How do I get bad tenants out fast

[grumpy11]

Tennants have not paid rent for now 4 weeks, do not follow any rules set out in tenancy agreement either.
Unbelieveable mess, no rubbish disposal, no empty bottle disposal. Smoking in the house after signing not to smoke!
Additional occupiers which are not on agreement. Various visits to get rent paid unsuccessful, just promises without any substance. Only get abused and told to .. off or else. But never have the luck that they threaten while I have witnesses. Served 3 month notice on them as a precaution, also served a 10 day letter 2 days ago personally to pay rent arrears of 4 weeks.
They tell me to get lost and tenancy people are on tenants side all the time in any case. They say we will need to apply in writing and this will take 21 days from lodgement after the tenant is 21 days behind with rent. This will bring it into Christmas week and tenancy services can do nothing then therefore we will be without rent and have these in my opinion squatters in the place until February without getting rent.
Was told by helpline of tenancy services this is the rules and if we get no money from tenant at the end of it all this is just tough, but we can according to tenancy person afford this better than the poor tenants.
This is a nightmare, I thought that these tactics are the same as theft because the house is mine and they sit in it without paying anything because apparently the tenancy service is on their side.
Can anyone tell me how we can get rid of them jsut the same and fast?
Thank you,
grumpy11
They claim they know the rights

[hort1]

Hi Grumpy 11
You have to go through the process, the trouble is you got the 10 day notice to the tenant far too late, it should have been delivered as soon as the first rent was due, you would have them in court and a eviction notice served and out.
You are going to have to follow the process and I hope you retreive the moneys owing.
Good Luck Hort1

[xris]

Hello Grumpy,

Welcome to landlording. At least take heart that everybody has gone through this sort of thing. It is a necessary learning curve.

Do the following.

1/ Get as much information about the tenant/s on the agreement as you can so you can trace them when the tenancy is over. Car reg. numbers are simple and easy take down. Also find out where they work, and so on.

2/ Go round and get them to threaten you in some way. (Use common sense here of course.)

3/ File for immediate termination on grounds of a/ threat of violence against landlord and b/ 21 days in arrears.

4/ Once they are out sort out the mess and claim again for other costs. This can be added to the first termination order.

Ask the TS help desk for advice on the process to follow, but be wary of that advice. (I find it hard to believe that they told you that you were better able to afford the outstanding rent than the tenants.) Stress on your application that you need a quick hearing date, but do not hold your breath.

These steps will help to minimise your loss. Look on the bright side though: you will probably do things differently in future.

xris

[muppet]

Hi Grumpy

Offer them an inducement/early Xmas present to leave quickly.

Regards

[drelly]

File for a tribunal hearing today... do not get suckered into mediation! You may be able to get a hearing next week if you convince them it's urgent enough. Request an order for arrears, eviction and by the sound of it... damages. However, the tricky part is that you can't specify damages at the moment but you want everything on the same order or you'll have trouble collecting it later. Enquire as to whether they can give you an eviction order now and suspend the rest until after you've had a chance to assess your costs. Alternatively, you could file for eviction only and then go back for arrears and so on. DO NOT split your cost claims across two orders if you can avoid it, as only one tribunal order at a time can be claimed via an order of examination.

good luck!
Dave.

[whitt]

1/ Get as much information about the tenant/s on the agreement as you can so you can trace them when the tenancy is over. Car reg. numbers are simple and easy take down. Also find out where they work, and so on.

Definitely a must do. Easier to get any info now Rather than later.

Good luck with the problems.
-Stay calm do everything your end by the book.
- It does take a while but it is all we have to go with.

[Hound]

Grumpy, whatever you do don't let the tenants know about it in advance. Surprise is essential when dealing with "we know all the rules" types.

Also build a good working relationship with someone from tenancy services & the court staff you will deal with.

[cube]

They claim they know the rights

From what you have relayed, they may not be quite up to date.

You can file for a Tenancy hearing at the same time as you hand over the 10-day notice. The hearing should be granted approx 21 days after that, and if, at the time of the hearing, the tenant is 21 days in arrears, the Tribunal can kick them out then.

Landlords do have rights, and the Tribunal is not ALWAYS on the side of the tenant. They may rule in favour of the tenant where there is some dispute over what has or hasn't happened, but if you have documentary evidence (e.g. rent records showing arrears, tenancy agreement), then they can only rule in your favour. What you've got to watch out for is what story they will come out with about how they paid you cash and didn't get a receipt, how they told you about their cousin who was staying wiht his dog in tow etc. etc.

Accept that you have started late, but that doesn't mean you can't win the race - property is a long term game, and even if it takes 3 months to recover from this, you'll still have the property and in 10 years time, it'll be worth it!

