My tenant has stopped paying rent, what should I do?

by on May 27, 2011 in Property News

A recent survey by the NLA found that more than half of all landlords have experienced late rent payments within the last year.

52% of landlords experiencing rent arrears averaging £730.

Picture the situation….Three months into your tenancy and you thought you had done all your due diligence and had selected the perfect tenants for your property to look after the largest investment you are ever likely to have made.

Then one day the situation gets turned on its head. The last day of the month arrives, you check your bank account and notice that you haven’t received the latest rent payment.

What do you do next?

  1. First thing to do would be to contact the tenant and try to discuss the situation to see if there is a reasonable explanation for the delay.
  2. Following that discussion and no productive outcome it’s time to play hardball. The first step would be to put any communication in writing outlining the issue and that they are in breach of their tenancy.
  3. If the first letter doesn’t have the desired effect it is the usual process to contact the tenant again (by letter) in 14 days’ time outlining the severity of the situation and the need for urgent payment to avoid the situation escalating.
  4. If the tenancy has less than 2 months to run or you are in a periodic tenancy already (i.e outside your initial fixed term agreement) then we would suggest serving a Secton 21 notice now.
  5. The second letter will outline that the landlord plans to start proceedings through the County Court and that rent arrears and possession of the property will be sought on the basis of Ground 8 (rent arrears owed exceeding 8 weeks/2 months rent) of Schedule 2 of the Housing Act 1988.
  6. It may be worth considering adding into the tenancy agreement that interest will be charged on any late rent payment.
  7. Many landlords now insist (irrespective of the tenant’s employment situation) on a guarantor being in place before they agree to take a tenant on. You would then contact the guarantor as soon as you realise that the rent has not been paid and explain their contractual liability.

Such situations can be avoided simply by taking out rent guarantee at the outset of a tenancy, usually costing around £115 to cover your rent for the whole year – less than £10 a month!  Give us a call on 0844 567 0578 if you would like to discuss.

Unfortunately, all the due diligence and referencing in the world will not always prevent a situation of non-payment of rent, so it may be just worth getting hold of our “1st Late with Rent Letter” which forms a part of our property management document pack which contains 44 letters similar to this and costs just £49 inc vat.

To receive your free “1st Late with Rent Letter” , simply leave a comment below and we will send it over.

21 Responses to “My tenant has stopped paying rent, what should I do?”

  1. mark e walters May 27, 2011 at 7:08 pm #

    hi great information i wish i had it to hand when my tenent was late with her rent.

  2. phil May 28, 2011 at 7:41 am #

    great site good support thanks!

  3. yusuf hajat May 28, 2011 at 8:01 pm #

    Very interesting read, very helpful, good site to gain information , very helpful for new landlords.

  4. Lee May 30, 2011 at 11:57 am #

    Great advice for any landlords experiencing rent arrears.

  5. stephen June 1, 2011 at 1:18 am #

    Excellent info thanks!

  6. Rebecca June 2, 2011 at 8:35 am #

    Thanks for the informative read. Very useful

  7. Debra June 8, 2011 at 4:56 pm #

    I wish I had had this info last year. It was my 1st rent defaulter and I was much too understanding.

  8. Anil July 11, 2011 at 2:08 pm #

    Excelent info, I will certainly make the necessary changes to any future tenancy as per your advise and also spend the £115 for the rent guarntee insurance.

  9. russell July 11, 2011 at 3:42 pm #

    Hi, could do with your “1st late rent letter” hope I dont have to send them another after! Thanks in advance, Russell

  10. jude July 16, 2011 at 10:32 am #

    Great advice, thank you. Why do people take these tenencys on when they clearly can not afford it!!!

  11. dobby July 19, 2011 at 5:30 am #

    Good advice

  12. mark August 25, 2011 at 10:29 am #

    Dear sir/madam

    I have a tenant who refused to pay the last months rent, due to the fact she knew there were a lot of damages

    to the property. I was given back the deposit money which no where near covers the damage.

    I am now taking her to court for the remainder of the damages and the outstanding months rent.

    There is nothing in the agents contract that states inrest can be added for non payment of rent.

    Can you please help me?

    Regards

    Rebecca

  13. polly hoad August 29, 2011 at 1:33 pm #

    i’ve a seriously in arrears tenent and i’m at the end of my tether!!

  14. Shelly September 14, 2011 at 3:28 pm #

    Have found ourselves being far too lenient on a non payer, don’t know what to do now.

  15. Zishan October 4, 2011 at 1:34 pm #

    Excellent advice, great site.

  16. pete October 17, 2011 at 8:41 pm #

    thanks for the advice, highly likely that I will have to return for more

  17. Jo January 3, 2012 at 10:23 am #

    Very informative site, wish I had known about you before.
    Can I have a copy of your late payment letter please as my tenant is late this month?

  18. Andrew January 4, 2012 at 7:58 pm #

    Great site – very useful information! – thanks

  19. David Morgan January 26, 2012 at 6:22 pm #

    I needed help with my tenants arrears problem and found the site very informative and full of useful tips and information. Thank you.

  20. Phil January 31, 2012 at 4:20 pm #

    Thanks for the tips – very useful

  21. diane February 1, 2012 at 10:56 am #

    thanks you for your information i found it very helpful

Leave a Reply

CAPTCHA Image
*