tenant not paying rent wont leave

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suzieb

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I need some help please. Tenant hasnt paid rent in over three months. Took her to RTB and they ruled in my favour but im waiting for the determination order to be finalised before i can try and progress things. I emailed her after the appeal time was up of 10 days to say are you still in the property and the rent is due etc. All she said was please refer to the RTB. I rang them they said she hasnt filed an appeal. I dont know what her intentions are. She is a nutcase problematic, from the beginning. She of course is a social welfare tenant. I rang them before and they said as she was claiming works were to be carried out by me that were not done that it was between me and her and they wouldnt freeze the rent. Of course RTB found in my favour and against her BS.

My question is Is there any point in me contacting the Social Welfare again to get them to freeze her rent supplement. Its paid directly to her! Yes stupid of me i know to allow that to happen. Never again. So if the rent is frozen is there any way of getting the Social to pay me instead of her. Eg if they see a copy of the order from the RTB? She will not sign a waiver over to me im sure as she is playing the system.

My concern is if i tell the Social Welfare and they freeze her rent she will be less likely to move if she doesnt have more money behind her and there is no point me getting them involved if nothing will be achieved by it ie i wont get the money.. Bottom line is i need her out. Yes it would gall me if she gets more money from them but i have to do whats best for me and get her out even if it means she seems to be getting away with it.. i just need her out.. No idea if she is going to leave and where she would go... This is every landlords nightmare.Any advice really appreciated.
 
I've rung the Soc.Wlf. before and they did switch and pay me directly. I am unsure if they're meant to, but they did. Have soft-copies of RTB notifications and be ready to email copies in.

You could also ring the tenant and suggest you will give her a good reference if she leaves. You're not going to get the arrears.

Check if you can, all utilities are paid up to date.

Do you know any friendly Guards who might, obligingly, swing by - they can't do anything it should be stressed - but some people don't like the attention it brings.

Keep an eye out for any empty periods and secure possession when the house is empty. You need more than the tenant popping out to the shops though .. .. ..
 
thanks Setanta12.. How did the Social agree to pay you directly? was it a dublin social welfare? Can you tell me a bit more of the circumstances. Anything similar to mine? I dont want to risk being fined up to 20k by acting illegally so securing possession and forcing her out isnt an option.
 
Setanta12 said:
Do you know any friendly Guards who might, obligingly, swing by - they can't do anything it should be stressed
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It would be a foolish Guard to step outside of their parameters in this day and age.

Setanta12 said:
You could also ring the tenant and suggest you will give her a good reference if she leaves.
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I hope Im not presented with the glowing reference!!

suzieb said:
Anything similar to mine? I dont want to risk being fined up to 20k by acting illegally so securing possession and forcing her out isnt an option.
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A very wise thought.

These people know, that at some stage, some one will act hastily, and its big pay out day for them. You could be their lucky ticket. They have everything to gain and you have everything to loose.

Unfortunately its a slow process that costs you either way, pot luck, the joys of being a LL these days.
 
Yet another horror story about DSP tenants, stick to the book, my heart goes out to you, a hard lesson indeed.
 
I have many properties with the tenants on the social. They all started this year. All paid directly to me through the HAP housing assistance programme. I though that was the norm?
 
Let’s nip the “social welfare tenants argument” in the bud.

It is not fair to tar all social welfare tenants with the same brush.

However, there is obviously a higher probability of running into difficulty with a social welfare tenant; that’s just a fact of life.
 
Close to 50,000 landlords have sold up in the last 3 years . They were being crucified with unfair taxes and tenants that have far too many rights. This situation can be reversed by bringing
back 100% relief against mortgage interest and if a tenant fails to pay their rent for 2 months that they are evicted by the sheriff within 7 days. Social welfare and HAP tenants would immediately be more welcome. God help the homeless - it will get much worse , I cannot wait to get out of this business.
 
Where have you got the figure for 50,000 landlords selling up in last 3 yrs? And so what if they did?
 
robert 200 said:
Have you no compassion for the tenants that were made homeless - SHAME ON YOU
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How bizarre is this comment, come on, it is a simple equation..

If tenants play by the rules = a happy landlord + a happy tenant.

Happy landlord + happy tenant = long tenancy.
 
robert 200 said:
Have you no compassion for the tenants that were made homeless - SHAME ON YOU
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I just figured, this comment was meant for me. o_O
The question im asking is, if 50,000 landlords sold up their properties in last 3 year, where did the properties go? To other landlords perhaps? Perhaps former tenants, now property owners?
If 50,000 properties came onto the market last 3 years, wouldnt that have put a downward pressure on prices?
 
TheBigShort said:
Where have you got the figure for 50,000 landlords selling up in last 3 yrs?
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Hi . I can totally understand why landlords would exit the market in the current climate but can you provide a source for your figures?
 
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landlord said:
I have many properties with the tenants on the social. They all started this year. All paid directly to me through the HAP housing assistance programme. I though that was the norm?
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It is for HAP but it was not for the previous rent allowance.
 
robert 200 said:
Have you no compassion for the tenants that were made homeless - SHAME ON YOU
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Being a landlord is a business not a charity. The fault of the homeless is the result of inaction by the government in not building housing stock, in not making it easier to build and by stupid taxation policies that discourage landlords from entering the business and in fact encourages us to leave it.
 
The OP has the following options:

a) Pay her to leave. Give her back her deposit to move on, she will likely need this. But don't give it to her until she has moved all her stuff to the new place. And give her a good reference too. (I take no notice of references, in fact I don't think I ever got one !)

b) Evict her illegally. How much will the RTB charge you for this. Then do the maths. (look up the recent cases to see how much, it was around 10K I think).

c) Do nothing and you can be sure she'll stay there rent free for ages. I'd no way allow her collect social welfare if you're not being paid. So put a stop to that.

You do realise that the RTB order you've got is worthless?
 
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