What you should do if the bailiffs come knocking?
Whether you’re a landlord or a tenant, if a debt is not yours then property expert JAMES DAVIS says there’s no need to panic
You’re a landlord and everything is going smoothly until the day that either your tenants or yourself receive a visit from the bailiffs. You know that you’re not behind on any repayments and your tenants can evidence being up to date with all their financial commitments too. So, what’s happened?
It turns out a previous tenant wasn’t so on top of their finances and they’d accrued debts whilst in situ in your property.
Such a scenario is likely to throw you into something of a tailspin. Your mind will be awash with questions and queries: did I let the council know there was a change of tenant; had I double checked they were up to date with all the utilities when they vacated, and did I temporarily put these all back in to my name during any void period?
Were there, in fact, any charges that were indeed my responsibility that I had overlooked?
Above all else, do the bailiffs now have the power to force their way into my property and cart away my furniture? Worse still, could they take the new tenant’s belongings too?
Take a deep breath and count to 10. The good news is, so long as you aren’t in default on any bills, you won’t be the one in trouble!
Quite simply, landlords are not responsible for tenants’ unpaid council tax and utility bills as long as they follow a number of key steps:
In the case of council tax, ensure you inform the relevant department when there is a change of tenancy. Provide them with the name of the new tenant and, if possible, contact details for the outgoing tenant
Inform water, gas and electricity providers of a change of tenancy and provide meter readings for the end of the previous tenancy and the start of the new tenancy, where applicable.
Make sure you have a clause in your tenancy agreement making it clear the tenant is responsible for council tax and utility bills – it’s obvious but you’d be surprised how often this is overlooked!
Keep a signed copy of the tenancy agreement on file in case of any dispute.
If you follow the steps above, you’ll have little to worry about should a tenant run off without paying for their utility bills, nor should the council pursue you for unpaid tax.
However, it’s worth stressing the word
‘should’ here.
Simply, when a council is attempting to retrieve unpaid council tax and it moves as far as appointing bailiffs, it’s likely that those bailiffs will go to the last known address for a tenant to attempt to recover the debt. What that means for you and your new tenants, therefore, is that even if you do all the right things, there’s no guarantee you won’t get a bunch of heavies knocking on the door! Don’t let their less-than-friendly demeanour put you off, however.
Bailiffs must ensure that the person named on the enforcement notice is still living in the property before removing any belongings; and they must not barge their way in or smash down doors, unless they are chasing an unpaid magistrate’s court fine or they have been given a court order allowing them to use ‘reasonable force’ to enter the property to collect debts owed to HMRC.
However, even then, they can’t push anyone out of the way and simply stride in, so you and your new tenants can feel duly justified for demanding a certain level of manners when they come knocking!
So, if you get a call from a tenant saying there are bailiffs on the doorstep chasing money owed by a previous resident, the best advice is to tell the tenant not to let them in but to ask for a copy of the enforcement notice so you can find out who owes what and inform the relevant organisation that the debtor has moved on.
Even if you do all the right things, there’s no guarantee you won’t get a bunch of heavies knocking on the door...