Good luck

cube

[Perry]

How practical is it to contact the electricity supply
company and - ahh - discuss the matter? While there
may be Privacy Act restraints on what they can tell you,
I don't think the reverse applies. (Also, if the tenants
use the swipe card system, this wont help!)

E.g. "I'm having touble with tenant x at place y. They
aren't paying the rent. Are you being paid in a timely
fashion?" Or, "do they owe you money, too?"

What happens then probably depends on who you
talk to.

While this may not directly help you, if the tenant's
electricity supply is cut-off sooner because of your
'helpful information,' the incentive for them to move
gets greater.

[xris]

How practical is it to contact the electricity supply
company and - ahh - discuss the matter? .

Not practical. Nice thought though.

[manic_mansions]

i'm a noob property manager

and i went through an almost identical situation. It stressed me out! It took 4 weeks to get the sod out and then another week to clean up. I came down with a moral-busting head cold and felt completely impotent.

Tenants can be the most unbearably unfair people on earth, and many i have to deal with have extensive criminal records and their names appear again and again in the court sections of the newspaper. But they are the only people who want to live in the places i manage.

The guy was the only tenant i could find for the place after advertising it for three weeks. The difficulty I had with him was his sociopathy. He lied without remorse. I wasn't equppied to deal with someone who lied so openly. Like he would say the rent was going through that night. Then when i went back the next day and said it hadn't gone through he would say it was going through that night. And when i went back the following day and said it hadn't gone through he would say it was going through that night. It made me feel sick.

When i went to the place to check out the hot water cylinder, i noticed the door to the closet holding it had been ripped off the hinges and was lying in pieces on the floor. "What happened here?", I asked.

"I have to go", he said.

"Why?", I asked.

"Because if i don't i'm going to smash your head in", he said and walked out on to the street.

So i got a mediation order, and he agreed to move out within a week, and didn't, but the mediator didn't seal the order, so it couldn't be submitted to the court right away, in fact it couldn't be submitted for 5 more days as that was a holiday weekend, and she (the mediator) was away.

My god, the impotent rage i felt! All this time the tenant was happily sitting in the flat, not paying a cent for it, not giving a toss about dropping every last scrap of rubbish on the floor, and letting the cat crap all over the carpet.

Finally he left. I still feel my fists clench involuntarily now, half a year later when i think about him. I was so helpful! And polite! And kind! And he was my very first tenant, and man did I learn the painful way. Still, one thing to be thankfull for, he broke just three doors, and put two small holes in the walls when he had threatened to "trash the place".

[grumpy11]

Thank you for all your help. Will need to do it the right way next time. Must try and find a way to select the right tenants first of all. -This started to drive me insane as it is already passing toeards 5th week without rent and have opted to risk it all. Got a plumber to disconnect the water feed
to the house to replace the rusty supply pipe. Slight complication and job will take longer than anticipated....
If they want it reinstated fast they need to pay the rent so I can pay the plumber....
See if I get the 5 weeks rent now to pay the plumber overtime to complete the job?

[xris]

grumpy,

Tempting as it sounds, please, please, do not cut off their water supply to get them out or as punishment for not paying the rent. You will then be in breach and liable. Do it by the book. This whole experience will cost you money but there is no point having a court order against you and fine to pay as well.

xris

[Perry]

Careful Creativity

It’s better than a nice thought. I’ve made it work for me.
I had a rent arrears problem with one tenant who became
a short-term (off-season) beneficiary during a tenancy
period. I contacted WINZ and spoke with the tenant's
case manager. The tenant's benefit payment was stopped
as a consequence. Whether partly or fully, I'm not sure.
Perhaps only the accommodation supplement was stopped?
I knew the tenant was receiving the accommodation
supplement because of the tenant’s request for a “certain
letter” that I know is a requirement of WINZ.

I think there's always room for some creativity. The water
supply matter can be one. The critical point there is to not
say anything that connects the delay in the water supply
re-connection with the rent arrears. (Heed well the warning
already posted). I.e. Don’t say “if you pay the rent I can
pay the plumber.” That could be used to hang you. Just say
that you’re terribly sorry that there’s a delay. And keep
saying the same thing. Keep the tenant informed, daily,
with updates about the problems and delays and soothing
words about how you hope it will soon be fixed. From the
sound of it, it may be well to have a witness to such
conversations. Also, brief the plumber to be silent on
the matter.

[RentMaster]

I agree with xris.

Do it by the book. Dont stoop to their level. They sounds like tenants from hell, but you have your own reputation and morals to consider here. Do the right thing.