Evicting a tenant.

[CornishTone]

Does anyone have any experience or advice for evicting a tenant?

We have returned home after 4 years living abroad and want to get back into our house, which we’ve been renting out. Our agent issued a Section 21(??) notice to our tenants to leave the property on the 15th July but they refused to accept the notice as the house they are building “only has one working bathroom and the garden isn’t finished!”

She demanded to stay till the 28th, to which we reluctantly agreed and, as that’s a Friday, we said she could hand the keys back on the 2nd to giver her time to clean the carpets etc. We even said she didn’t have to redecorate so as to make life easier. We had an agreement for this in writing (email).

I booked the inventory clerk to come and inspect the property but unfortunately his only slot that week was 9am on the 3rd. The tenant is now refusing to hand the keys back as this time doesn’t suit her. She wants to do the inspection on the 4th. Apart from the fact the clerk can’t do this day, she’s basically demanding another 2 days in our house whilst my 2 year old and heavily pregnant wife remain in temporary accomodation.

I think we’ve been pretty accomodating
in the circumstances, giving her an extra fortnight in the house, but now I’m starting to get pretty p1ssed off!

So, I know Land Lords have virtually no rights in the UK but, once there is a written agreement to leave on a set date i.e. 2nd July, and she has had written notice that the inventory clerk will be coming on the 3rd, can we just give him the spare keys, tell him to get on with it then change the locks? Or does she hold all the cards and we’re screwed unless we drag her through the courts?

TIA

 

[Farmer Roy]

Welcome home

 

[ISCO]

Does anyone have any experience or advice for evicting a tenant?

We have returned home after 4 years living abroad and want to get back into our house, which we’ve been renting out. Our agent issued a Section 21(??) notice to our tenants to leave the property on the 15th July but they refused to accept the notice as the house they are building “only has one working bathroom and the garden isn’t finished!”

She demanded to stay till the 28th, to which we reluctantly agreed and, as that’s a Friday, we said she could hand the keys back on the 2nd to giver her time to clean the carpets etc. We even said she didn’t have to redecorate so as to make life easier. We had an agreement for this in writing (email).

I booked the inventory clerk to come and inspect the property but unfortunately his only slot that week was 9am on the 3rd. The tenant is now refusing to hand the keys back as this time doesn’t suit her. She wants to do the inspection on the 4th. Apart from the fact the clerk can’t do this day, she’s basically demanding another 2 days in our house whilst my 2 year old and heavily pregnant wife remain in temporary accomodation.

I think we’ve been pretty accomodating
in the circumstances, giving her an extra fortnight in the house, but now I’m starting to get pretty p1ssed off!

So, I know Land Lords have virtually no rights in the UK but, once there is a written agreement to leave on a set date i.e. 2nd July, and she has had written notice that the inventory clerk will be coming on the 3rd, can we just give him the spare keys, tell him to get on with it then change the locks? Or does she hold all the cards and we’re screwed unless we drag her through the courts?

TIA

If tenant does not leave voluntarily you need a court order which I believe is relatively easy to obtain assuming correct notice has been served

 

[gatepost]

I can't give advice on the legal bit, but apart from the bit about folk not ever wanting to stick to an agreement, for the moment take a deep breath, don't fly to the courts just yet keep calm and polite while dealing with her, and hand the job to the agents, that's what you have been paying them for, if not, get the inventory clerk to arrange a visit with her, I expect she is just playing for time , you'll get the job sorted just try not to incur extra costs, good luck.

 

[Lofty1984]

No advice from me but It’s a bloody shame you have no rights as a landlord I’d want to go and change the locks when she’s out unfortunately you can’t do that

 

[Hesstondriver]

No advice from me but It’s a bloody shame you have no rights as a landlord I’d want to go and change the locks when she’s out unfortunately you can’t do that

no but you can fill them with superglue , (allegedly)

 

[Bob the beef]

Not sure what the laws are in England, but I know from experience up here in Scotland that the landlord holds all the duff cards and the tenant, no matter how bad they are, holds all the aces. If you have an agent dealing with it , leave them to do it, but lean on them very heavily, as you are paying them to put up with the s...t!
A good agent sticking to the wording of any agreement is worth their weight in gold. Be prepared for a total mess of a house sadly
Good luck

 

[nick...]

