Don’t be spooked by bad tenants as severe arrears cases rise

Published: 12/10/2012

Your tenant signs the tenancy agreement promising to pay the rent each month and on time. Their references all check out. However, the tenant moves in and the payments don’t materialise. They fail to answer your calls and emails and never appear to be in when you go round. The rent arrears continue to increase and you don’t know what to do next.

Sound familiar? This is every landlord’s nightmare and one that is occurring more and more.

Latest figures from the LSL Property Services PLC Group have revealed that the number of tenants in severe financial difficulty has increased by 8 per cent in the second quarter (April to June) of the year. There are now over 7,000 more tenants over two months in arrears, a 24 per cent increase compared to the same period last year.

As a result there has also been an increase in the number of tenants being evicted through court orders. In April to June, over 26,000 tenants faced eviction notices, up 6 per cent on the previous quarter (January to March 2012) and up 5 per cent on April to June 2011.

If your tenants have fallen into arrears, it is essential to act as soon as possible in order to get your property back in the minimum period of time and minimise your financial loss.

Our Landlord Assist programme is designed to help landlords in exactly this kind of situation. Our team of legal experts specialise in helping landlords with many of the areas involved in letting property including removing tenants who have breached the terms of their contract and fallen into rent arrears.

For help and advice about rent arrears, or if you have any other landlord related questions or problems, contact us today by calling 0845 373 3737 or completing our online enquiry form.

Content correct at time of publication