Check if your Tenant is Bankrupt or subject to Debt Relief Order.

If your Tenant is in the process of or is bankrupt or subject to a Debt Relief Order the proceed as follows 

The Landlords Options are

  • The Landlord is an unsecured creditors and unlikely to receive any monies (or minor part of)
  • The Landlord should contact the appointed administrator of the Tenants affairs
  • Check Tenant is Insolvent  PIMS CREDIT CHECK
  • If your Tenant failed to disclose this information you could seek possession using a Section 8 Notice citing ground 17 "you were induced to grant a Tenancy by False Misssleading information"

Possession Claims

  • Section 8 Proceedings Whilst in theory the debt is "Written off" a Judge can still take the breach into consideration and grant a possession, but NOT a money order.
  • A major problem is even the section 8 notice may fail if the tenant claims breathing space - the eviction is automatically suspended
CASE LASE In Sharples v. Places for People Homes Limited (bankruptcy) and Godfrey v. A2 Dominion Homes Limited (debt relief order) the Court of Appeal gave consideration as to whether a Landlord may bring Possession proceedings relying on arrears as a ground for possession not withstanding that the Tenant was subject to some form of insolvency procedure. The Court determined that Landlords could bring proceedings relying on the rent arrears. Provided in the usual way the ground could be made out, the insolvency of itself would not prevent the court making an Order for Possession in these circumstances.
 
What the Court did say is that the Court could not make a monetary Judgment and nor could it suspend any Order on terms requiring the arrears to be paid.