My experiance with tenants has not been good.bite your lip and give them a bit more time.i know this will annoy you but better than possibly all interior fittings removed and all manner of stuff put down drains.worse I’ve known is for earth wire removed from stake giving a small shock from stainless draining board.i wish you luck
Nick...

 

[CornishTone]

To be fair, I don’t think she’s the type to damage or make a mess of the place, but she’s a land lord herself so knows the system. She’s also a spoiled bitch who gets her own way with everything, so I’m loathed to let her win.

The other side of the coin is my wife is due at the end of July and we want to be in and get number 1 settled before number 2 drops.

Our agent is being bloody useless, presumably because they know they’re not going to get another tenancy out of us.

 

[newholland]

Take a deep breath and walk away...….a few weeks extra is the least of your worries......potentially she can easily stay in your house for several months, not pay any rent, not pay any utility costs and there is not a thing you can do besides smile. You need some good advice from an estate agent who is a paper work expert.... to double check the paper work is actioned correctly, delivered to her correctly.... as the tiniest mistake puts you back to square one. If the paper work has been done correctly, after a set amount of weeks, if the house is left empty for a few hours with no tenant on site, you can legally change the locks - but if any tenant is present on the property then you can't touch it.

 

[Will 1594]

8 months here to get them out , and house totally trashed , when get s wet day we going in to lift carpets and tidy up , into ten ton trailer and straight into waste place , cheaper than skip , think we will fill trailer
Good luck it takes some time

 

[delilah]

I know you shouldn't have to, and there's probably loads of reasons why you shouldn't do this, but would it be worth your while for a quiet life to offer her a financial incentive to get out asap ?

 

[Treg]

Welcome back to the mother land @CornishTone , I think @nick... & @newholland are giving you some good advice.

 

[PSQ]

When dealing with horrible f**kwits it pays to be 'creative': move into her new build house and claim squatters rights.

And tell her if that kind of behaviour is good enough for her, it's good enough for you

 

[Kiwi Pete]

Help finish her new garden by cracking open your duty-free can of Gramoxone on it?

 

[teslacoils]

Help finish her new garden by cracking open your duty-free can of Gramoxone on it?

Tbh if you tried hard enough you could stop any grass growing in a place for a good few years.

 

[cows sh#t me to tears]

To be fair, I don’t think she’s the type to damage or make a mess of the place, but she’s a land lord herself so knows the system. She’s also a spoiled bitch who gets her own way with everything, so I’m loathed to let her win.

The other side of the coin is my wife is due at the end of July and we want to be in and get number 1 settled before number 2 drops.

Our agent is being bloody useless, presumably because they know they’re not going to get another tenancy out of us.

Thought you would be settled in the deportation centre

 

[Danllan]

@CornishTone Aussie law is, more or less, like the law here, with a bit of federal / state tweaking.

Can't comment on precise matters, but... your agents are at fault and the onus is on them, full stop. If they are proving useless tell them you will get a good lawyer - at their expense - to gain the necessary. The tenant is taking the p!ss and clearly knows it, not best to have offered her so much, no obligation to offer any more - assume you are charging for the extra time in you place, if not you must. I'd suggest that as well as the legal threat, you advise your agents that you'll be moving into 5 Star accommodation for your wife's sake, again at their expense. They haven't a leg to stand on and most certainly know it.

 

[cows sh#t me to tears]

Tbh if you tried hard enough you could stop any grass growing in a place for a good few years.

Arsenal express

 

[cows sh#t me to tears]

You could move into number 10.......that's become vacant as of today