How can I get rid of tenant

[funnygirl]

I am asking this for my widow friend who is at her wits end.

She rents out a house and one of the tenants owes her £800 in rent and mounting.
Apparently everytime she confronts him, he throws the law back in her face.
The main problem is that she has no contract/agreement with him.

She is thinking of getting a group of male friends and throwing him out with his belongings.

If she took this action, what are the repercussions???

Is there a better way as she really doesn't want the hassle of going to court.

[jb190281]

Even without a contract, that would be seen as an illegal eviction, could be fined or sentenced if prosecuted. I advise her to seek legal advice.

[boxtops]

How comes there's no tenancy agreement? That should be the very first step if you let our property!

[woofgang]

I think she does need legal advice and fast. there must be a notice to quit procedure but she may not get her money back

[Purple_Popple]

Do you have a spare set of keys to this property? If so, have a stake out outside and wait for him to go out, then get the locks changed pronto !

[Eve]

If there is no formal written tenancy there is legislation in place to create a "statutory" one, a tenancy at will.

Does she have anything in writing she can rely on and proof of past payment of a certain amount of rent on a certain date such as a rent book and bank statements? Has the tenant paid any rent previously (how much is it?) and, if so, how and how regularly, was there ever a pattern of payment on a set date?

Are they a sole tenant or are others living there (agreed by her or not)? Do they rent a room or the whole place?

When did they move in? If not exact, was it more or less than 6 months ago?

Facts such as these can help estabish any supposed agreed terms of the tenancy.

She needs to make sure she serves the correct notice properly so that she cannot be accused of unlawful eviction and get into more problems. She could see a lawyer to get them to assist or see the Citizen's Advice Bureau should be able to help her with the finer details and filling in and serving the actual forms.

[mike11111]

All contracts for the sale or disposition of land must be in writing - verbal is not good enough - so if there is no written contract then there is no contract and the occupier would be in much the same state as a squatter. Unfortunately I don't know what the legal remedy against squatters is.

[funnygirl]

Thanks for your replies.

She knows she's been silly by not getting a tenancy agreement. The bloke was recommended through a friend of a friend.
She has tried turning the heat off, but there are 3 other tenants who were left shivering.

Jenna, he rents a room in a house share. He is supposed to pay £120 per week. When he has paid it has been cash. I am not sure when he moved in, but I don't think it was long ago.
I will tell her about getting help from the CAB.

I think I personally would have taken a baseball bat to him!!!

[beso]

Without an agreement the "tenant" does not have exclusive rights to the house.

Your friend should move some other people in too. Makes sure they get no sleep. Play music all night. Remove the doors from the rooms.

Do not use violence against them or they will have a case. Likewise if the the "tenant" uses violence against the new people they can have them charged.

[Barmaid]

Given that he only has a room, he does not have a tenancy. Nor can he claim squatters rights (because rent has been paid recently). I would advise against taking matters into your own hands, however attractive that may be.

Simply serve a notice under the Protection from Eviction Act telling him to get out. I am assuming that this is not a joint tenancy and that all the tenants did not enter into possession at the same time. Given (on my assumption) he does not have exclusive possession, serve a notice and then chuck his stuff out.

[Eve]

I'd say not doing things properly in the first place is all the more reason to do things properly now rather than getting herself into more trouble and potential action from a number of tenants who were previously seemingly causing no problem at all.

Letting behaviour such as rent arrears rack up is also a very bad idea in shared accommodation as it's not a great incentive to other tenants to place nice.

Are they university students? If so then they will more than likely have access to free assistance from their students union or similar.

Has she checked local policy about shared accomodation to check whether she complies with any of it eg if she should be registered with the council, has proper checks in place such as gas safety checks.

I used to look after a number of properties for a former landlord, all multiple house shares and it can be enough of a nightmare even when things are done properly.

[milly143]

Even with a formal contract, it can takes forever to get tennants out who refuse to pay the rent.

Someone I know was in a similar position. He happened to have recently befriended a few pikeys so sent them round one night. The non-paying tenant quickly found somewhere else to live.

[joko]

i would start putting pressure on the other tennants..they must knbow what hes doing and suggest that if they dont all get together an sort it out you will make life diffciult for all of them . not just him...

ie, heating, water etc etc

if you can organise loads of repairs to be done...noisy, time comsuming, messy etc

[funnygirl]

Hi an update.

My friend found out he is off to Germany on work business and whilst he is there she is gonna change the locks.
The other tenants are shocked as they say "he doesn't seem the type to do that" and will help in any way.
So fingers crossed.

[Twenty20]

I think you need to answer some of the questions first, such as does the landlord live in the property (making the tenant a lodger with far less rights).

Changing the locks is not the answer. You/she needs to follow the correct legal procedure otherwise it will be your friend who ends up in Court.

Does the landlord live at the property? If yes, give reasonable notice - maybe a week, then you can evict as the person is a lodger.

If the Landlord doesn't live at the property, she needs to issue an s8 or s21 notice (or both). If you/she doesn't know what these are then contact a solicitor.

Some of the answers here are just plain wrong. Listen to Jenna or housemouse if you want proper advice.

[society]

Hellooo! ^^^ Barmaid is also a professional and knows what she's talking about!