This is a true story just told to me by one of my clients.
As a tenant had failed to pay rent for two months I was instructed to draft a section 8 notice and this was duly sent off to the local manager for service.
The manager went round to the property, but there was no reply to his knock. Feeling somewhat concerned as the tenant had not been seen for several weeks, the manager (a very responsible and capable person) used his keys to go in, to check that everything was all right.
He found the tenant alone in the freezing flat. He looked like he weighted about seven stone and had obviously not eaten for a long time. The heating had not been used since before Christmas. If the manger had not found him, it is doubtful that he would have survived in these freezing conditions.
The manager contacted the tenant’s parents and they came round immediatly. It seems that the tenant was probably clinically depressed as he had recently lost his job. He had no money, not even enough for a phone call. His parents are so grateful to my clients manager, they had been trying to contact him for a while. They are now looking after him and seeing that he has proper medical help.
We are all so relieved that he was found. Sometimes a seemingly hostile act like serving a possession notice can turn out to be a good thing.