ChatterBank1 min ago
Tenant advice
We had to change the locks of the property when the tenants (couple) we had who had never paid any rent said they'd left after asking them for ages to leave. We rang them endlessly, went round to the property and knocked several times with no replies just to confirm they'd left as promised. We eventually had to change the locks after about 2 mths. They later broke into the property and claimed their dog was there, twice. The 2nd time, it was true the dog was there as we then called the body for abandoned dogs after a day of the dog still being left. The dog trust came the next day but the tenant had gone in to the dog before then as the trust said. So they didn't take the dog away. They have now left after 4 months of no rent, and claimed they have again just as they did last time.But we went there and changed the locks and this time it was true they'd left.
My husband was not working when they were there and I was the one just going back to work after unpaid leave for 6 months, and they knew that and still didn't pay any rent.We were left paying their own mortgage and ours, borrowing money desperately from anywhere we could find. We're still in a lot of debt from it and I'm still teh only working.
I wrote a letter demanding the rent and they are now claiming that we changed locks when we 'knew a dog was there' and therefore they are not paying the rent owed and that they are going to use it against us in court if we do take them to court! I was like 'what!'.
What do we do? any advice will be appreciated. thanks
Answers
No best answer has yet been selected by jackie0. Once a best answer has been selected, it will be shown here.
For more on marking an answer as the "Best Answer", please visit our FAQ.The position of changing the locks is an interesting one. The only way you can recover possession of a resicential property let to someone as thir home is by Court Order, so unless you were able to establish that htey had abandoned the property then you may find yourself in an akward postion.