Tennant's neice living in house no agreement

bigbird28

Help advice needed had same Tennant for 13 years few minor issues but early Feb I called out to fill new sw form he told me he was going away for a few weeks and niece who was present was minding the house as it was broken into during summer.OK fine I said all good rent coming every month then nothing last week went outvto house as no answer from phone and niece was there with all smiles where's Paul I said ah he's gone away again these guys had settled in are they technically squatting in my house ?they are not the registered Tennant's I'm in the prtb can I just kick them out? thanks

Baby01032012

bigbird28 wrote: »

Help advice needed had same Tennant for 13 years few minor issues but early Feb I called out to fill new sw form he told me he was going away for a few weeks and niece who was present was minding the house as it was broken into during summer.OK fine I said all good rent coming every month then nothing last week went outvto house as no answer from phone and niece was there with all smiles where's Paul I said ah he's gone away again these guys had settled in are they technically squatting in my house ?they are not the registered Tennant's I'm in the prtb can I just kick them out? thanks

Read up on your obligations

You have no idea if your tenant is away or gone for good. You need to give 7 days notice followed by 14, followed by termination notice for non payment ( I'm open to correction on forgoing) However you will need to show you made every effort to contact the registered tenant. Make your intentions clear to the niece and registered tenant might suddenly appear.

Sleeper12

He was your tenant for 13 years, you must have a phone number. Is he not answering to you? If you leave any voice mail it wouldn't be a bad idea to record it on your own phone to help prove you tried to contract him

bigbird28

Sleeper12 wrote: »

He was your tenant for 13 years, you must have a phone number. Is he not answering to you? If you leave any voice mail it wouldn't be a bad idea to record it on your own phone to help prove you tried to contract him

No answer atall I've sent texts everything for him to contact me the nice says he's in Germany and doesn't think he'll be back I'm like wtf is going on

runawaybishop

Baby01032012 wrote: »

Read up on your obligations

You have no idea if your tenant is away or gone for good. You need to give 7 days notice followed by 14, followed by termination notice for non payment ( I'm open to correction on forgoing) However you will need to show you made every effort to contact the registered tenant. Make your intentions clear to the niece and registered tenant might suddenly appear.

The niece isn't a tenant, nor is whoever else the op mentioned. While the actual tenant needs notice etc the other random people do not.

Baby01032012

runawaybishop wrote: »

The niece isn't a tenant, nor is whoever else the op mentioned. While the actual tenant needs notice etc the other random people do not.

That's why I made no reference to the niece, only the tenant.

bigbird28

Baby01032012 wrote:

That's why I made no reference to the niece, only the tenant.

Guys got the Tennant apparently not coming back recorded the call niece will sort the rent lol anyway told him she wasn't registered Tennant and he's in breech of lease agreement by falling into arrears will bring letter out this evening notifying of two weeks to pay

Cheshire Cat

Make sure you have a witness, otherwise they may claim they never got the letter.

hanna200

Baby01032012 wrote: »

Read up on your obligations

You have no idea if your tenant is away or gone for good. You need to give 7 days notice followed by 14, followed by termination notice for non payment ( I'm open to correction on forgoing) However you will need to show you made every effort to contact the registered tenant. Make your intentions clear to the niece and registered tenant might suddenly appear.

^^

TheDoc

bigbird28 wrote: »

Guys got the Tennant apparently not coming back recorded the call niece will sort the rent lol anyway told him she wasn't registered Tennant and he's in breech of lease agreement by falling into arrears will bring letter out this evening notifying of two weeks to pay

Also in the event that this goes down some form or legal or dispute route, cover yourself by advising the niece that you have recorded that phonecall.

And as someone else mentioned there, maybe cover yourself with a witness. Obviously you havn't outlined and it doesn't need to be specified, but I'm assuming here the niece if 18+ etc.

Also your posts are a bit "text speech" so not sure I'm following. Is the niece outlining she will continue the renting agreement going forward? What was that about "settled lads", she have a load of fellas in the house?

13 years sounds like a decent relationship surely, I'm assuming you arn't considering taking the niece on as the tenant cause there is some bad vibes or messing or something?

Skerries

Doctor Who lives in your house?

bigbird28

Doc the niece has been living there since February with her fiancée and new born child the house is absolutely spotless, and they seem nice people but I explained
that I am going through the process and if they don't come up with rent they have 4 weeks notice. I would keep them on judging by the condition of the house they seem decent people but somehow mislead. I explained I am not Santa Claus and they cannot live there indefinitely for free to which they agreed I also advised I am seeking legal advice to whether they are entitled to the notice or can they be treated as trespassers as I had only been informed she was staying whilst uncle was away.

The_Conductor

From what you've said Bigbird- the most acceptable solution all round- would be if the niece and her partner could come up with the rent and commence a tenancy in their own right- if they're keeping the property in the manner you're suggesting- I'd consider starting with a clean slate and seeing how you proceed.....?

bigbird28

Yes hopefully we can go down that road fingers crossed

johnb25

The_Conductor wrote: »

From what you've said Bigbird- the most acceptable solution all round- would be if the niece and her partner could come up with the rent and commence a tenancy in their own right- if they're keeping the property in the manner you're suggesting- I'd consider starting with a clean slate and seeing how you proceed.....?

