UC Tenant refusing to pay rent.

[Cotton]

I issued a s21 in November 2021 as

1. Tenant is always underpaying their rent

2. Tenant is a liar (e.g. tenant secretly works, tenant secretly live with her husband who also works full time)

3. They abuse the system by claiming financial difficulty in order to claim additional funds such as Discretionary Payments.

In response to my s21, the tenant has stopped paying rent altogether (Currently 4 months in arrears).

I would like to know what action should I be taking now, to get rid of the tenant and recover the funds.

n5b form filled out in January and still no response from the London Courts and no dates provided either.

[jpkeates]

If you submitted a claim form in January and have heard nothing, I'd say that something has gone wrong.
There are delays in court, but I've not heard of anything remotely like a five month delay.

The court target is a hearing between 4 and 8 weeks after they receive the claim, and, while not all courts are making that, they're not missing it by three months.

You can make a money claim for the rent in parallel with the possession claim.

[Tony-Edwards]

Find out where they work so you can inform the benefits office and council.

handy for when you've later gone down the MCOL route as well

[theartfullodger]

Serve s8g10 & 11 TODAY. Look up "intentionally homeless" and verbally explain.

[Cotton]

If you submitted a claim form in January and have heard nothing, I'd say that something has gone wrong.
There are delays in court, but I've not heard of anything remotely like a five month delay.

The court target is a hearing between 4 and 8 weeks after they receive the claim, and, while not all courts are making that, they're not missing it by three months.

You can make a money claim for the rent in parallel with the possession claim.

A few weeks ago I went to the court and the security guards who are you only point of contact (unless you have a hearing) informed me that the courts are backed up four months due to covid.

I requested an update on my case and handed in a form at the court and I emailed them too. To this day, I have heard nothing.

What would you suggest I do?

[Cotton]

Find out where they work so you can inform the benefits office and council.

handy for when you've later gone down the MCOL route as well

Besides camping outside of the property and following them to work, is there another way?

I have informed the DWP of the benefit fraud.

Is MCOL the same as small claims court?

[SouthernDave]

Those tenants sound like scum.
don’t give in, would be my advice. Don’t let them beat you.

[Cotton]

Serve s8g10 & 11 TODAY. Look up "intentionally homeless" and verbally explain.

Okay, so far I am being advised to

1. Serve a s8

2. Inform council that tenant is making themselves intentionally homeless

3, Make a money claim online for the rent arrears

Is there anything else I can do, given this predicament?

I have a recording where the tenant admits to living with their husband and working.

[jpkeates]

Is MCOL the same as small claims court?

Yes, it's the online version.

Don't serve a section 8 notice for arrears and make a claim for the money separately, because you'll be chasing the same debt twice.

I take your point about the courts being backed up because of covid, but four months, would take you to the end of May and it's June tomorrow.
If they're right, you should get a date anytime now, and that'll be the quickest way to get them out, as long as your section 21 notice and claim form are valid.

[Cotton]

Those tenants sound like scum.
don’t give in, would be my advice. Don’t let them beat you.

Thanks.

Some days it is tempting to throw in the towel.

It has been five months, I have followed the law but the courts have yet to get back to me.

I email, call and go down in person to request information. They promise to get back to me within 10 working days, but nothing.

[jpkeates]

If they're on Universal Credit, you can ask for the housing element of their benefit to be paid to you direct.
But the tenant can stop that happening and it sounds like a bit of a pain (like anything dealing with the DWP.)

[Cotton]

jpkeates,

Do I need to send a notice/letter to the tenant about impeding court action before making a money claim online? (e.g. you have 14 days to pay your arrears or I will take court action).

Or can I just make the MCOL without any warning to the tenant?

Under what grounds would you suggest I serve the s8 notice under?

I assume that my s21 notice and claim form were valid. However I cannot get any update on this case from the court. What can I do to chase up the s21?

[jpkeates]

Do I need to send a notice/letter to the tenant about impeding court action before making a money claim online? (e.g. you have 14 days to pay your arrears or I will take court action).

You have to send a letter before action (which is meant to have a lot of additional information and advice for the person receiving it).
You might want to see if you can buy a template online.

Or can I just make the MCOL without any warning to the tenant?

There's nothing to stop you, but the tenant might complain about it and a judge might agree with them and close the claim.

Under what grounds would you suggest I serve the s8 notice under?

I'd only look at section 8 if your section 21 isn't valid.
You're further down the line on that claim already - assuming it's just a delay in the courts.

I assume that my s21 notice and claim form were valid. However I cannot get any update on this case from the court. What can I do to chase up the s21?

Search for "nearly legal" and "section 21 flowchart" for an online validity checker.