Landlords' Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ's)

Bankruptcy

The tenant owes me some rent.
How much does he have to owe before I can make him bankrupt?

£750

How do I do this?

First, issue a statutory demand. This is Form Insolvency 6.1 from a law stationers such as Oyez.

The debtor has 18 days after service to persuade a County Court to set it aside. If he does not, 21 days after service, you can petition for his bankruptcy on Form 6.7

Council Tax

I am going to be modernising a house.
The work will take 6 months to complete during which time the property will be empty.
Must I pay Council Tax?

Best approach would be to apply to a Valuation Tribunal to have the property "zero rated" as it does not meet the "Parker-Morris" standards.

This will usually apply until the works are almost complete at which time you will have a Council Tax liability.

I have a house with 3 tenants all on separate agreements. Who pays Council Tax?

Initially, the Council will bill you, but you can recover from the tenants if you have a clause permitting that.

I have rented out my house for 3 months.
Who pays Council Tax?

If tenant has a home anywhere else in the world, you do, but you can recover cost from the tenant if agreement so provides.

Deposits

I took a £100 holding deposit.
The prospective tenant failed to take up the tenancy, can I keep the £100 ?

You can (if you spelt it out on the receipt the consequences of not proceeding). Keep an amount that represents your loss. You cannot keep more than that as it would be a penalty.

The tenant and I cannot agree how much to deduct for damage.
What do I do?

One should sue the other in the County Court.

The Judge will pay out to whoever he thinks fit.

I use a letting agent to manage my property. The tenant left, leaving damage costing £500. The tenant disputes that he owes anything. The agent is holding the deposit but says I will have to go to the small claims court. Is this right?

The agent has acted correctly. The Human Rights Act makes it necessary in the case of a dispute that cannot be resolved between yourself and the tenant, that the matter be resolved in the County Court.

What is the procedure for accelerated possession ?

You need to issue a Section 21 Housing Act 1988 notice, which cannot expire before the end of the Tenancy agreement or break clause. You need a written Tenancy agreement from the start of the tenancy. You need a Section 20 Housing Act 1988 “Notice of Assured Shorthold Tenancy” if the tenancy started before 28.2.97. You complete a County Court form N5b and make 3 sets of documents if there is one tenant, plus one set for each extra tenant. The landlord signs the Court form, and sends the documents to the County Court covering the area where the tenant lives with a cheque for £150 payable to “HMCS”. If the tenant does not file a valid defence, you should be granted a possession order within a month without the need for a Court hearing.

I went to Court and was granted a possession order giving the tenant 14 days to leave., That time has now passed and they will not leave. What can I do?

Download Court form N325 from the RLA website. It’s under “Documents & Guides” in the section “Ending a Tenancy”. Send the completed document to the local County Court and they will instruct a Bailiff. This application costs £95.00

Housing Benefit

Housing Benefit are taking 2 months to process claims - What can I do?

Ask for an Interim Payment.

The legal position is that, 14 days after having all the information necessary to process a claim, the Council has to either pay in full, or, if it cannot, it must make an Interim Payment based on the information available.

Housing Benefit want to recover from me some benefit they say has been overpaid.

If the benefit was paid to you, it can be reclaimed from you.

You should first write to the Council asking for the exact reason for the overpayment.

Then ask for a review of the decision, putting all the blame on the tenant's failure to notify a change of circumstances.

If the Council still want the money back from you, you are entitled to have an independent appeal tribunal decide the matter. These are chaired by legally qualified non-council personnel.

The Council want me to repay £1000 Housing Benefit. The tenant was caught “working on the side” and was not entitled to the benefit.

Under Regulation 101(b) the Council should be chasing the criminal tenant. You should appeal to a Housing Benefit Appeal Tribunal, who, as long as they do not think you were aware of the tenant working, will not hold you liable.

Miscellaneous

I use a Letting agent for my Tenancies, and my address is not on the Tenancy agreement. The tenant wants my home address. Must the agent give him my address?

If the tenant writes to the agent requesting your name and address, the agent commits a criminal offence if he fails to give it. The agent does not have to give your telephone number though.

What is the current position on stamp duty for rented property?

Stamp duty was replaced by stamp duty land tax as of 1 December 2003. So far as rental agreements are concerned, this only applies if the net present value of rent payable under the agreement exceeds £60,000 - or £150,000 if the property is within a designated `disadvantaged` area.

I put a tenant into my property three months ago. She does not have any pets and has now complained that the property is infested with fleas. Do I have to pay for this?

As she has no pets, you have to ask yourself if the last tenant had cats or dogs. The hatching period of flea eggs is on average about three months. If the previous tenant`s pet left flea eggs behind, then, because the infestation existed before the current tenancy began, you will have to pay for it. You could claim from the previous tenant though.

I want to serve a notice on the tenant, but she will not answer the door. What can I do?

