Tenants Left without notice

BopperSnr

Our tenants rent supplement was due yesterday and never arrived.
Went down to the house but the tenants have moved out. Looked in the windows and everything is gone. They are not answering their mobiles so I have no way of contacting them. I have no keys to the house.

I am registered with the PRTB but it's closed for the weekend now.
I contacted the social welfare department who pays rent supplement. They said that the tenant has not been in touch about moving to a new address but the payments are on hold as they are under review and the tenant has not been in touch with them.

Any ideas as to next steps?

I would think I need to get a locksmith in and change the locks and then get it back up for rent asap?

Since they owe 1 months backrent, how do I track them down for payment. Do I report the issue to the police?

edellc

I'd be asking why did they leave your property without informing you most tenants only end up doing this due to severe circumstances for example
Landlord not fixing/repairing items in the home which fall under the obligation of the Landlord
or
Tenant feels Landlord will not give whole deposit back due to "repairs" which are actually part of general wear and tear

I'm not saying you are any of the above but there has to be a reason why they left like they did

as for tracking them down thats really not going to happen you know that social welfare cannot supply you with information on them as its against the data protection act and neither can PRTB or threshold so realistically let it go

and i may be holding a reg flag to a bull here but as for owing the last months rent think your tenant may think your even as you still have the deposit or do you? have you spent it? or done what your suppose to do and hold it in an account to return to the tenant on their departure

believe me im not siding with the tenant I dont agree with what they have done as it make it so unfair then for others needing RA to find a place to live

seamus

BopperSnr wrote: »

Any ideas as to next steps?

Get a locksmith to get you into the house, then change the locks yourself. Having a smith change all of the locks would be expensive and doing it yourself is easy.

Check fully for damage or missing stuff and catalogue it and get it fixed.

Tenants leaving in a hurry are not going to worry about taking things that aren't theirs.

Since they've disappeared off the dept. of social welfare's radar my suspicion is that they've up and left the country and probably left a heap of unpaid bills in their wake.

You might be able to contact the ESB and query if there are any outstanding charges on that meter, that'll confirm if they left in a hurry.

Since they owe 1 months backrent, how do I track them down for payment. Do I report the issue to the police?

You can't report it to the Gardai, as it's a civil matter.

You can bring a case against them and have a judgement ruled in your favour, but in the absence of their whereabouts or whatever, you'll end up paying money in legal fees and never getting any money.

Your only way of tracking them down IMO would be your own detective work, scouring social networking sites and so forth to try and track them down.

Contact the PRTB on Monday to see what your options are. Though I suspect you might just have to take the hit and get new tenants. The effort to track them down will be much more than a month's rent.

OMD

Is the situation at present that they are 1 day late with their rent as per the terms of their contract? If so, you cannot go in and change the locks. They may not have left at all. They have a contract and you have to honour the terms of that contract even if you believe they have not.

BopperSnr

Afraid there is no deposit left since they went in rent arrears 2 years ago before they went on RA and never paid the deposit back (2 months without paying the rent when they were on hard times). As for the condition of the house and us not repairing any issues. This is not the case. In fact I was only down 3 months ago fixing the heating. House is in great nick. and looking through the windows, looks like they even cleaned the house before going. There is nothing left, all there furniture and belongings gone. Fixtures and fittings all still there as the day they arrived.

I have no idea why the up and left without notice, as they ring our mobiles whenever there was an issue. We have been very courtious all the way through and have put up with alot of late payments and issues over the course of the lease.

BopperSnr

Sorted it out.I called round again this evening and he was there filling up the last of what was in the shed. He explained they got set up with a new house under the RAS scheme. So he handed over the keys and we left it at that. Although I am still a months rent down. At least I got closure.

Thanks for all the advice.

Cathmandooo

At lease the place is in good nick too, they could have left it in a state. The months rent is a downer but it could have been a lot worse. And I assume you got the keys back. Hope you have better luck with tenants next time.

The_Conductor

edellc wrote: »

I'd be asking why did they leave your property without informing you most tenants only end up doing this due to severe circumstances for example
Landlord not fixing/repairing items in the home which fall under the obligation of the Landlord
or
Tenant feels Landlord will not give whole deposit back due to "repairs" which are actually part of general wear and tear

I'm not saying you are any of the above but there has to be a reason why they left like they did

Edel- first off- there is a big difference between the RA and the RS schemes- you keep referring to RA- when the OP in their opening post specified that the tenant was availing of RS.

There are a myriad of reasons why a tenant might leave a property mid-lease, and not inform the landlord of their intention to do so- not least because they don't want the hassle of finding new tenants to ascribe the lease to (unless it has a break clause). It is far from unusual- and might I add slightly devious to suggest that its anything to do with the deposit, the landlord not repairing things or indeed the tenant being in financial difficulty. The usual reason given at the PRTB- is they didn't want the hassle of finding new tenants, the end.

You may not be saying the landlord is an oaf- but you're certainly suggesting its a possibility.

edellc wrote: »

as for tracking them down thats really not going to happen you know that social welfare cannot supply you with information on them as its against the data protection act and neither can PRTB or threshold so realistically let it go

Not true. DSP can provide contact details to the PRTB, should the landlord elect to pursue them for breach of contract and/or any other bills damages etc that may be due. DSP cannot supply the tenants contact information to the landlord- they can and do share information with other agencies on a daily basis.

Not sure what your reference to Threshold is in relation to- they have no bearing on any case the landlord might choose to take against the tenant, that rests solely with the PRTB (and the district courts, as appropriate). Keep in mind- this is a breach of contract- like any other- nothing more, nothing less. As its RS (that was under review before the landlord ever got involved)- its a valid presumption that the tenant has private means, and is not reliant on social welfare.

edellc wrote: »

and i may be holding a reg flag to a bull here but as for owing the last months rent think your tenant may think your even as you still have the deposit or do you? have you spent it? or done what your suppose to do and hold it in an account to return to the tenant on their departure

Owing the last months rent is irrelevant. If there is a lease- the tenant could legally owe up to 24 months rent. Its not a Part 4 tenancy with a RA tenant- far from it. The lease was not re-assigned to a new tenant. The lease is therefore still in force- and can be legally enforced up to the termination date on the lease.

Regardless of whether the tenant has split or not- legally the landlord has to serve them with notice of eviction for non-payment of rent- giving them at least 14 days notice, and this notice has to be delivered by DSP to the tenant (whereever they may be), if they are in receipt of DSP benefits.

Regarding the deposit- please show me legislation stating it has to be held in an account and returned to the tenant on their departure? The deposit is to cover any damage over and above normal wear and tear, or unpaid bills, that may be accruing on the elapse of a tenancy.

The deposit is not due to be returned to the tenant, until the lease has been properly terminated, and less any bills or damage (which would include changing the locks in a case like this). If the deposit is insufficient, or the lease inappropriately vacated, the tenant is liable for the balance- depending on how good the landlord is at serving the notice, and the DSP at delivering it- there could well be a few months rent due here.

edellc wrote: »

believe me im not siding with the tenant I dont agree with what they have done as it make it so unfair then for others needing RA to find a place to live

Once again- rent allowance and rent supplement are two entirely different schemes. In this case the tenant is in fulltime employment and was in receipt of rent supplement. The rent-supplement was under review- as its a means tested payment- and the tenant was found by the deciding officer to have net income significantly above the cut-off for receipt of the RS payment. This was communicated to the tenant- along with a demand that the overpayment be returned. In this instance- its every bit as possible that the tenant is running from their debts to the DSP, as it is any debts they may owe the landlord.............

S.