Can a bad tenant really just get away with it?

[Bumblebee2005]

Hello

Its been a horrible 8 months and last month we were given a possession order from the court which included possession, court costs, £1625.00 rent arrears and £10.86 per day charge until we get possession back.

This all sounded good and thankfully the tenant moved out of the property 24 days after the judgement date so total owed £1992.75. The house has also been badly damaged.

The possession order has ordered the T to pay this amount but they have not. I thought at a minimum after 28 days the T will have a CCJ against them but this seems not to be the case. The court has told me that I have to enforce the order first.

My question is what enforcement proceedure would I use? He is no longer in the property so Bailiffs cannot be sent there.

I am devastated that after so many months of stress and sleepless nights this T has just walked away leaving me to still pursue him even though the court has ordered him to pay.

I would really appreciate any advice on how I can pursue this. The law seems so unfair for us landlords...

Thx

[MrJohnnyB]

There are various ways you can pursue it, one often favoured is an attachment of earnings which effectively means the T's employer pays you a portion of their salary to pay off some of the debt.

[Bumblebee2005]

Hello

The T is a student. He has gone home to mummy. Can I get bailiffs to go to his mummy's house? She is his guarantor too. I was thinking debt collectors also.

[JK0]

I think you need/needed to sue mummy don't you?

[Bumblebee2005]

Hello

Getting the money back is one part of this. I am more confused with the issue that the T will not have a CCJ registered against him unless I enforce the order. That means he gets away with what he has done?
But what enforcement proceedure would I use as he is no longer in my house so bailiffs no good unless I can get them to go to this mothers house.
Attachement of earnings no good as he is not working he is a student on summer holidays.
I want him to at least suffer for what he has done to me and a CCJ would effect him for sure.

Can anyone help.

Thank you...

[Edbergius]

Money Claim Online

I think you could sue using the money claim online service, provided you have a current address. I've used this a number of times at work and usually the claim gets ignored so you get request a judgement. No need for you to attend court unless they dispute it.

This does cost though and you need to consider whether you believe you will get the money. Also, I assume you want the CCJ to be allocated to the student rather than mummy, so you would need to sue him.

I have a similar problem with a non-paying tenant who may have absconded. I started a claim through money claim online before pursuing a possession order (which the tenant did not dispute), so I can get a CCJ against them at the click of a mouse.

[Bumblebee2005]

Hello

is the MCOL a type of enforcement order? I filed possession under section 8 and I thought once the court had ordered T to pay then that was that. Thats the whole point of having the section 8, so you can have rent arrears attached to the order.
Anyway, yes I want the T to get a CCJ so I have to do something. So is MCOL best way to go, is it the enforcement the court would recognoise to register the CCJ?

Thanks again

[westminster]

It's pointless pursuing the tenant if he has no assets. Claim against the mother-guarantor.

[Edbergius]

Hello

is the MCOL a type of enforcement order? I filed possession under section 8 and I thought once the court had ordered T to pay then that was that. Thats the whole point of having the section 8, so you can have rent arrears attached to the order.
Anyway, yes I want the T to get a CCJ so I have to do something. So is MCOL best way to go, is it the enforcement the court would recognoise to register the CCJ?

Thanks again

With MCOL a claim is sent to the defendant, who has 14 days to write back to you stating that they dispute or agree the money is due. If they ignore it or agree it is due but don't pay it you can then apply for the court to issue a CCJ. The CCJ stays on their record for 6 years, so any attempt to get credit or rent another property will be much more difficult.

If they write within 14 days and dispute they owe you the money, then you may need to attend court to have it resolved.

I have just requested a CCJ be placed on my tenant today, as they did not respond within the time limit. I did this before I went down the S8 eviction route as soon as I suspected they were going to avoid paying rent going forwards. They owe me 2 months rent now rather than the 1 I started the claim for, but at least it is marked on their record and I can chase them for it at a later date.

I agree though that tenants should have a CCJ from the S8 rather than having to do yet another court case.

[Edbergius]

It's pointless pursuing the tenant if he has no assets. Claim against the mother-guarantor.

At some point in the next few years he should have a job and have some assets like a car. Provided you can locate them you can still pursue them for the money for 6 years after the CCJ.

Perhaps it would be an idea to do 2 claims; 1 for mummy for the majority of the money and 1 for the tenant to get the CCJ logged? Would have to pay twice though.

[JK0]

At some point in the next few years he should have a job and have some assets like a car. Provided you can locate them you can still pursue them for the money for 6 years after the CCJ.

Perhaps it would be an idea to do 2 claims; 1 for mummy for the majority of the money and 1 for the tenant to get the CCJ logged? Would have to pay twice though.

If o/p sues on paper rather than electronically, he can sue both tenant and guarantor jointly. That's what I used to do.

[Bumblebee2005]

Hello

Thank you all for responding.

Edbergius, you have recommended doing a MCOL which would cost a further £110 as my claim is over £1000. Thats unavoidable if I want T to get a CCJ but I wanted to clarify something you said that,

"If they ignore it or agree it is due but don't pay it you can then apply for the court to issue a CCJ."

When you say "apply to court" do I have to pay for a judgement again or is it a formality once the 14 days has passed?

Thanks again

[Bumblebee2005]

Hello

JamesKnight0, please can you expand on what you have recommmeded doing by paper as this may save me time and money.

Thank you

[islandgirl]

I have a CCJ against a former tenant awarded during a section 8 hearing. He has no assets so I have not bothered to enforce. The CCJ is therefore not registered against him as I understand it. Therefore even if you win the court case (via MCOL) you then need to spend more to enforce (eg third party debt order, baliffs). Even if this fails the CCj is then recorded. This is how I understand it. Am I right?

[ram]

The T is a student. He has gone home to mummy. Can I get bailiffs to go
to his mummy's house? She is his guarantor too. I was thinking debt
collectors also.

Forget CCJ's. and your principals ( he can't get away with it, you say )

You know the tenant has no money, therefore you SUE the guarantor, that's
what a guarantor IS, they guaranty they will pay if the tenant fails.

You want the rent money, the cost of damages, etc etc etc, THAT is
your first priority, and only the guarantor can give you that.
So don't delay, sue the guarantor, and don't complain it will cost you
money, as better to get it from the guarantor, than have none from the tenant !
You don't want £ 1 per month from the tenant, who earns no money for next 10 years, you want your money now.

Welcome to the world of business.