Possession Claim WON!!! Change of locks???

[Joannepowell]

I can certainly see your point worldlife and the point is taken. However, given all the facts surrounding this case I would just love for this guy to even try taking me to court for illegal eviction.... i have no contact telephone number for this character and to be honest the locality in question would have me think very carefully before placing anything on the door that indicates that the property is not occupied!

You have to remember that the property is part furnished and so it is my goods that are likely to disappear or be damaged in the event of a break-in. The tenant has my telephone number if he would like to inform me he hasn't vacated and wants to request a set of keys.

He is also still in contact with his wife and so could get a message to me through her if he so wished.

J

[Bel]

Don't forget that having a Possession Order from the Court does not give you the right to evict the tenant illegally!!!!!!

If the tenant returned and could not get in because you had changed the locks there could be a charge of illegal eviction.

Surely if there is no tenant inside the building, then the possession order means the LL now has possession, and the tenant no longer has a right to return??

Please clarify if I have got this wrong.

[Joannepowell]

Surely if there is no tenant inside the building, then the possession order means the LL now has possession, and the tenant no longer has a right to return??

Please clarify if I have got this wrong.

Good question Bel. One I'd be keen to know the answer to. I don't know whether the judge was trying to tip me off or not but he definately stated that I had possession of the property FORTHWITH. He stressed that point a couple of times but did say that in the event that the tenant was in occupation then I would have to instruct the bailiffs which would probably take me another two to three weeks to sort.

I did ask the judge an outright question re being able to change the locks but he said "i can not advise you on that" - but he didn't say NO!

As far as I'm concerned the tenant has abandoned the property (no clothes or food there, no washer, nothing at all in the freezer, no fire (cos apparently he's taken that to his current abode to keep himself warm but will bring it back Tuesday when he's got money for a taxi according to the ex wife who has spoken to him tonight).

There was lots of post behind the door addressed in my name but not belonging to me (catalogue statements and the like) and the latest in the saga is that on Monday he asked his wife to activate a store card of mine that was delivered to the address early in February!!! In fact, he's now asked her twice!!! What a shame I put a stop on the card and amended my address details.... Wonder where he'll get his taxi money from now???

Anyway, I don't intend losing too much sleep on the idiot tonight!

J

[Worldlife]

Surely if there is no tenant inside the building, then the possession order means the LL now has possession, and the tenant no longer has a right to return??

Please clarify if I have got this wrong.

The tenant could claim he or she was on holiday so the fact that the tenant is not actually in the property may not be relevant.

If the tenant ignores a Possession Order then the landlord has to go back to Court and arrange for a bailiff to effect the Possession.

I recall that some time ago Paul_f suggested you could nip in and change the locks if you had a Possession Order and saw the tenant leave the premises ...but there was some debate on that advice.

Hopefully Joanne has got the risk factors right and she will soon be in a position to relet the property.

[justaboutsane]

I am sure Paul-F has pointed out on many occasions that once you have been granted possession even if the tenant nips to the shops you can change the locks on them! All you need to do is provide them access to collect their belongings!

[Joannepowell]

Worldlife - we actually saw then tenant walking in the OPPOSITE direction of the court (just five mins away from the court) at 11am when we were in a car travelling to the court ourselves. So some holiday (the estate he was heading towards isn't exactly sun, sea and sand. More Sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll if you know what I mean).

I think he had probably had a liaison with the wife (who was meeting us at the court for the hearing)! Why do tenants presume us landlords are actually brain dead? Mind you - I must've been having some sort of episode when I let this prat sign up for my property!

The tenant should be thanking me for the debt management assistance I am providing him with! Afterall, he will no longer be liable for the 'occupation fee' that will be stated in the court order! One less debt for tenant, one gaint step for landlord!

Justaboutsane - thanks for your contribution. I'm gonna see if I can do a bit more research on this today. If I dig anything up I will keep members informed.

