A major worry for landlords is finding yourself with a tenant who cannot pay the rent - in the current economic climate, this is all too real a prospect.
(prHWY.com) February 7, 2012 - England, CA -- A major worry for landlords is finding yourself with a tenant who cannot pay the rent - in the current economic climate, this is all too real a prospect. Evicting a tenant and regaining possession of a property can take up to a year and involve significant legal costs. But landlords must follow the correct legal steps to evict a tenant, even if they are in breach of contract, advises Benham and Reeves Residential Lettings,London's largest, independent lettings agency.
Landlords must abide by the law if they need to evict a tenant - they cannot simply order them to leave," explains Vidhur Mehra, Finance Director of the well knownLondonletting agent. "We carry out thorough tenant referencing which helps to ensure the problem doesn't occur in the first place but if it does, we follow the law to the letter to ensure that a swift solution is achieved."
Before the rent is even due we send a reminder letter. If the rent isn't paid we will call, e-mail and text the tenant regularly as well as send formal letters every seven days. If the tenant does not pay within 28 days we recommend the landlord instructs a solicitor to serve a Section 8 notice, which we arrange, applying for possession of the property and recovery of the rent arrears."
"It is essential to have tight credit control procedures so we can act quickly if a tenant falls into arrears," continues Vidhur. "We always try to avoid going to court. It costs £100 + VAT for a solicitor to serve a Section 8 notice, but if this fails, costs mount dramatically. If the tenant does not pay and you need to go to Court, costs (including Court fees, employing a solicitor to prepare documents and a barrister to attend the hearing) add up to over £1000. It can take up to eight weeks to get a hearing date and in the meantime you are losing more rent."
"If the tenant pleads exceptional circumstances (such as illness) the judge may allocate an alternative date for another hearing. This could take another eight weeks, incurring costs of around £6000 for a half day trial. If you win you may still find that the tenant won't leave, so you will need to apply to the Court to appoint a bailiff. The process could take up to a year and costs can escalate."
"We always try to avoid this. It helps to maintain a professional approach and keep channels of communication open. Talk to the tenant and make him aware of the problems that the rent arrears are causing so hopefully an amicable resolution can be reached. A payment plan might be a solution but the important thing is to obtain possession of the property."
"You can minimise the risk of rent arrears," explains Vidhur. "Use a professional lettings agent in London, one that is a member of ARLA, The Property Ombudsman and The Dispute Service (which operates the Tenancy Deposit Scheme). Make sure your lettings agent fully investigates the tenant's references to minimise the likelihood of the tenant defaulting and check they have good credit control procedures in place."
To find out more about letting a property through Benham and Reeves Residential Lettings, which, with nine offices across the capital, is one of the largest letting agents in London, go to
www.brlets.co.uk.
Media Contact Details
Name: Tracie Lack
Company Name: Benham and Reeves Residential Lettings
Town: London
Country: England
Telephone Number: 020 7433 6675
Email: brmarketing@brlets.co.uk
Language: English
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