{"id":557,"date":"2011-02-09T09:54:30","date_gmt":"2011-02-09T09:54:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.legal4landlords.com\/?p=557"},"modified":"2011-02-09T09:54:30","modified_gmt":"2011-02-09T09:54:30","slug":"how-to-help-tenants-avoid-rent-arrears","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dev.withcreative.co.uk\/lforl\/how-to-help-tenants-avoid-rent-arrears\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Help Tenants Avoid Rent Arrears"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Latest Landlord News by: Madalena Penny<\/p>\n

Landlords are still not acting fast enough when it comes to unpaid rent, experts warned.\u00a0 Landlord and lettings specialists, Legal 4 Landlords<\/a>, advise that both private and social sector landlords respond quickly to rent arrears.<\/p>\n

Rent arrears<\/a> and lengthy court hearings have been cited as the main reason possession claims have been made against landlords on BTL properties by their lenders.\u00a0 Out of the 35,000 landlord possession claims in Q3 of 2010, 23, 214 of these lead to orders for both social and private sector properties.\u00a0 Landlords who wait until the 8-week rule to begin proceedings could face up to 6 months to regain possession of their property and an average of \u00a34000 in unpaid rent excluding legal fees.<\/p>\n

Sim Sekhon, spokesman for Legal 4 Landlords said:<\/p>\n

\u201cLandlords need to act fast when faced with rent arrears.\u00a0 If left to accumulate up to 8 weeks without initial action by the landlord, tenants can spiral into a lot of debt making it harder for them to recover the loss.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor tenants receiving direct housing benefit payments who have lapsed with their rent, there is always the temptation to keep rent allowance for themselves until they are evicted, unto which they can secure further rented accommodation elsewhere.\u00a0 Recovering rent from such tenants becomes painstaking.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mr. Sekhon adds that keeping in communication with your tenant at the onset of arrears is the key to controlling the situation, as is a sensible approach to finding an agreed rate for tenants to pay off any arrears and deter further arrears accumulating.<\/p>\n

Under the Housing Act 1988, section 8; a landlord cannot serve notice to evict<\/a> a tenant until 8-weeks of unpaid rent has accrued, if the tenancy states that rent is to be paid monthly.\u00a0 This notice informs the tenant that under section 8 of schedule 2 of the Housing Act 1988 you intend to seek a possession hearing from the courts.\u00a0 If upon expiry of the notice the tenant has still not vacated the property, you can apply to the court for a possession order.\u00a0 Again if the court is satisfied, an order will be granted.<\/p>\n

The timescale on arrears relies on the frequency of rental payments agreed as per tenancy agreement.\u00a0 If paid quarterly, 3 months must be owed before this notice is served.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately for the landlord, even though a possession order informing the tenant that they must lawfully vacate the property, a landlord cannot enforce this without a warrant for eviction.\u00a0 Again he\/she must apply to the court, where court bailiffs will be appointed to attend the property to evict the tenant.<\/p>\n

Under Mr. Sekhon\u2019s guidance, a Fast-Track Eviction service can be obtained, but he advises that tenant mediation should be first sought, as prevention is far less costly than the cure.<\/p>\n

Tips <\/span><\/h2>\n
    \n
  • Ensure you have the tenant’s email address if possible and a telephone number and a stable contact address of a\u00a0 family member or friend of the tenant’s for emergencies.\u00a0 If you are not receiving a response from your tenant, the contact may have an alternative telephone number for the tenant, but remember you cannot discuss rent arrears with anyone other than the tenant or legal representative.\u00a0 Be mindful that too much contact with a third party can be construed as harassment.<\/li>\n
  • Give a contact sheet to each tenant informing them of your policy on rent arrears with an email address and a telephone number explaining that they must get in touch immediately should they be experiencing financial problems in order to address any issue pertaining to rent arrears.\u00a0 Tenants can be too nervous and embarrassed to speak to landlords about rent arrears, with an email address you are giving them a further option to communicate.\u00a0 Do not contact them via social media; ie; Facebook.<\/li>\n
  • Ensure all rents are paid into your bank account on a given date.\u00a0 You will know relatively quickly if a tenant has defaulted.<\/li>\n
  • Contact a tenant within 48 hours of default date,\u00a0 explaining that if they are experiencing financial difficulties contact must be made to negotiate the issue.\u00a0 Do not visit tenant without giving them 48 hours notice first.<\/li>\n
  • If you are using the services of a letting agent, ask the agent what their policy is regarding rent arrears and what strategies they employ should arrears arise.<\/li>\n
  • Don’t just rely on emails, write to them at their address.\u00a0 This will show a court that you have given the tenant every chance and avenue to rectify the matter.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Latest Landlord News by: Madalena Penny Landlords are still not acting fast enough when it comes to unpaid rent, experts warned.\u00a0 Landlord and lettings specialists, Legal 4 Landlords, advise that both private and social sector landlords respond quickly to rent arrears. Rent arrears and lengthy court hearings have been cited as the main reason possession […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":11204,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[3],"tags":[30,16,37,17,18],"yoast_head":"\nHow to Help Tenants Avoid Rent Arrears - Legal For Landlords<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/dev.withcreative.co.uk\/lforl\/how-to-help-tenants-avoid-rent-arrears\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How to Help Tenants Avoid Rent Arrears - Legal For Landlords\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Latest Landlord News by: Madalena Penny Landlords are still not acting fast enough when it comes to unpaid rent, experts warned.\u00a0 Landlord and lettings specialists, Legal 4 Landlords, advise that both private and social sector landlords respond quickly to rent arrears. 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