Usually tenants are well behaved and pay their rent promptly but, occasionally, you will encounter the tenant from hell. These can be a real problem for private landlords.
What can you do to avoid problem tenants?
There are a few steps you can take to avoid being saddled with a problem tenant:
You could rent your property through a letting agent who will vet any prospective tenants for you.
You can conduct your own credit check on a prospective tenant using any of the credit reference agencies.
You should always take up references, especially from previous landlords.
Where the tenancy is an assured shorthold, you can serve a Notice Seeking Possession which coincides with the end of the tenancy, to your tenant right at the beginning. If you eventually decide to allow the tenant to remain for longer nothing is lost. Everything is gained, however, if the tenant becomes a problem and you want to remove them at the end of the term of the tenancy.
What if it's too late?
You already have a tenant who is a problem – what then?
You will want to remove your tenant as quickly as possible. With an assured shorthold tenancy (the usual type of tenancy agreement), you must serve a notice giving a minimum of two months' notice. The end of the notice period must coincide with the end of the term of the tenancy (or after that) and cannot be any earlier. One the notice has expired, proceedings can begin under a special accelerated procedure which should enable you to regain possession within about eight weeks usually.
If you need your tenants out before the end of the term of the tenancy, if there are nuisance problems or similar, you can serve a Section 8 Notice (pursuant to Section 8 of the Housing Act 1988) stating the groundson which you would like possession. You can then begin proceedings sooner.
You should remember that some grounds are mandatory (which means the Court must give possession) and some are discretionary (where the Court decides whether it is appropriate to give possession). This means you may not always gain possession by this method.
Other types of tenancy
There are other types of tenancy agreements such as secure tenancies and licences to occupy. In these other cases, it is equally important to serve the right notice and to seek legal advice about this before you begin.
For more information or advice on dealing with problem tenants, please contact Mary Rouse.
