Flatmate / Refusing To Pay Rent / No Contract

[chiggz]

Hi GD,

Got a bit of an issue with one of my flatmates at the moment. Hopefully you guys can offer some advice.

- Tenants A, B & C take up a new tenancy from Aug 2012 to Aug 2013
- In Jan, Tenant C decides to leave. He finds a replacement, D, which A & B are happy with
- New contract is drawn up and given back to agents
- At end of May, we've given our two-month notice in to leave the property in Aug 2013.
- Tenant D now states he is unhappy with the place (security, noise, neighbours, etc) and wishes to leave asap. He plans to leave at the end of June
- Tenant D has decided he does not want to pay any more rent; he has not paid June's rent and will not be paying July's either
- Tenant A & B have had to fork out tenant D's share of the rent for June to keep the agent / landlord happy.
- We've spoken with the agent & landlord regarding the situation
- Somehow the agents have lost the new contract we submitted when tenant D moved in. They claim they may never have received it. Therefore tenant D is strictly no longer on the contract. Agents still have original contract with A, B & C in their files

Basically, tenant D has become the tenant from hell and is stating he just wants to leave at the end of June and has refused to pay this month's share of the rent. He states we should recover our money from his share of the deposit he put down. Unfortunately this will only cover one of the two months he's not paying for - and also, there's no telling yet how much the agent will want out of the deposit. We all had an agreement that if anybody wishes to leave early, then they should find a replacement to avoid others having to pay anything extra. We've tried reasoning with him, etc but he won't budge.

My next, and perhaps only, move is to take this to Small Claims to get back the rent / expenses he owes for June and July. Unfortunately, as no contract with the agents exist, I'm planning on stating that he had a verbal agreement with us all (the tenants). We have proof that he's be paying his share of the rent thus far (Jan - May), and his name is actually on the deposit scheme. We can prove he's living in the property (I can take pictures of his stuff, letters, etc) and so on.

However, will I stand a chance in Small Claims against tenant D when he is not on a written contract?

Please shout if any further info will help.

Thanks,

 

[chiggz]

Perhaps I should just let it go. Between myself and the other tenant (A & B), we're pretty good friends and can handle the additional expense between us.

But I don't want no **** thinking he's waking away from this scot-free. If I can believe there is something to gain, then yes, I am willing to take this to Small Claims.

 

[chiggz]

Tell him that you have found a friend/short term rental (it's London, there are loads of them) who wants the room and unlike him will pay for half of June and Julys months rent so he has to be out by midnight on Saturday. If he doubts you, actually do it, 10 minutes on Gumtree should suffice to get people looking round to show you mean business.

If he finds this option unpalatable then suggest he pay June's rent asap if he wants to continue living there.

If he raises any issues about him having a contract to live there, remind him that he is also supposed to pay rent.

I don't think that would quite work. Think he's done his research and believes he can stay until end of June.

Ref: https://www.gov.uk/rent-room-in-your-home/ending-a-letting

 

[chiggz]

Its unfortunate that you guys didn't have a copy of the contract too rather the agent's have lost the last one...

I don't think there is much you can do (legally) - he's one of those tards who still doesn't appreciate how things work in the real world... do you have another address for him where you could try the small claims court approach?

Short of the obvious keyboard warrior approach the pair of you could make him feel very uncomfortable in that flat...

edit perhaps as suggested bluff him... state you want him out this weekend as he's not paid for this month and you guys have a friend who potentially wants the room. (obv I don't think you can kick him out at short notice like that but it might result in him leaving, or paying up... or he could just be stubborn)

Also look at getting someone else in for the remaining month then you don't lose much money (other than from possible deductions from the deposit) and have essentially just given the guy an interest free loan (till u get his share of the deposit) and taken on the risk of having to fill the room for a month...

I think tenant D has been careful with all of this. I suspect he's taken the copy we had (it was accessible by all).

Sad times!

Edit: yep, we are considering getting a flatmate for the final month. But this is in itself a little risky I guess - stranger around my possessions for a few weeks, etc.

 

[chiggz]

If it's a joint tenancy then you are all equally liable.. in reality that means that they (agent/landlord) will get the outstanding debt from who ever is easier.

Yep, this is why the remaining tenants are continuing to ensure the rent is paid.

 

[chiggz]

if no contract exists then all stop paying rent and go to Vegas...

I doubt very much any other tenants will be liable for rent but obv. the utilities. Uni students ?

get over it and move on. didn't they pay a deposit that will be forfeited ?

We believe the original contract still remains, that being that A, B and C are on the contract.

 

[chiggz]

What sort of TA do you have?

What is TA?

 

[chiggz]

What sort of TA do you have?

Oh yeah, I should have guessed.

The agreement states we are all jointly liable for the rent, flat, etc. Therefore if one doesn't pay rent, the others are responsible.

So, as the new contract when tenant D joined is missing - it appears that the original contract still plays here. I know this isn't right, the agents are ***** themselves for losing this. But not much we can do about that now.

 

[chiggz]

Beat the living daylights out of the arrogant *****.

I would love to, so love to!

I have three options:
1) Right this all off and just move on
2) Small Claims
3) Beat the **** out of him

Unfortunately 3) will probably do me more worse than good (I'd feel good though!).

 

[chiggz]

Seeing as no one has mentioned it- a contract can be made orally. Also a short lease can be too.

You might struggle with small claims if you can't reasonably prove an agreement, his defence could simply be that you allowed him to crash there for a while.. I doubt it would be worth the hastle for the amount of money in question.

This is what I'm looking for more info on.

Tenant D had made a verbal contract with us that he'd pay his share each month, and find a replacement should he wish to leave early. We have proof that he's been paying his share for the last five months; and that he has not paid for the others.

How much weight does this hold in court, though?

Edit: Yep, I suppose he could argue his verbal contract only specified 'til end of June (or so on). But then, even so - he has not paid his share for June.

Edit2: Even if there is reason for this to be in our favour at all, I'm willing to give it a shot. Like I said earlier, I don't want no fool thinking he can rob us (that's how I feel at the mo).

 

[chiggz]

Thanks for the info so far guys! Has been really helpful.

We are all jointly liable for the rent. They all pay into a single account I own, from which I transfer to the agents.

Giving him one week notice to move out is sounding good. Might consider it...

 

[chiggz]

Guys... to confirm, the agents knew about tenant D coming in and had prepared a new contract with us. We all signed it and thought we had returned it. I have an email copy of the new (unsigned) contract.

Lesson learnt; get written proof of receipts next time.

Hope this helps.

And thanks for the feedback so far. I'm leaning towards Small Claims at the mo.

 

[chiggz]

Also, a few comments about a second copy of the contract - yep, I thought we had one too. Maybe I was dreaming or tenant D has indeed kept it for himself.

 

[chiggz]

^^ Thanks, awesome response! And yeah, although I'd love to, there's no real sense in attempting to throw his stuff out or anything like that.

I'm putting all these sensible responses together and hopefully soon will have a definite plan in place.

 

[chiggz]

^^ To confirm, he last paid for May's rent. So he's staying here during June but has not paying June's rent.

Yes, some of it will come back from his share of the deposit. However, there still is a fair bit of loss here.

Anyway, the main reason for this thread is not for the monies, but to win the moral battle (is that the right phrase?).