sitting tenant

[gillbail]

I rented my house to a friend of a friend. As work was slack he could not afford to enter into a contract. I allowed him to give me a small deposit and then pay on a month to month basis. He paid me 2 months and then had to use the deposit as part of the third month but was due me the rest. He has paid no more. He is now due 2 months rent and says he is a sitting tenant and I cannot put him out. What can I do to get my house back. I asked a lawyer who simply said take action. Can I have the utillities cut off as he has not paid me. I do not want to get on the wrong side of the law.

[Nigel Howarth]

Hi gillbail,

You will need to get an eviction order from the court to get rid of your (former) friend. I do not know how this would work out - as there is no contract between you and the tenant and he could well argue that you allowed him to use the property rent free. It would then be a matter of your word against his.

The courts are in a mess and it could take 2 or 3 years for any case you brought to be heard.

I'm not suggesting you do this as it may be illegal, but you could wait until he's out of the property and then change the locks. Once he realises that he can't get back into the property, he may be more amenable to paying you what he owes.

Regards,