Evicting a HAP Tenant

S

Sullystreet

Registered User
Messages
14
I am about to serve an eviction notice on a HAP tenant. With the state of the housing market I am concerned that they will have difficulty finding a new flat, I badly need the current flat for a family member. What can I do if the HAP tenant refuses to leave.
 
Follow the RTB and legal process; be prepared for significant legal fees and long delays.
 
Thanks for the info, any ideas what it might cost and how long it might take approximately? Thanks
 
Hoping that won't happen but if it did, all situations are different. Apart from legal cost, there is significant time involved.
 
DannyBoyD said:
Follow the RTB and legal process; be prepared for significant legal fees and long delays.
Click to expand...
Remove the tenant if they don't leave in the timeframe in line with notice. Let the tenant then do the work and running with the rtb to get compensation.

You are either down two years rent and not having your property back. Or you get your property back promptly and you are down sone amount of compensation which I would suggest would be less than two years rent.
 
PebbleBeach2020 said:
Remove the tenant if they don't leave in the timeframe in line with notice. Let the tenant then do the work and running with the rtb to get compensation.

You are either down two years rent and not having your property back. Or you get your property back promptly and you are down sone amount of compensation which I would suggest would be less than two years rent.
Click to expand...
Thanks, when you say remove the tenant you mean with a Sherriff?
 
Sullystreet said:
Thanks, when you say remove the tenant you mean with a Sherriff?
Click to expand...
No I mean remove them yourself. Not violently. But packing of bags belongings etc and change the locks. I for one would not be waiting two plus years to maybe be allowed have my property back.

Others will say that's illegal and you are promoting breaking the law. I'm not, I'm being realistic and practical. A lot of landlords can't afford a non paying tenant for 2 plus years.
 
@Sullystreet - don't panic yet. Give the required notice, add say 7 days to whatever you've calculated to make sure you don't fall foul of the notice period.

Keep in contact with your tenants, see how they are getting on, 'anything I can do to help?' etc.

The bad cases make the headlines, and its painful for anyone stuck in it. But stay positive.
 
I'd echo the last two posters as the way to proceed. I served notice last year (Not HAP) and they were gone within two months (granted I was lucky). However, I also know of a few others that served and tenants were sorted well in advance of the six months.
You could also make a case that someone on HAP could get sorted quicker than someone just struggling to find somewhere affordable that would need to be somewhere that's commutable to a particular workplace i.e serious limitations on affordability and location.

That's my positive spin :D I do know others with horror stories though. While I definitely understand the frustration that could lead you to wanting to do this, I really don't think removing them yourself is a viable option that you want to consider. I'm really not sure how you would go about packing their bags and changing the locks without making a massive scene or risking a pyhsical altercation, which could turn out to be a life changing mistake. Hard to see a positive scenario here.

Fill in your forms, play by the book, stay in touch with them, give them your sob story, help if you can, and an inducement for them to be out within three/ four months, even five (a very strict date at the end of which, the inducement is gone) might make it worth their while to put the time in. If they aren't out by then, you've got a live one....
 
HAP tenants are generally on council housing waiting lists. They generally don’t want anything to happen that might bring them to attention of housing officer in a negative way. Copy the notice to the HAP office in Limerick and the local council housing office. Be sure the notice is properly drawn up.
 
My point was to serve notice and give them whatever the legal notice period is. If its six months, give them six months. After that then it's basic logic to follow.

Scenario - after six months the tenant refuses to leave and stops paying the rent. You can start the process wiht the RTB and it'll take upto 2 years (maybe longer) to get the tenant out and your property back. So in those two years, you have no rent and no property. I would at least regain control of my property and pack the tenants belongings while they were out/at work/whatever and let the tenant deal with the adminstrative burden on their side.

You are down money either way, be is no rent or paying compensation, but one way you get your property back, the other way you don't get your property back.

Why the administrative burden on the owner to resolve issues and still be out of pocket while the tenant is protected and non-paying is bonkers to me. I would absolutely, 100% kick the tenant out myself after the legal notice period if they haven't left voluntarily by then themselves. To do otherwise and leave the tenant in sitchu, it's legal yes but not logical. I would prefer to pay compensation as directed after/if the tenant proceeded with that route.

I appreciate that people will say that's wrong, but its as illegal as a tenant withholding and not paying rent.
 
Make sure you are very careful in drawing up and serving the termination notice.

It’s very easy to make a mistake, which could see you back to square one.
 
Also @peeblebeach2020 would it matter to you if the tenants had very young children, and literally had nowhere else to go when they get back and find the locks changed. Not sure I could be that ruthless, regardless of the rights and wrongs of the situation.

I absolutely see where you are coming from and take your points, but the scenario you outline is unlikely to lead to a situation where you simply regain your property immediately after six months and then just wait to see how any process might unfold for the next two years.

I could outline a large number of alternative scenarios that could happen and leave you regretting your actions.
- Tenant comes back unexpectedly to find you going through their belongings.
- Tenant breaks in and changes the locks at the first available opportunity
- Tenant has friends /neighbours/ relatives locally who can cause havoc, damage or just make your life a misery
- Something happens to tenant or children while homeless after you lock them out
- Tenants call over to your house while your there to get their house back and a confrontation ensues - anything can happen
- Tenants property gets lost / destroyed while being packed up / removed
- Police arrest you for breaking and entering, trespass, stealing property, intimidation, criminal damage, harressment etc etc
- Tenant goes to newspapers, social media - you get cast as total b@stard throwing helpless children on the streets to die
- legal issues mean you can't sell the house when you want/need to
- new tenants get harressed when they move in

Might all go smooth and the above is over dramatic, but the point is that there are so many risks out there that you can't manage once you open that can of worms
 
Ye are ignoring the point. The tenant not paying rent is illegal. The tenant over holding his illegal. If the tenant is robbing houses or shops to sell items to buy food for kids, does that lessen the illegality of what they do.

Read about the prisoners dilemma. I am saying in both outcomes you are down money (rent or compensation) but in one situation you don't have your property in the other you don't. Simple as.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top