what do you do about a tenant that refuses to leave and can’t pay rent cause he doesn’t have any money. The lease agreement is still in place for another couple months and there is no point in seuing cause he has nothing? what do you do?[blink] [jealous]
Is the property managed? If so, the agent should know the procedure to get them out.
If it isn’t managed, get a good one fast and let them handle it. They will issue a breach notice and if this isn’t honoured they can apply to the Tribunal in your State.Usually, an official piece of correspondance like this gets them into action, but you have to get onto it early and show them you won’t stand for any nonsense.
Also, ring the local Sherrif’s office and describe the situation and ask them for guidance.
Failing that, I know some big boys looking to earn a few extra dollars (just kidding).
The whole process can take a while, but there is not a lot more you can do. Managing the property yourself is quite often a false economy, plus the expense of a manager is tax deductable.
The other piece of leverage is to inform the tenant that if they don’t pay, or ‘do a runner’ they will go onto the National Tenant Database and will basically never be able to rent anywhere again.
By the way; have you got Landlord’s Insurance? If not, get some TODAY. It costs a couple of hundred per year (or less), and is tax deductable. You must have this.
This will cover any expenses, loss of rent, damage by tenants.
Try ‘Property One’, or your own Bank may offer it, or failing that ring my mate Doug at A.I.S Insurance Brokers (in Melb) – we have properties around Aus and he handles the lot. His number is: 03 8699 8888Cheers,
Marc.
[email protected]“we get sent lemons; it’s up to us to make lemonade”
Don’t even think about taking out Landlords Insurance in this case without disclosing that you have a non-paying tenant. That’s like ringing up to insure your house against fire after it has burnt down. You must disclose all material facts about a risk, whether it is specifically asked for or not. Otherwise you risk being accused of fraud – and when they investigate they won’t pay out the claim anyway. Of if you do find a company to take this on, please let us all know.
I am presuming you don’t have a property manager, otherwise they would be handling this problem.
You have two choices – see a property manager and get a quote for them to handle the matter for you, or consult a solicitor.
You can have the tenant legally evicted, but it will take time (we were once quoted 6 weeks by a PM) and money. Your tenant has a legal right to be on the property until you can get a court to order him/them to leave.
Forget the lease agreement (and the fact it has several months to run), your tenant has breached it by not paying the rent (should be a clause in the lease). Our leases state that they tenant is in breach if they are more than 7 days late with the rent. Don’t simply do nothing, each week of inaction is another week of tent lost.
Don’t be surprised if you have trouble getting a property manager to sort this one out for you – they may think that once the problem tenant is gone then you will again handle matters yourself.
PMs are like parachutes – you hope you never really need them, but when you do their assistance is vital – we have just dealt with the tenants from hell and our PM was worth every cent we have paid over the last 2 years on this particular property.
Good luck – but take action to remedy the situation ASAP, it won’t go away by itself.
Also, do get good advice, everyone here has rights including your non-paying tenant, and you must do this correctly to avoid repercussions on yourself.
Margget an application in to be heard at the tribunal immedietly. They will get notified of having to attend.
If they don’t show then there is a big chance of the tribunal ruling against them and issuing a warrant for the police to remove them if they’re still there in two week.
If you’ve given them their chances take proper steps to remove them. Don’t worry that they still have a lease, they haven’t met their obligations so they can be given the boot.
Not sure of your state but I’m in Vic. Find out your rights and take your property back. The sooner you get rid of the bankrupt duds the sooner you can put somebody with money to pay in there.
Which state are you in?
In mosts states you will have to issue a notice to vacate, if they don’t leave then you can evict them – with a court order. You can also get an order for money owed and maybe go after them a few years later when they are working and back on their feet again.
Terryw
Discover Home Loans
[email protected]
Send an email to get my newsletter.Terryw | Structuring Lawyers Pty Ltd / Loan Structuring Pty Ltd
http://www.Structuring.com.au
Email MeLawyer, Mortgage Broker and Tax Advisor (Sydney based but advising Aust wide) http://www.Structuring.com.au
You must be logged in to reply to this topic. If you don't have an account, you can register here.
