Getting Your Money Back From A Tenant - Uk B2l
Posted on March 20, 2008
Filed Under Business |
Finally you manage to get the tenant out, but low and behold they owe you lots of money. How do I get it back? If you have already tried writing or talking to them but to no avail; don’t waste time by trying again.
The next step is to take the tenants to court. This is actually a relatively straightforward process. It involves filling out a form obtainable from the County Court (copy appended). In this you will need to specify:
* The arrears due and for what period
* The interest due on the outstanding rent (if any)
* Additional costs if provided for in the agreement
* Damages to the property
To commence proceedings you have to pay a court fee, the amount of which relates to the amount claimed. This fee is added to the claim. Once submitted the Court will send this form to the defendant who will either; pay up, defend, counter claim or do nothing. In many cases the simple threat of court action is enough to make the defendant pay up; if for no other reason than if the judgment goes against them it will go on their credit file.
Credit files are utilised by all sorts of institutions. They are used when considering loan applications including mortgage applications and credit reference checks as we have already seen. The existence of a County Court Judgment (CCJ) on a persons credit file makes it very difficult for an individual to obtain a whole range of credit and services. For this reason most people seek to avoid them. If you are taking somebody to court, it might be worth mentioning this to them, but be careful what you say as they could turn the situation around and claim blackmail.
Don’t get drawn into postponing your action, any correspondence is likely just to be another delaying tactic whilst the debtor plans their ‘disappearance’. It’s now possible to make a claim online through the www.moneyclaim.gov.uk website which is part of Her Majesty’s Court Service. The cost of an application is £80 and you can claim up to £100,000.
The other criteria you must satisfy in order to claim as is the case with a claim through the County Court are:
* That you have an address for the tenant in England or Wales where the documents can be served
* The claim is against no more than 2 defendants
* You have an e-mail address
Once you have paid the court fee you will be issued with a user id and password and this then allows you to carry out your claim. Following completion of the claim the tenant will be given notice of it through the post.
If the decision goes against the ‘defendant’ they will normally be ordered to pay it immediately or by installments. The amount is determined by the Courts.
The advantage of using the on-line service is that there is no need for the claimant to make an appearance in person.
Chris Horne has 20 years experience as a property professional having worked for companies such as English Partnerships and Drivers Jonas as a planning and surveying consultant.
He now works full time as a investor and property developer.
He also has developed the site Property Hawk targeted at UK Landlords it provides FREE Property Management Software.
Property Hawk also includes a mass of Buy to Let targeted information, FREE Tenancy agreements, Inventory Forms, financial and management tools. Its primary aim is to make managing property simpler for UK Landlords.
propertyhawk.co.uk is the Landlord’s Homepage
Tags: buy to let, free ast, free tenancy agreement, inventory, landlord, tds, tenancy agreement, tenants
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