Rent arrears totalling £8k cleared for mature student
CHAC Case study
Alan’s story
Alan was a mature student, living in a self-contained flat, who fell into rent arrears and was served with a section 21 notice. Alan had previously supplemented his student loan with income from two part-time jobs but he lost both jobs during the Covid-19 pandemic.
How CHAC helped
We established that, although a deposit had been paid when the tenancy was granted, the information required at law to be given in relation to the deposit had not been given to either Alan or the person who paid the deposit. Neither had this information been given when the original term granted by the tenancy expired (and a statutory periodic tenancy came into force), or at any time before the section 21 notice was received.
This meant the section 21 notice was invalid and consequently the landlords claim for possession would fail. Further, it meant that the landlord was liable to pay a penalty of between one and three times the amount of the deposit on account of the failure to provide the information regarding the deposit at the time the tenancy was granted and also at the time a statutory periodic tenancy came into force.
The outcome
The landlord was facing the prospect of having to serve a new section 21 notice which would be of six months duration. Consequently, the landlord made a proposal to write off the rent arrears of over £8,000 and offered Alan an incentive payment of £1,000 in return for his agreement to vacate the property in 14 days. Alan was able to find alternative accommodation and accepted the proposal.