Finding that a tenant has absconded a property is an inevitable and challenging part of being a landlord, and it is therefore important to be equipped with the knowledge of how to tackle this issue.
When a property is abandoned, it can become problematical for many reasons so finding a quick and effective solution is essential.
What can you do when tenants abandon your property?
Firstly, you need to ensure that a tenant really has left a property, not just gone away, gone on holiday or not paid their rent on time and you just cannot contact them. If you determine they have definitely absconded, you cannot legally evict them without a court order.
Before evicting a tenant, you should:
- Track the tenant using a tenant tracing service
- Confirm that they have absconded
- Notify the police if there has been any theft from your property
- Contact your insurance provider to see if you can make a claim against your content’s insurance
- Serve notice to your tenant to end their tenancy in accordance with the law
After evicting a tenant:
- Change all the locks and alarm codes
- Bring your tenant to a small-claims court to recover any outstanding debt; or
- Use a debt recovery service to get your money back
In order to get any of this done efficiently, your tenant should be traced throughout the entire process. This is where it is useful to appoint a tracing specialist like our sister company dataTrace uk, or the debt recovery services of a specialist agency like Sinclair Taylor to recover monies owed.
What is tenant absconding?
When a tenant leaves their rented property without serving notice of their intent to leave, it is a breach of their assured shorthold tenancy (AST). An AST requires them to either arrange for another tenant to replace them or pay the remainder of rent that is owed.
A lot of absconding tenants are what are known as ‘professional tenants’. A professional tenant is someone who breaks the law by providing false information to the landlord to get tenancy with the intention of abandoning the property without paying. Professional tenants often change their address frequently, which makes tracing them more problematic. If you’ve been affected by a professional tenant we can help you track them down.
Our team of tracing experts can locate and identify your absconded tenant quickly and reliably. We cut all the stress out of having to tack down your tenant after they abandon your property. Once you have contact with your tenant, you can collect any due payments or choose to take them to court.
If you have lost money from an absconded tenant, how do you claim it back?
The two options you have if an absconded tenant has caused you to lose income.
Take them to court:
A county court can issue a County Court Judgement (CCJ) against a tenant. A CCJ makes is almost impossible for the tenant to get credit or another tenancy, as it is logged on their credit record. The court can also set aside a certain amount of the tenant’s monthly income so that they can repay a debt owed from unpaid rent.
Going to court however can be expensive, time consuming and stressful. So, it is beneficial to enlist the assistance of a professional recovery service.
Using a recovery service:
If you would like to avoid the hassle of having to go through court, then you can use a recovery service once you’ve evicted the tenant.
Through our tenant tracing service, we can also recover any debts the tenant owes you. This whole process is usually quicker and easier than going through county court. By instructing us to put you in contact with your tenant, you can get paid what’s owed to you and start re-letting your property.
Speak to one of our team today for any requirements you may have.
