the outset. The longer you allow the problem to go on for, the bigger the issue will be. If you require advice, then please ring our team, they will be happy to direct you with initial FREE advice.
It is estimated that there are 250,000 pensioners living in damp or unfit rental properties.
They often do not know where to go to complain, or whether they can complain at all.
The fact is, that all tenants have a right to live in a safe, happy and peaceful environment. They should not worry about 'what if I make a claim, can my Landlord evict me'. Tenants are protected in law.
The Housing Act states that a tenant must live in a property where all the essential services (gas heating water etc) are in a good working order. That the fixtures and fittings should be in a good state of repair. The
There are Agencies where tenants, including elderly and vulnerable tenants can go for free housing advice. Not many housing solicitors who specialise in Landlord and Tenant legal problems, offer free landlord and tenant help, but at Newbold Solicitors we provide NO WIN NO FEE on disrepair claims.
If your tenant has stopped paying you rent you should:
- write a letter to them, asking them why and advising them that by failing to pay you rent they risk you serving them with a S8 or S21 notice.
- If they fail to get in touch, it may be worth sending a Solicitors letter to them. It is often looked at as a more formal response, that you are 'serious'
- If this had no effect, then you should consider serving a notice on the tenants. You can either serve a S21 notice (for 2 months) or a S8 notice (for 2 weeks)
- If the Section 8 notice has no effect, then you may have little option but to apply to Court for a Court order.
What if my Tenant has advised me that there is disrepair, can I still serve a notice?
- If the property is in England and you have been served with a notice by Environmental Health, then you first of all must make good any repairs that they have found.
- the tenants should not stop paying you rent just because there are repairs outstanding.
What are the cons for serving a S8 notice?
- Well you will have to attend Court.
- The Tenant could put in a counterclaim
- if you do not get the best advice, then it could become a lengthy process.
What are pros for serving a Section 8 notice:
- You only have to give 2 weeks notice
- if the tenant owes you more than 2 months rent at the time of serving the S8 notice and when you attend Court, the Court has to order possession
- You can make a claim against your tenant and he/she could end up with a county court judgement against them.
- if a defence is filed and you are successful, you can claim your costs over and above your fixed costs.
To find out more about the best way of recovering your rent, then please call our housing team.