The rules allow you, with a witness, to put notices through the letterbox of the address you have rented to the tenant, before 5pm. It is then deemed to be served the next day. Take a witness with you. If one of you has a digital camera, set the camera to include the date and time in the photograph and ask your witness to take a photograph of you posting the notice through your tenant’s door.

Can I create a tenancy of less than 6 months?

Yes you can, but you need to be aware that if you need to go for possession because the tenant will not leave, the Judge cannot make a possession that becomes effective until 6 months have passed since the start of the tenancy.

I do not have a written tenancy agreement. Is it a valid tenancy?

Yes it is. The handing of keys and receiving of rent create a tenancy, albeit, a verbal Assured Shorthold Tenancy. However, you cannot use accelerated possession procedures. You would need to complete Court forms N5 and N119 and have to have a Court hearing.

I have bought a property with tenants, but none have a written tenancy agreement. Is this OK?

You do not need a written tenancy agreement to have a binding tenancy. You will not however, be able to use the accelerated possession procedure. You can issue a S21 notice to end the tenancy, but will need a Court hearing. See previous question and answer. If the tenants were there before 28 February 1997 they will be `assured` tenants and you cannot evict using a S21 notice.

Problem Tenants

My tenant has been arrested and is on remand in prison. I have had no rent for a month. What can I do?

The tenant can ask the council to pay housing benefit. This can last for 52 weeks. Benefit can also be claimed should he or she subsequently be sent to prison for up to six months. The tenant is able to make a back dated claim for benefit. But theoretically, should the rent fall in arrears, there is nothing to stop you issuing a possession summons. However, if the judge finds out about the housing benefit application, and decides it has not yet been resolved, he will adjourn the case.

The neighbours complain that my tenant is drug dealing from the house I rent to him.

If you have proof, e.g. a conviction or reliable witnesses who can go to Court - issue a S8 Notice for 1 day. Then issue County Court Possession Forms N5 and N119. The relevant ground is Ground 14.

You will need as much written evidence or photographs as possible. Without evidence and witnesses the application will fail

My tenants are noisy and having parties every weekend. The neighbours are complaining to me but do not want to get involved.

The Council’s Environmental Health have powers to investigate and can prosecute your tenant. They can use noise monitoring equipment and cameras to gather evidence. You then issue a Section 8 Notice quoting Ground 14.

Rent Arrears

My tenants are not paying the rent – What can I do?

Action takks has to be practical.

Once the tenant owes 8 weeks or 2 months arrears, the Court must grant you a Possession Order.

The start of this process is to issue a Section 8 Housing Act 1988 Notice citing breach on Grounds 8, 10 and 11

It is advisable to wait until this level of arrears is reached as the Judge is then obliged to grant a Possession Order if the tenant owes 2 months arrears at the date of the Court Hearing.

Do read the cautionary notes at the end of this topic before embarking on the course of action.

Are there any pitfalls I should look for?

Yes.

First make sure you have complied with S47-48 Landlord & Tenant Act 1989 by giving an address in England or Wales for service of documents on the landlord.

If you do not do this your rent is not "lawfully due" and you are not entitled to it.

You should not use a Section 8 Notice if there are valid disrepair issues the tenant could allege.

My tenant owes 2 months rent. What can I do?

Issue a Section 8 Housing Act 1988 notice, the Grounds quoted should be 8,10 and 11. If the tenant still owes 2 months rent at the date of the Court hearing, the Judge must grant an outright Possession Order.

What is the procedure for rent arrears.

It is advisable to wait until the tenant owes 2 months or 8 weeks arrears, as the Judge is then obliged to grant a Possession Order. You serve a Section 8 Housing Act 1988 notice which is 14 days in length. You then lodge County Court forms N5 and N119 at the County Court which is local to the tenant’s address following the same procedure as above. A Court hearing will take place about 6-8 weeks later which the landlord must attend. Do not use this process if the property is in need of repair

NOTES :- When some of these applications for Possession Orders are heard in Court tenants allege outstanding repairs which the owner has not tackled. Such applications invariably fail. The more reliable route to obtaining a Possession Order is to issue a Section 21 Notice. See details of this process below.

Section 21 Notices

I want to issue a Section 21 Notice for Rent Arrears - they owe 3 months rent.

A Section 21 Notice is nothing to do with Rent Arrears as the notice is issued purely because you may want the property back and you are issuing a notice to that effect. Serving this Notice is known as the “fault free route” to possession of your property.

If issued BEFORE the end of the Fixed Term of the agreement, the Section 21(1)B Notice is at least two calendar months in length and cannot expire before the end of the agreement (or the break clause if there is one).

If issued AFTER the expiry of the Fixed Term the Section 21(4)A Notice has to again be at least two calendar months in length and expire on "the last day of a rent period of the tenancy" (usually the day before the rent is due).

What do I do when the Notice expires? Must the tenant leave?

No, the tenants do not have to leave until evicted by the Court bailiffs.

Your next step is to issue County Court Form N5b for Accelerated Possession of your property.