I am recently having trouble with a tenant who has been occupying my property privately for over a year. Upon moving in we agreed she would pay large amounts of rent in advance out of her student finance money. She paid over 2000£, three months in advance with bond included. Things were fine until around September when she didn't receive her student loan money and fell into rent arrears.
After two months of exchanging many text messages with my tenant I still hasn't recieved rent and she was asking I wait until she is paid her student finance and showed me proof of the delay in payment.
After a lack of contact I organised a house viewing with the tenant over text message. I should mention my property is also currently for sale. She agreed the time and date. I used this time to enter the property and lock my tenant out and said she could collect her stuff and leave the next day if she doesn't pay what's owed, her belongings will be put in the garage.
I understand this was wrong and after contact with my solicitor and hers I allowed her back into the property and her tenancy resumed. After seeing my solicitor I also found out the tenancy agreement we had in place was way out of date and invalid.
In January of this year after the eviction we agreed to start a fresh with a new tenancy agreement and I asked she not take legal proceedings against me due to the unlawful eviction. We took out the new tenancy agreement in January and things went back to normal for a while and I recieved payments until March and payments have now stopped again due to another apparent student finance mix up.
I would like I evict her and after all the months of back and forth texting my tenant is tired and also wants to leave. However she claims she can still use the illegal eviction against me in court I I try to legally get the rent I am owed.
Should I take this to court? Can the illegal eviction be brought up?
After two months of exchanging many text messages with my tenant I still hasn't recieved rent and she was asking I wait until she is paid her student finance and showed me proof of the delay in payment.
After a lack of contact I organised a house viewing with the tenant over text message. I should mention my property is also currently for sale. She agreed the time and date. I used this time to enter the property and lock my tenant out and said she could collect her stuff and leave the next day if she doesn't pay what's owed, her belongings will be put in the garage.
I understand this was wrong and after contact with my solicitor and hers I allowed her back into the property and her tenancy resumed. After seeing my solicitor I also found out the tenancy agreement we had in place was way out of date and invalid.
In January of this year after the eviction we agreed to start a fresh with a new tenancy agreement and I asked she not take legal proceedings against me due to the unlawful eviction. We took out the new tenancy agreement in January and things went back to normal for a while and I recieved payments until March and payments have now stopped again due to another apparent student finance mix up.
I would like I evict her and after all the months of back and forth texting my tenant is tired and also wants to leave. However she claims she can still use the illegal eviction against me in court I I try to legally get the rent I am owed.
Should I take this to court? Can the illegal eviction be brought up?