Rent Arrears
Landlords – not every instruction we get ends successfully.
Approximately one in seven enquiries these days come from landlords. The picture is almost always the same. The luckless landlord has given the tenant every consideration, waited for the promised rent, allowed substantial arrears to build up and then come direct to us or first got judgment and then come to us. It's all the same.
We have been in business for 50 years now and only in the last years has this problem assumed such proportions. We earn our fees by collecting from debtors. Sadly we tell landlords that they are wasting their time. We are unlikely to be able to help. It could have been different if the tenant had had a guarantor, but if a tenant cannot afford the roof over his head, then what can he afford?. The landlord’s best bet, we tell them, is to get vacant possession and re-let.
But what about when they come with a judgment? It is a court order to the debtor to pay. Enforcement is problematical and costs £100 or so. The general picture is that the tenant never had much worth and anyhow the landlord does not know where he went to. A sad picture. We use a tracing agency, if asked, but to what purpose? Often before the landlord can find where the tenant had moved to, the tenant has moved yet again – to cheat the next landlord. I’m sorry, but the picture is bleak.
Commercial rents are a happier story! Different techniques! 80% success rate. See Further
Leslie Wise has regularly written articles for the Solicitors' Journal, Solicitors' Gazette and Accountancy. His wide practical experience informs Debt Collecting London’s total approach to your debts and helps ensure a quick result.
L.M.Wise FCA
Barrister-at-Law