Question

Ending a Tenancy (England) | England | Tenant Moves Out (England)

End of Tenancy

18 Sep 2020 | 1 comment

Hi! My tenant stopped paying their rent back in February 2020, I filed a claim via PCOL at the end of March 2020 and my initial hearing was set for May 2020 but then postponed due to the Covid. The tenant moved out from the property at the ned of March 2020 (I was informed about this by the neighbours) and she has never returned to the property and she has not informed me about the fact that she moved out, until now she is not responding to my emails / phone calls / texts. Her tenancy agreement ended on 09 August 2020. My question is if am I allowed now to enter my property now as the tenancy agreement ended or I still have to attend the hearing to get the court judgement for repossession of my property? Please kindly advise, thank you and I look forward to your reply, Kind regards! Monika Milcarz-Clark

Answer

1 Comment

  1. guildy

    Without keys or some formal confirmation they’ve gone, it’s very difficult and as a general rule, a court order is required.

    The question is not if they’re sleeping there but whether they intend to return within a reasonable period.

    It must be said, given the length of time that has now passed (even including lockdown period), you must be getting somewhere close to “reasonable period” but, there’s no specific answer as it depends on a case by case basis (in one case, 10 years was held a reasonable period but that was exceptional and very individually specific).

    Without a court order, it’s a gamble to take and whether or not the tenant would turn up wanting to remain at the property.

    Please see here for more information about abandonment.

    It’s for the tenant to show they intended to return within a reasonable period.

    If you decide to go the court route, the case would need “reactivating” for which please see here although there is now further guidance which we’re just writing up now and hope to get published later today.

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