Here is a question to the blog clinic from Alison who is a landlord
If I wanted to get a very unclean smelly tenant out in the middle of his fixed term 6 months, is the only way to issue a section 21 giving two months notice to have possession of the room at the end of his fixed term?
Is there any other way to get them out before the six months has ended?
Answer
The best course of action is to avoid having him in your property in the first place!
The reason why the checking and referencing of tenants is so important is that once the tenant is in, it can take a very long time to get them out again.
For example if you tenant decided to stay put until the bailiffs came round, even if you were able to issue an eviction claim today, it could take four to six months before you reached this stage in the proceedings.
The two options
There are really only two ways you can get your property back, once a tenant has gone in –
- by the tenant moving out voluntarily or
- through the courts (what lawyers call ‘due process’)
As the fixed term has not ended yet, as you say, any section 21 notice (which anyway has to have a notice period of not less than two months) will not be enforceable until the fixed term has ended.
Even if you wanted to use one of the discretionary eviction grounds (which is not recommended as they can turn into long drawn out and expensive defended cases) there isn’t one for smelly tenants!
The quickest option
The only way you can get the tenant out quickly is if you can persuade him to vacate voluntarily. Probably the only way you are going to be able to do this is to pay him.
So for example you could serve a section 21 notice on him and say that unfortunately you will need the property back at the end of the term (no need to say why).
Go on to say that ideally you would like it back earlier and if he is willing to move out now you will give him a payment of £X. But this payment will only be made if he moves out within a specific time period.
Say that he is, of course, entitled to stay on but if he does so, then he won’t get the payment.
Whether he accepts this or not will depend on whether he wants the money more than the accommodation. The higher the payment you offer, the more likely he is to accept it.
If only references told you how smelly he/she was huh? My point? Some things just come with the risk; and you might never found out till it’s ‘too late’. (tenants will understand this feeling) If you’re in this business, it comes with some rules.
The problem is that the other 5 tenants in a HMO may all decide to leave if the landlord does not take quick action.
(The law is just not reasonable when it comes to HMOs forcing all the other tenants to put up with a bad tenant, or to leave.)
Is it just a smelly person, or is it a result of their living conditions?
Assuming it’s the latter, has a formal inspection been carried out? Is the smell causing a nuisance to anyone? Is the cause of the smell resulting in damage to the property/contents?
You could write to the tenant explaining the problem as tactfully as possible and ask them to take steps to improve the situation. There is an argument that you cannot tell a tenant how clean to keep the property, but you can tackle it if what they are doing is causing a nuisance or damage.
With smells, the tenants are often blissfully unaware of the issue and sometimes a letter might just do the trick.
I have been advising clients for years on the “buy out” option but was recently advised you need to be careful that it is not deemed coercion?
Comments?
It all comes down to managing expectations from the start.
Strong AST with appropriate clauses, especially with HMO lets.
Never do joined tenancies! I always individualize my tenancies to make evictions easier. In terms of HMO strenuously point out the need for cleanliness.First complaint dealt with by means of a polite letter, second complaint section 21.
I agree with Tessa the section 8 route under ground 12 is a tenuous approach and invites risk of failure.
If the issues are severe enough to bring into play H&S safety then by all means use ground 12 but ALWAYS think as if you were the Judge and ask yourself honestly do you have sufficient evidence to prove your claim?