Recovery of rent arrears after tenancy has ended
Rent Arrears

Monica
Monica
0 Thanks
2 Posts
3 years ago
0

I rented my HMO student house to 7 full-time Brighton university students for the academic year 2019/20 (Sept to August). It was an AST making all tenants jointly liable, with an additional option within the contract for me to pursue individual tenants.

March - All students continued to pay rent (despite COVID) throughout the 12 month tenancy, bar one female tenant. She stopped paying rent in March 2020 citing COVID as the reason. In truth, she had been in rent arrears from the start of the tenancy (on and off) and I had sent her several chasers. She brought her rent up to date in January from her student loan, then promised to keep up to date in the months that followed on the back of finding a new job and until her April student loan arrived. She failed to do so. In March 2020 she said she had moved out of the house, paid me rent for January and February, then asked me to excuse her from paying the rent for the remainder of the tenancy. I responded to say "no" but offered her the option of making lower payments for longer and I offered to offset one month rent against her deposit. I was aware she was about to receive her student loan so I asked her to use it to make ongoing rent payments. She replied to say she could afford to pay me two more months rent but would not do so unless I agreed to waive the remainder of her rent. I responded to say that this was not possible and reminded her of the option of a payment plan etc. I also pointed out to her that all her housemates were honouring the contract and it would not be fair to burden them with her debt. By this time, most of her housemates had moved to live at home during lockdown.

I contacted her University who advised me to put her in touch with them as she might be entitled to access their hardship fund. I did so but believe she was found not eligible!

April to August - The tenant then embarked upon a strategy of "slandering" me and my business by enlisting the help of activist groups who published on face book that I was an awful landlord who had harassed and threatened this "poor girl" despite her losing her job and not being entitled to Furlough etc. These publications were one sided, made no mention of the offers I had made to the tenant and portrayed her as perfect tenant before COVID! They even looked up my business at Company's house and tried to make calculations as to my annual rental income! At one point I was e mailed around 50 letters in support of this tenant from other students who had read the activists post and signed a proforma type letter to me.

I was then approached for a reference from another landlord as this tenant was seeking to secure new accommodation for the 2020/21 academic year! To do so, she would have needed to put down a deposit and advanced rent. I gave a truthful reference and informed the tenant I had done so, reminding her that her prime obligation was to honour the tenancy she already had.

Tenancy end (early September) - Given COVID and the fact that other tenants had honoured their rent commitments I felt it morally unfair to burden them with this other students rent debt. I told them I would, in the first instance, pursue her individually through the Courts to recover the money but, if unsuccessful, that I would consider pursuing them under the jointly liable clause in the tenancy agreement.

Since the 12 month tenancy has ended, the female tenant has, once again, asked me to waive the rent which (after using her deposit) amounts to £2,400. As an act of goodwill I agreed to waive the £400. She has now approached a debt management company (STEP CHANGE)informing me that this company would pay the £2K on her behalf then she would repay STEP CHANGE. I heard nothing for weeks until I eventually received a cheque from STEP CHANGE for £35.63 with a letter saying this is all the tenant can afford to pay each month as she is also in debt to others! I contacted STEP CHANGE to say the amount was too small as it would take in excess of 4.5 years to recoup my rent, even if no interest was added. I have suggested £100 pcm. They have yet to come back to me and I doubt they will. They have conceded that if I entered into any arrangement of this kind it is not binding on the tenant so she could decide, in the future, she can no longer honour the debt agreement!

My question - Assuming the £100pcm is not agreed, what are my next options as I feel I need to pursue this through the Courts. How would I go about it (procedurally) and is there anything I need to be aware of (potential pitfalls). Given this tenants attitude I really do not care if she ends up with a CCJ because I don't believe she was in any worse position than her housemates when COVID hit, she just used COVID as a convenient excuse to rid herself of her rent obligations.

To put this in perspective I have 16 student houses which I have directly managed over 20 years. I have a 40% stay on rate. I have only once in that time had to take a tenant to Court (they did a runner) and I have had only three minor deposit disputes despite 85 students a year. So, I am not a rouge landlord by any means!!

I look forward to your advice please.

Please Login

You must be logged in to participate in our forums, to continue please login below.

Not a member? From only £99 you can join in the discussion and get access to member's only resources and services.

As the home for landlords, the NRLA are here to help you save time, save money, and stay compliant. NRLA membership gives you access to a vast range of expertise, resources, and exclusive member benefits and savings, designed to help and empower members. We also play a pivotal role in campaigning and championing the interests of landlords.