Would the previous agreement with the uncle still not need to be terminated in an organised manner, so there is no danger of him reappearing and claiming tenancy? I don't know, just an observation.

ted1

So you signed a form for the uncles SW to say he us living there , then he moved out and now his niece lives there.

I've seen similarly before , the uncle has moved in with new partner and the SW do t know and are still laying his rent. So the niece is living rent free and may have sub let her place she gets on welfare or maybe working and not entitled to welfare

The_Conductor

What the OP needs to do- is-

Contact Social Welfare and see how or why the current rent has ceased.
Terminate the original tenancy in a proper manner.
Agree with the niece that she can commence a tenancy- starting on the day the tenancy with her uncle is officially terminated- on the strict understanding that any missing rent is made up before that date- and an appropriate deposit paid.

If the niece is on social welfare (no-one has indicated that she is)- appropriate forms will have to be filled for DSP- and the tenancy can be conditional on a satisfactory outcome of that process.

The OP can evict the niece at any stage in the first 6 months of her tenancy- without giving a reason (though obviously the non-payment of rent would be foremost in the OP's mind). The notice period- as she will have been there officially less than 6 months- is 28 days.

Lets not speculate about the niece having a local authority property or a DSP funded property elsewhere- if the OP suspects this to be the case- DSP have some remarkable investigators who are like dogs with bones one they're give the scent of something to chase...........

bigbird28

bigbird28 wrote:

Yes hopefully we can go down that road fingers crossed

She rang me yesterday she has starting filling out the forms and the application process for sw rent allowance I will call them Tuesday thanks

bigbird28

The uncle BTW is in Germany I got his number off his niece apparently the health service is better there his daughter is very sick,pity he didn't make his intentions known to me gas how people can play the system.

foggy_lad

bigbird28 wrote: »

She rang me yesterday she has starting filling out the forms and the application process for sw rent allowance I will call them Tuesday thanks

The forms take a few minutes to fill in and then you need to fill in a section of them and they can be returned to the community welfare section.

The_Conductor

I've been thinking about this case.
Something just doesn't ring true in all of this.
OP- exercise caution.

pc7

Hopefully the paperwork goes through quickly. Has the niece confirmed she'll pay the missing rent?

April 73

The_Conductor wrote: »

I've been thinking about this case.
Something just doesn't ring true in all of this.
OP- exercise caution.

I agree with this. The uncle & the niece have both shown themselves to be capable of "messing" & also not paying rent.
Be very careful how you proceed.

foggy_lad

I would say "Get them out!"

You didn't put her into your property and basically deciding who lives there is one of the only powers left to landlords so get her out and her uncle also if he returns! You have no knowledge of her rental history or ability/history of arrears or paying on time, I think allowing her stay is only asking for problems.

newacc2015

OP personally I would rid of them. A tenant of 13 years doesnt have the decency to tell you they have moved out. The niece was happily lying to you over this. Personally I would send them packing and get someone you can trust

slowjoe17

April 73 wrote: »

I agree with this. The uncle & the niece have both shown themselves to be capable of "messing" & also not paying rent.
Be very careful how you proceed.

To be fair, the niece is probably desperate for somewhere to live. If there wasn't a housing crisis, she might have behaved differently.

The fact that the property is being well maintained suggests that these may be good people in hard times. I would still advise asking for references from the niece and her partner.

It kind of comes down to OP's faith in humanity.

bigbird28

Thanks for everyone's advice duely noted will keep you informed

Kristopherus

bigbird28 wrote: »

Thanks for everyone's advice duely noted will keep you informed

I sincerely hope your next information bulletin will be that you have got rid of them. On no account should you sign that R.A. form until you have been paid all the arrears.

rawn

If anything i would ask to see landlord references from the niece, and if all is well have her sign a lease. And pay up all the missing rent of course.

April 73

slowjoe17 wrote: »

To be fair, the niece is probably desperate for somewhere to live. If there wasn't a housing crisis, she might have behaved differently.

The fact that the property is being well maintained suggests that these may be good people in hard times. I would still advise asking for references from the niece and her partner.

It kind of comes down to OP's faith in humanity.

To be fair we don't know where the property is or whether there is difficulty getting rental accomodation in the area or not.

All we know is that the original tenant is gone, his niece & partner & baby moved in, there's no rental agreement with them & no rent is being paid. Keeping the house clean & tidy is all well & good but the OP can't provide charity accomodation because of assumed hard times or a shortage of properties.

Nobody communicated any of this to the LL. I think the OP has been very reasonable so far, probably does have faith in people, but I hope that it isn't a mistake in this case.

newacc2015

rawn wrote: »

If anything i would ask to see landlord references from the niece, and if all is well have her sign a lease. And pay up all the missing rent of course.

Is there really a point? You have a first hand character reference of her being a lier. Would you let a house to some who moved herself in and was basically implying her uncle was away for the weekend? OP has experienced that the niece is capable of lying with zero issue