Tenant Rent Arrears and Section 21

Access

• 11/05/12 - I text tenant for when he is coming in and got this reply "HI LEE ITS TENANT RIGHT WHERE TO START FIRSTLY I WANT TO SAY SORRY TO YOU AS I LIED TO U LAST WEEK I DO GET PAID ON THE 7TH BUT IT WAS ONLY A WEEKSPAY THE RENT WAS SENT TO U BEFORE WHEN ITWENT TO MY LAST LANDLORD SO IVE STARTED BACK WITH TESCO AND MY FIRST FULL PAYDAY IS ON THE 7TH OF JUNE BUT I CAN GIVE YOU 450 ON THE 29TH AND 450 ON THE 7TH AND INBETWEEN THAT FROM NEXT FRIDAY A 120 A WEEK OF THE APPEARS IM SO SORRY AND EMBAREST ABOUT THIS I DONT KNOW WHERE TO TURN I JUST DONT WANT TO LOSE THE HOUSE IVE NEVER BEEN IN THIS SITUATION BEFORE AND TO PUT IT BLUNTLY IM ******* MYSELF ". I replied saying I'm actioning the section 21 so he needs to be out by 04/09/12 but pay rent in the meantime and we're giving him nearly 4 months notice, twice as much as we legally need to.
• 11/05/12 – I sent Tenant a letter stating we have no option but to serve the Section 21. I also listed the payment plan he had proposed so it was detailed in writing what he had offered so there is no confusion if a payment is missed. A copy of the Section 21 was enclosed.
• 14/05/12 – I sent a further letter and copy of Section 21 by post and another copy to be hand posted through door when I'm on road tomorrow.
• 15/05/12 - Hand posted copy of my letter of 14/05/12 and Section 21 through the letterbox of property Drive and videoed it as proof of serving.
• 17/05/12 - Text sent reminding tenant first payment of £120 due tomorrow as per his proposed agreement by text 11/05/12.
• 18/05/12 - Tenant text at 0840 asking when I'd be in the office today. I replied saying 1400 to 1700.
• 18/05/12 - Tenant dropped in £120 and letter saying has sort legal action and claims solicitor has said if he didn't move out when Section 21 runs out he would be ok to stay and if went to court he would win if no arrears there. Informed him he’s missed the point of the notice and it is designed to get a property back for the landlord if he chooses to, whether there are arrears or not. If what he is saying was true, anyone could just pay nothing for 6 months then pay the arrears in one lump sum at the end of the tenancy and the landlord would not be able to get his own property back, even though he’s had no rent for nearly 6 months to be able to pay his own bills/mortgage with. Told tenant we'll agree to disagree. It's up to him to sort arrears ASAP and if he does and sticks to the agreement he proposed, it won't be an issue.
• 24/05/12 - Sent this text to tenant "Foster Lettings - As per your proposal, the next instalment of £120 is due Friday 25th May with £450 payable on Tuesday 29th May. Please ensure both payments are made as scheduled." tenant replied late that day with "it will only be the 450 this week if you misunderstood that im sorry but i cant afford 570 in 1 weekend then inbetween the 450s the 120 will be paid on those weeks". I replied asking if he'll be paying £450 25/05 then and he sent the following "no its 450 on monday when i get paid then 120 on friday i explained this if i mwas'nt clear im sorry". I replied with the following and have heard nothing since so hopefully this is what he will stick to "Definitely not how your proposal read and you didnt dispute it when i put it in writing to you but as long as we get 450 monday, 120 friday, 450 on 7th june with other 120's weekly thereafter i'll leave it at that."
• 28/05/12 - tenant due to pay £450 today as per his text 24/05/12 then had this text early morning "Hi im really sorry mate but im so ill i cant get out but i got 300 out of the bank yesterday and i have that with me now so if you have time today to call and pick it up and ill call into the office in the week to catch up im genuinely ill but hope this eases things with the 300 just to prove im not taking the piss". I tested his trust and asked him if he would be able to pay all the £570 to office by end of May (Thursday 31/05/12) being the £450 due 28/05/12 and weekly instalment of £120 due 01/06/12 and he replied with "yes ive got it mate but as for today i really cant move to go get the rest out of the bank". I told him to do that then and £120 due on Friday 01/06 which he seems to be saying yes to as he asked me what time I’d be in to bring it in which I told him most of this week but it changes hourly. This is yet another olive branch to tenant to do what he says he is going to.
• 30/05/12 - Text tenant to see if he was coming in today or tomorrow to pay the £570 due as per his texts of 28/05/12 saying he would be in to pay the amounts by then. Received no reply.
• 31/05/12 - Text tenant twice in the morning to confirm he is coming in to pay £570 today and received no response. Then I was passed a letter someone had dropped in to the office downstairs saying he's stopped working through injury, has been lying to us due to embarrassment, used the £300 he mentioned 28/05/12 on his family and saying will pay £120 a week from 01/06/12 for arrears now and has applied for housing benefit now not working and for it to be paid to us. Also complained about me and said will only communicate through solicitor in future who he says will be in touch soon, he hasn't provided the details. He states he has no intention of moving out on 04/09/12 when tenancy is up and we’d need to go to court to remove him.
• 06/06/12 - Sent this text to tenant as no contact from his solicitors as he said it would be and no payment of £120 received 01/06/12 which he said there would be. "As per your letter of 31st May 2012, your solicitors have not been in touch so I have no details as to who to contact hence I have to contact you. Your latest offer in that letter of £120 every week from Friday 1st June 2012 has not materialised. No payment has been received at all from you in June. When will payment be made? Also please tell me who your solicitor is plus contact details."

As you can see, I have been on the case throughout to get the rent and it turns out have been constantly lied to and Athe tenant is trying to play the victim and claiming what we are doing is incorrect. I have tried all means to get the rent and communicate with him but he has now cut off all contact as per his latest letter and says communication can only be via his solicitor now which is a sorry state of affairs. He has failed to give any solicitors details so I’m not entirely convinced he has a solicitor and is just trying to use that as a delaying tactic.

As of today, the total arrears is £1230.

His latest offer is £120 a week starting 01/06/12 for the arrears and housing benefit for future rent. If he does receive housing benefit of the full 2 bedroom rate it will be £392.32 every 4 weeks which equates to £425 a month over a full year which would be £25 a month short of the rent we need. It remains to be seem if he has indeed applied for housing benefit and if it will be granted. As mentioned earlier, his first payment of £120 on 01/06/12 never materialised so yet another default on payment.

We really need to do something now to push this along as the tenant keeps claiming he has been advised by his solicitor that as long as the arrears are paid by the end of the tenancy in September, we can’t evict him, which we know not to be the case but we could do with some confirmation to back us up. He’s also stated in his last letter that he has no intention of moving out at the end of the tenancy and we’d have to go to court to do so. He seems to think the Section 21 cannot be used to remove him from the property and does not realise exactly what the notice is for.

The Section 21 has been served to them twice by post and once in person by me and I also videoed the serving as I posted it through the door. The tenant has acknowledged receipt of the notices but claims there are worthless and he won’t move out.

Can you or someone there please advise or help?

Thanks