Landlords – do you know enough about your tenants?
by David Carter on 25 January 2012
If you do find that you need to take action against a tenant, be it for commercial or residential property, the more you know about them, the more likely the action is to be successful.
When acting under Common Law (distress for rent) or enforcing a writ of fi fa for rent arrears, giving as much information as you can to the enforcement officer will help them succeed. For example, having a photograph or description of the tenant means the officer cannot be misled by the debtor claiming to be someone else.
This is the checklist The Sheriffs Office gives to clients when instructed:
The tenant
- Whether the address for enforcement is residential or commercial
- If the property is a flat, whether it has an entry phone system
- A photograph or description of the defendant
- Contact details, especially landline and mobile numbers
- Whether the debtor is known by any other name, for example their maiden name or a stage name
- Any habitual behavioural patterns, such as walking the dog at a set time, taking and collecting children from school
- If the enforcement address is the tenant’s parents’ address
- Online details, such as a company website, social media profile, such as LinkedIn or Facebook
- Vehicle details and registration numbers for any vehicles the debtor owns, whether they are an individual or a company
Company tenants
For companies, we also need to know:
- Whether the company has recently changed its status, for example become incorporated or a limited liability partnership
- Opening/operating hours
Specific to the case
There may be other details about the case that the officer will need to know, especially:
- Copies of all paperwork of any previous orders relating to the case, for example a stay of execution
- Details of any contact from the tenant regarding any insolvency proceedings
© Sheriffs High Court Enforcement Ltd. Please contact us to request permission to reproduce this article.
Disclaimer: The statements and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Sheriffs High Court Enforcement Ltd, trading as The Sheriffs Office. Sheriffs High Court Enforcement Ltd does not take any responsibility for the views of the author. The author will not be held responsible for any comments posted by visitors to this site. Please note that this article does not constitute legal advice. The author has used his best endeavours to make this article as accurate and complete as possible, but requests that the reader be aware that the law of England and Wales frequently changes. The author strongly advises the reader to take legal advice before embarking on any enforcement action.
