What landlords should not do when a tenant stops paying rent
Brennans solicitors
Lawyers - Property, commercial, disputes, Wills and estates
Brennans solicitors
Lawyers - Property, commercial, disputes, Wills and estates
Brennans solicitors Lawyers - Property, commercial, disputes, Wills and estates
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Paul Brennan is the principal of Brennans Solicitors, a law firm located on the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia, where he practices with his wife, Diane in the areas of business law, litigation, property and wills/estates.
Over the years, by working in various countries, he noticed how similar the law can be. He set out to explain the law in a simple and often humorous way.
He has written several books about law and lawyers.
Further details of his profile can be found on Linkedin.
Courts usually apply the same judicial consideration to a dispute of $1 or $50M, whereas for commercial landlords, rent arrears of $1 are bearable, but anything over $50 can be stroke inducing.
Often landlords adopt the immediate, aggressive and highly satisfying response of kicking out the tenant, changing the locks and using a security guard to bar the door.
There is some fancy legal footwork that the tenant can use to seek relief from forfeiture, but the court will usually not give any such relief if the tenant owes rent and does not repay it before the hearing, which understandably, is not an option for most defaulting tenants.
The landlord’s legal and other costs are claimed from the tenant. Yet, like administering electric shock treatment, landlords often find it hard to stop and the blitzkrieg continues with the issue of court proceedings. At that stage, there is an overwhelming urge on the part of the landlord to stop spending money, impose unreasonable, humiliating terms of settlement and insist on ruinous reparations.
Tenants are usually ready to surrender and enter into a settlement with the landlord. But landlords who want three pounds of flesh rather than the usual one, can spook the tenant into defending the action for fear of losing the family home. This is bad news for the landlord, as a defensive position is often easier than being on the offensive.
Landlords facing an expensive court action against a tenant with no money can ask for summary judgment i.e. if the Landlord has a lay down hand and there is no real defence. This can be difficult to prove especially if the landlord has acted unreasonably. There may even be a counterclaim. After all, courts like to give defendants their day in court. If courts excluded people who could not afford litigation, judges would have nothing to do.
By being overly aggressive, landlords can wrest defeat from the jaws of victory by making it a far more expensive exercise than it needs to be.
Conclusion
Do your own divorce, write your own will but do not be a commercial landlord or tenant without the involvement of your lawyer.
© Paul Brennan 2018. All rights Reserved.
Extract from "The Art of War, Peace & Palaver: The Contentious Guide to Legal Disputes"