Kind Regards as always

J



PS. We even told the judge we had seen him on our way to the court. I wonder if that is why is kept stressing I had possession forthwith? Ie. knowing the tenant wasn't at home ????

[jeffrey]

Saw your post re user names. Thanks rewop. I havn't seen the film Pacific Heights. Is it worth me taking the time to watch?

Picked a pile of post up from the property whilst I was there and although loads of it was addressed to me, guess what??? None of it was actually mine. Second job on my list for tomoz is to hand it over to the police to put with all the other post they have! Great work if you can get it!!!

J

Film: yes, definitely. ALL potential new landlords should be statutorily obliged to view it, but tenants should be prohibited permanently from it.

[Joannepowell]

Gonna have to see if i can locate the film. Maybe e-bay would be the place to start (so long as Worldlife not lurking there).

[DianeB]

Diane I would have been very concerned if the house had been empty because I let the property part furnished! LOL


J

Nice one Joanne

That does raise a question though. Because you rent part furnished, does it create a much bigger income for you and does the bigger income outweigh the possible costs of repair/checks/loss etc?

Just wondering purely out of interest.
Regards
AKA Diane

[Joannepowell]

Nice one Joanne

That does raise a question though. Because you rent part furnished, does it create a much bigger income for you and does the bigger income outweigh the possible costs of repair/checks/loss etc?

Just wondering purely out of interest.
Regards
AKA Diane

In answer to your question Diane, because we develop properties and then tend to mortgage to the increased value we like to 'dress' the properties for valuation purposes and so letting the property part furnished saves us having to store the stuff elsewhere. Obviously, the rent is slightly higher than it would be unfurnished and given I have an exceptional ability to source quality products at bargain basement prices I usually find that the increased rent actually goes some way to covering the cost of the items.

I find that prospective tenants are usually either just starting out or have recently separated from a partner and don't have much in the way of possessions and so the property becomes more attractive to them. In the event that a tenant has their own belongings I volunteer to remove what they don't need but the rent remains the same. I have also had tenants then go on to buy goods of their own and when that happens they just contact me to remove the duplicated item. Again the rent remains the same.

I'm usually working on another property (or about acquire one) on most occasions and so just use the goods on the new venture which prevents me having to worry about storage. I also have three cellars which come in useful. The one item I do not provide is a washing machine as these can be notorious for going wrong!

Any electrical items I supply are checked annually during my electrical inspections and to be honest are so cheap these days that there is little lost in having to replace them should the need arise.

Also, in the past I have had tenants leave items they no longer require and often continue to use the items in the same property or remove to another property.

In fact, one tenant was vacating owing £530 rent and negotiated with me on some fantastic office furniture he didn't have room for at his new partner's home. He still owes me £400 but I got this great furniture which was just too good to leave in a rental and so now proudly occupies my home office!!!

So in answer to your original question - it works for me!!!

J

[justaboutsane]

Joanne.. re the DVD thing.. go to www.find-dvd.co.uk I use it all the time! I use it as a yard stick when I am bidding for stuff on ebay too!

[Joannepowell]

Joanne.. re the DVD thing.. go to www.find-dvd.co.uk I use it all the time! I use it as a yard stick when I am bidding for stuff on ebay too!

Too late! Time waits for no man (with the possible exception for tenants) and I've already ordered one off e-bay. £6.99 inc p&p! Getting all excited now so hope it arrives quickly!!! Sad or what....

J

PS. I'll probably resell it on e-bay once I've watched it!

[westy]

hi joanne,
just wondered how long you were in court for?

[Joannepowell]

About 10 minutes westy! But it felt like a lifetime!

[westy]

Thanks
I am going on on 18th April and wondered how long I would be in there. My Tenant hasn't paid since November. We offered her to leave before going to court and we would let her off with the rent owing but she hasn't acknowledged us so court it is. What paperwork did you have to take with you?
Regards

Westy