This is still an unfinished saga but I thought I would relate my latest experience with Tenancy Services in case it proves useful to others.
Let me say at the outset that I am not trying to crticise Tenancy Services. Apart from a problem in this case which seems understandable to me I think they actually do a good job -- at least my experience has been generally positive.
Nor am I looking for any helpful advice about alternative careers other than property management, especially not from anyone with a cavalier attitude to goldfish! (Though I always value Glenn's advice.)
Story is a couple rented a place from me and the relationship has ended acrimoniously (nothing novel so far). She rang me to let me know that she had left the flat and wanted to given notice on the lease. She said that she thought her partner intended to stay on (while being sceptical about his ability to do so).
I made a number of elementary errors at this point:
(a) I didn;t get her to give me notice in writing
(b) I didn;t immediately go looking on this forum for the rules about what happens when one tenant gives notice. (SPecifically, thinking about joint and several liability, it didn;t immediately occur to me that notice from one tenant effectively ends the tenancy).
(c) I didn't immediately get in touch with the remaining tenant and check out his intentions.
What I did do was to discover an even more fundamental eror that the rent was not up to date! (No abuse please -- I've read it all before.)
Foolishly I let another week or so go by before deciding that the remaining tenant was not going to call me and tell me everything would be ok! So -- the phone having been disconnected -- I went to see him.
And actually that turned out reasonably ok because (scoff if you will) he and she are actually fundamentally well-meaning and honest people.
By this time a little more experience had kicked in and I went armed with two 10-day notices: one insisting of payment of the arrears and the other asking for the signing of a new tenancy agreement in his name and with a new bond. (A particualr wrinkle here is that the original bond in her name only -- at her insistence.)
At the same time, I'd also made an application to the tenacy tribunal and -- like keys describes --got a mediation scheduled very promptly and well in advance of the expiry of the 10-day notices.
As people will know, one of the worst things in a situation like this is that there is danger that you end up as an unwilling referee/social worker in a relationship dispute and you have to spend a lot time deflecting a lot of comemntary about how is repsonsible for what (mostly by repating the "joint and several liability" mantra).
In this particular case this created a bit of an issue around the use of the bond for the rent arrears. She was actually prepared for the bond to paid to me to cover the arrears but would not allow the bond to be transferred to him or to a new tenancy agreement in his name (on the basis that he paid the rental arrears). As the amounts were about the same I coouldn;t really see the difference.
Nor did I have any clear idea about whether it was best (or possible) to vary the existing lease, or if a new one was required. My instinct was to get a new agreement since it would be cleaner and would also allow me to exercise a little more control over condtions (max occupants, dogs).
In many ways there should have been no problem since effectively eveyone agreed a new lease was required and that each of them owed me about the same amount of money -- it just being a question of how it was going to be paid.
Accordingly the mediation actually seemed fairly smooth. She was not avaialble (which caused him some aggro) and had reiterated to TS that while she was ok for the bond to be used to pay off the arrears, she wasn;t happy for it to be transferred to him on the existing agreement or to a new agreement).
After a bit of to and fro he fronted up and agreed to pay the balance of the arrears (in excess of that covered by the bond), the current rent, and a new bond in two instalments over two weeks.
And its about here that the wheels started to fall off, mainly due - I think - to the inexperience of the mediator in dealing with what is a slightly complicated situation, but surely not uncommon.
Her order did not specify that a new lease agreement should be made. Instead it was worded in a way that problably implies a variation to the existing agreement (releasing her, and him assuming sole repsonsibility).
The order also provided for him to pay the remaining arrears, current rent, and new bond in a series of 3 weekly payments with the provision for a seven day notice of termination in the event of him failing to do so.
Almost immediately after the mediation, she rang me to tell me her supervisor had checked her order and said that it was unlikely that an adjudicator would seal an order in respect of bond payments. I think this is on the baiss that that is porbably seen to be as a condition of a new tenancy agreeement. She wanted to leave the reference to the new bond out. Naturally I was extremely unhappy with this as the whole point of making the application was to make sure that (a) the rent was brought up to date and (b) that an enforceable agreement and bond were in place. At the same time, I have to say that it didn;t surprise me that such an order might not be enforceable (sealable).
In the end we agreed that we would proceed with it any way, take the chance that the adjudicator wouldn;t seal it, and hoep that he simply felt he had to comply with what he had agreed too. (In my view worst case was that I would jsut need to make a fresh application for termination and arrears).
As of today though (one week later) I still have not recieved a copy of the order for signing (apart from an email) and no information about sealing. That's not very impressive givne how quickly the mediation was organised in the first place.
Meanwhile of course events have moved on. Predictably he has failed to make even the first payment agreed to, has delayed and avoided meeting, and has now told me he can;t afford to stay on and wants ot move out next week. Meanwhile I have an unsigned, unsealed (unenforceable?) mediator's order which says I can give him seven days notice of termination for not complying.
So what have I done?
Given him notice quoting the mediators order and noting his consent to end the tenancy on the date he has nominated. Asked for payment of arrears and property left clean and tidy etc. Made a new tribuanl application for termination, posession, arrears and order for examination.
