Trying to evict a tennant

[michaelr]

Please Help? i have had to issue a section 8 notice to a DSS tennant. she has not been living at the house for 4 weeks.
she is 8 weeks in arrears, and has left a lot of rubbish, the environmental health has issued a notice stating the rubbish is to be removed with 2 weeks or face a fine of £1000.
i have been trying to get in touch will her for two weeks,i have texted her to state i will change the locks etc , she replied (at last) to this stating i cant?
Q - can i simply change the locks - attach a notice stating my contact details, i understand this might incur a charge of forable eviction, what will this cost me?
Q - will i recieve the enviromental fine since i am the landlord or wil she since she is the tenant?

[Ericthelobster]

can i simply change the locks - attach a notice stating my contact details, i understand this might incur a charge of forable eviction, what will this cost me?

Ooh, a prison sentence, perhaps?

More likely a potentially heavy fine, but the message is the same - don't go there.

Have a read of this article on "abandonment".

[Snorkerz]

I agree with Eric, that abandonment might be your best course, though as the tenant has contacted you and specifically stated that you can't change the lock, I feel you'd have difficulty proving abandonment.

[michaelr]

Thanks Guys!

[quarterday]

TENANT possibly has abandoned

your safest option is to get an order for possession. Just possibly, however irksome it might be, it might be to your advantage to offer the tenant £100 to formally surrender the tenancy to you as it will cost you much more than this to get the order, and Easter will be a memory by the time you regain possession going the legal route.......