LandlordZONE Newsletter - July 2007 - Rent Arrears & Debt Collection

July 2007 Issue 21
===========================================================
Download the LandlordZONE Newsletter

Welcome to the 21st issue of the LandlordZONE Newsletter - we’re building up quite a library of back-issue of this Newsletter, all accessible on-line in our Newsletter Archive and covering some important topics that landlords should know about.

Welcome to the July issue of the LandlordZONE Newsletter.

We won’t be sending out a full Newsletter in August as its holiday time, but we will send out a brief mailing with some information for our subscribers.

With this mailing we have just topped 20,000 subscribers.

Also, due to increasing traffic to LandlordZONE we have this month switched to a larger dedicated server.

This has been a substantial investment on our part and has not been without its technical problems, but we are hopeful that when everything settles down we’ll have a much faster service.

The LandlordZONE Question and Answer Forum now has over 6,000 members and is without doubt the busiest of its kind in the UK there are constantly well over 100 visitors at any one time.

This issue looks at rent arrears and debt collection. As storm clouds appear to be gathering on the horizon: see News Items Page 5, perhaps an opportune time to consider what to do if times get tough and every landlord’s nightmare - no rent.

Tom Entwistle, Editor.

This issue looks at Rent Arrears and Debt Collection, something that’s very close to every landlord’s heart.

Good landlords avoid most problems by being proactive, providing good accommodation and reacting fast when things go wrong.

If you’re a landlord, or in any other business, sooner or later someone will owe you money. Whilst we can sympathise with those in financial difficulties, it’s often futile to prolong the agony; the banks certainly don’t, so why should you?

Yes, you should try to investigate. Maybe your tenant is going through a difficult trading period, or your residential tenant has been made redundant? You may be able to re-schedule rent payments and/or advise on Housing Benefit claims.

But in my experience tenants in debt don’t always communicate well: in fact they often fail to communicate at all, not responding to telephone calls, letters or even knocks on the door.

With commercial tenants we can use the short-sharp shock of bailiffs, or even the forfeiture procedure, but there are situations where it’s preferable not to force the issue.

A wiser course may be to use court action and get your tenant to assign the lease, thus releasing funds to pay the debt: this way you end up with no debt, a viable tenant, no void period and no letting expense!

The rent arrears claims procedure with residential tenants is fraught with difficulties. Sometimes it’s better to go for possession at the end of the 6-month fixed-term, chasing the debt later.

Making a claim through the Small Claims Court can be a very effective way of doing this. The court system grinds along at a snail’s crawl pace but it can achieve the desired result in the end.

Very often, using a solicitor to handle the claim does not make commercial sense: fees are too big a proportion of the settlement - Small Claims Track - up to £5,000. With the Fast Track - up to £15,000 and the Multi-Track - above £15,000 you can still DIY, but a lawyer’s expertise will perhaps be more effective with bigger amounts.

A DIY small claim is not rocket science and handling it yourself gives you a lot of flexibility. The system is designed for and is sympathetic to the lay person. Invest a little time and you can develop debt claims expertise the equal of any solicitor.

After statements and phone calls have failed, send a Final Demand / Letter before Action giving 14 days to pay!

Don’t forget to mention expenses, court fees and interest claimed in accordance with legislation, and that judgments awarded will adversely affect future credit, tenancies or insurance.

==================================================================

This issue is wholly sponsored by Cover4LetProperty one of the leading providers of insurance for the rental property market.

Landlord’s Insurance from Coverlet4LetProperty.co.uk

Landlord’s Insurance from Cover4LetProperty

===========================================================

Download LandlordLOG in Adobe® .pdf format:
http://www.landlordzone.co.uk/BlogNews/LandlordLOGJuly07.pdf

The links to the journal are also posted at:
http://www.landlordzone.co.uk/BlogNews/newsletter-archive.htm and at
http://www.landlordlog.com/

===========================================================

Why not forward this e-mail to a friend and if you think they will benefit from this service register at:

http://www.landlordzone.co.uk/site-zone/register.htm

You are receiving this e-mail because you have subscribed to the LandlordZONE website, you have had dealings with us, or someone else has recommended you to us. If you would prefer not to receive these e-mails in future, click the UNSUBSCRIBE link in your e-mail and we will immediately and permanently remove you from our secure list. Remember, your details are totally secure and we do not pass them on to anyone else that’s a promise.

===========================================================

It’s increasingly difficult to ensure that you receive your Subscribed Newsletter due to personal and server based spam filters. When a new issue is ready links will be posted at http://www.landlordlog.com/ and in the newsletter archive on LandlordZONE (see link above) but another way is to Subscribe to our RSS Newsfeed.

Simply copy and paste the following link to your Newsfeed Reader:
http://www.landlordzone.co.uk/blog/?feed=rss2&cat=7