Let me say at the outset that I am not trying to crticise Tenancy Services. Apart from a problem in this case which seems understandable to me I think they actually do a good job -- at least my experience has been generally positive.
Nor am I looking for any helpful advice about alternative careers other than property management, especially not from anyone with a cavalier attitude to goldfish! (Though I always value Glenn's advice.)
Story is a couple rented a place from me and the relationship has ended acrimoniously (nothing novel so far). She rang me to let me know that she had left the flat and wanted to given notice on the lease. She said that she thought her partner intended to stay on (while being sceptical about his ability to do so).
I made a number of elementary errors at this point:
(a) I didn;t get her to give me notice in writing
(b) I didn;t immediately go looking on this forum for the rules about what happens when one tenant gives notice. (SPecifically, thinking about joint and several liability, it didn;t immediately occur to me that notice from one tenant effectively ends the tenancy).
(c) I didn't immediately get in touch with the remaining tenant and check out his intentions.
What I did do was to discover an even more fundamental eror that the rent was not up to date! (No abuse please -- I've read it all before.)
Foolishly I let another week or so go by before deciding that the remaining tenant was not going to call me and tell me everything would be ok! So -- the phone having been disconnected -- I went to see him.
And actually that turned out reasonably ok because (scoff if you will) he and she are actually fundamentally well-meaning and honest people.
By this time a little more experience had kicked in and I went armed with two 10-day notices: one insisting of payment of the arrears and the other asking for the signing of a new tenancy agreement in his name and with a new bond. (A particualr wrinkle here is that the original bond in her name only -- at her insistence.)
At the same time, I'd also made an application to the tenacy tribunal and -- like keys describes --got a mediation scheduled very promptly and well in advance of the expiry of the 10-day notices.
As people will know, one of the worst things in a situation like this is that there is danger that you end up as an unwilling referee/social worker in a relationship dispute and you have to spend a lot time deflecting a lot of comemntary about how is repsonsible for what (mostly by repating the "joint and several liability" mantra).
In this particular case this created a bit of an issue around the use of the bond for the rent arrears. She was actually prepared for the bond to paid to me to cover the arrears but would not allow the bond to be transferred to him or to a new tenancy agreement in his name (on the basis that he paid the rental arrears). As the amounts were about the same I coouldn;t really see the difference.
Nor did I have any clear idea about whether it was best (or possible) to vary the existing lease, or if a new one was required. My instinct was to get a new agreement since it would be cleaner and would also allow me to exercise a little more control over condtions (max occupants, dogs).
In many ways there should have been no problem since effectively eveyone agreed a new lease was required and that each of them owed me about the same amount of money -- it just being a question of how it was going to be paid.
Accordingly the mediation actually seemed fairly smooth. She was not avaialble (which caused him some aggro) and had reiterated to TS that while she was ok for the bond to be used to pay off the arrears, she wasn;t happy for it to be transferred to him on the existing agreement or to a new agreement).
After a bit of to and fro he fronted up and agreed to pay the balance of the arrears (in excess of that covered by the bond), the current rent, and a new bond in two instalments over two weeks.
And its about here that the wheels started to fall off, mainly due - I think - to the inexperience of the mediator in dealing with what is a slightly complicated situation, but surely not uncommon.
Her order did not specify that a new lease agreement should be made. Instead it was worded in a way that problably implies a variation to the existing agreement (releasing her, and him assuming sole repsonsibility).
The order also provided for him to pay the remaining arrears, current rent, and new bond in a series of 3 weekly payments with the provision for a seven day notice of termination in the event of him failing to do so.
Almost immediately after the mediation, she rang me to tell me her supervisor had checked her order and said that it was unlikely that an adjudicator would seal an order in respect of bond payments. I think this is on the baiss that that is porbably seen to be as a condition of a new tenancy agreeement. She wanted to leave the reference to the new bond out. Naturally I was extremely unhappy with this as the whole point of making the application was to make sure that (a) the rent was brought up to date and (b) that an enforceable agreement and bond were in place. At the same time, I have to say that it didn;t surprise me that such an order might not be enforceable (sealable).
In the end we agreed that we would proceed with it any way, take the chance that the adjudicator wouldn;t seal it, and hoep that he simply felt he had to comply with what he had agreed too. (In my view worst case was that I would jsut need to make a fresh application for termination and arrears).
As of today though (one week later) I still have not recieved a copy of the order for signing (apart from an email) and no information about sealing. That's not very impressive givne how quickly the mediation was organised in the first place.
Meanwhile of course events have moved on. Predictably he has failed to make even the first payment agreed to, has delayed and avoided meeting, and has now told me he can;t afford to stay on and wants ot move out next week. Meanwhile I have an unsigned, unsealed (unenforceable?) mediator's order which says I can give him seven days notice of termination for not complying.
So what have I done?
Given him notice quoting the mediators order and noting his consent to end the tenancy on the date he has nominated. Asked for payment of arrears and property left clean and tidy etc. Made a new tribuanl application for termination, posession, arrears and order for examination.
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