Tenant done runner owing rent but benefit stopped

Rent Arrears

I hope others may learn from my experience. Reluctantly I accepted a DSS tenant. She started off paying the rent on time then soon started falling into arrears. At first I believed her and gave her the benefit of the doubt but after a while her excuses didn't add up. Every time the rent was due she'd complain of damp or other problems which did not exist. It became a cycle. The bottom line was that housing was paying her rent in full but she was not passing it on. However she was not 8 weeks in arrears so I could not have it paid direct. In retrospect I'm glad I did not go down this road because her partner was living with her,as I later discovered from neighbours, unknown to the DSS. Finally she did a runner owing me several hundred pounds. However - she had not told the council she had moved. So I told them, they wrote to her at the property address and received no reply so had proof she was not living there. Therefore, contrary to housing benefit rules, they had no address for her and her benefit was stopped. Checkmate! And guess what - she eventually responded to my texts to complain that I had snitched on her. She also admitted in a text that she had moved out. I am still owed money by her but I'm not even that bothered any more. She's not receiving any money either, has quite a lot of explaining to do and may be investigated for fraud. The neighbours were my saving grace. They saw her moving out, noted that she was taking even carpets, they confirmed her boyfriend was living with her and even told me his name. They were brilliant and all the info was passed to the council. The moral of the story is never underestimate the power of nosey neighbours. The best thing was getting her out of my property voluntarily. It is now relet. I'll be buying the neighbours a bottle of wine.