Can I let property to 2nd tenanant...

[Biggy]

Might sound stupid, but can someone tell me, if I already have a tenant in a 3 bedroom property ( living on their own ), on a AST which expires in November, Can i legally draw up another tenancy to allow another NEW tenant in the house as a "flat mate " from NOW and give new tenant a AST ?

So basically they would both share the lounge, kitchen, bathroom, BUT have their own bedrooms. Can this be done ?
The 2nd Tenant would pay cash in hand, whereas the first one is through social payment ?

The first one is in arrears in excess of over 12 weeks now, and I need some money so thinking of foriming another tenancy.

All i want to know is if this is Legal to do.

In terms of 1st tenant, he is in arrears so i know i can issue him a section 8, under Ground 8, 10 and 11, and few more, so how long does it take for the "court order" to come through after you have applied for it, and how long after can someone expect the "court hearing " ?

What sort of costs can a LL expect to incure going through this legal process of eviction upon success ?

Your help is very much appreciated.

 

[MrD84]

Hi, I run my own residential letting agency so feel I am in a good position to answer this for you.

Answer to your first question is if the current tenant has an AST for the whole property then no you cannot draw up another AST and move a tenant in the property as they have the legal right to the whole property.

Regarding the arrears, I would start by issuing a section 8 based on the grounds you have stated above. You then have 14 days until you can issue court proceedings. This can then take anything up to 4 months for a court date to come through. Cost of this depends on which solicitor you use.

Have you tried contacting the council housing benefits people as if they are claiming housing benefits for your property and are more than 8 weeks in arrears, you can claim for them to pay you direct.

Hope this helps?

Adam

 

[Biggy]

Hi

Thanks, can you tell me if this process can be donw without the need of a solicitor, as I know i can issue s8 myself, and then will need to wait for a court order which i believe is the next stage. Is there anything in between this waiting time I need to be doing ?

Also can you tell me how I can go about securing dep with DPS which was not done as only part of it was paid and remainder still due , so will they accept this delayed reason and can i avoid the penalty even if tenant disputes amount he has given as dep to DPS ?

As for rent, it is paid direct to me from day 1, as tenanet mentioned to council he does not want to fall in arrears and to send direct to me. The outstanding amount I am wanting to recover is the difference between what social pay and what his agreement was for.

Hoped for a few experienced people to reply. Thanks for your response and hope you can clear these questions for me.

 

[MrD84]

Ok so let me get this clear? they only paid part of the deposit and the remainder is still outstanding? do you have proof this is still outstanding and have you sent anything to the DPS at all?

You do not have to get a solicitor involved if you dont wish to. There are companies that will deal with a whole eviction procedure for you like Legal4Landlords or you can do it yourself. I also offer a service where I can serve a section 8 for £75 and then the landlord goes about the court proceedings themselves.

Once the S8 is issued there is not much you can do for the 14 days apart from gather all information together regarding the arrears so you are ready to issue the court proceedings.

Regarding the S8 it is also best to make sure you issue the section with relevant financial statements detailing all the arrears that the tenant is in. You must make sure they are in a full 2 months rental arrears and not just 2 months worth of top ups.

Hope this makes sense?