tenant not paying rent can i seize his goods?

[seduraed]

I'm a resident landlord, letting rooms in my house . One of my tenants, who has been with me forthree months has only paid 1 months rent and given me nothing but excuses so I have given him notice to quit. Under the contract as he is more than two months in arrears he has no further right to stay. I want to re-let his room as he is away at the moment. Does anyone know the law regarding his property how long do I have to hold on to it .

[miliitant]

Re: tenant not paying rent can i seize his goods?

do not evict him, throw out his things, change the locks etc

do not attempt to harass your tenant (you may be fined up to £10,000)...

you have to do things by the book or you will end up paying compensation and risk getting your landlord certification revoked by the local authority

[labman]

Re: tenant not paying rent can i seize his goods?

I found this on a commercial site, don't know if it helps:

http://www.propertymentor.co.uk/how-...t-question.php

[miliitant]

Re: tenant not paying rent can i seize his goods?

i am no expert but i believe it all depends if the landlord lives in the same property as well as the tennant, then only notice to quit is (months notice) needed but as stated, i am no expert

[seduraed]

Re: tenant not paying rent can i seize his goods?

I do live in the same house as the boarder and know that I issue a notice to quit specially as his room does not have A SEPARATE LOCK. My real question is can I sell his trumpet, computer etc to recover my losses?

[miliitant]

Re: tenant not paying rent can i seize his goods?

I do live in the same house as the boarder and know that I issue a notice to quit specially as his room does not have A SEPARATE LOCK. My real question is can I sell his trumpet, computer etc to recover my losses?

no, that will be theft as it is not your property unless he agrees in writing, you should no even be entering his room unless their is a fire etc

your only option would be a civil claim

[seduraed]

Re: tenant not paying rent can i seize his goods?

couple of questions here militant, Once he's been evicted can i bag up his stuff and keep it safe so that i can I re-let the room. He's there under a licence to occupy and because I live there I am exempt from many provisions of the housing act.

[labman]

Re: tenant not paying rent can i seize his goods?

If you rent out a room in the house in which you live (it must be your main residence) The tenant is what is known as a licensee. Although they do not have any security of tenure it is always a good idea to give them reasonable notice if you wish them to leave. Reasonable notice in these circumstances usually means a four week period required by the Protection from Eviction Act 1977.

You should not assume that the tenant as left the property. The law is quite liberal in its interpretation of whether people have or have not moved out where property is left at a property. To be safe, if you have any doubt that the tenant has not moved out you should obtain a court order before entering the property and taking possession. There is a risk the tenant may claim against you (alleged) missing items which were (alleged) removed by you and that the items were the same value of the crown jewels.

(courtesy of www.landlordadvice.co.uk/ )


This may also be helpful:

http://www.landlordlawblog.co.uk/201...s-possessions/

[enquirer]

Re: tenant not paying rent can i seize his goods?

You could exercise the Right of Lein. You merely seize his goods as security for the debt.