Almost every landlord will suffer a bad tenant at some point and it’s not a pleasant situation to have to deal with. Whether they are always in arrears with their rent payments, causing damage to the property or being a nuisance to neighbours and/or other tenants, unfortunately your priority should be getting your property back and as soon as possible so you can re-let to a decent tenant who abides by the terms of their tenancy agreement.
However, it isn’t a straightforward process. Eviction can be a long and painful process, especially if the tenant fights it and, if the actual problem is temporary money issues but they have been a good tenant to date, it may be much better to give them a chance to improve their financial situation and to make up their arrears in part or in full rather than go down the eviction route.
Currently we are expecting tenant rent arrears to rise partly because average wages have not risen in line with inflation this year and partly because rents are on the increase, due to higher taxation imposed by the government and in some areas a decline in the number of rental properties on the market while demand remains buoyant.
So, if you are ‘sticking with’ a bad tenant at the moment because you’re worried about having a vacant property, the good news is that if you are in an area which has a shrinking supply and no sign of demand wavering, assuming that your property is in good condition, you may not have much trouble re-letting.
