Landlords -v- Tenants

Without a shadow of a doubt, landlords chasing after their tenants is the most common type of debt I’ve come across over the years. It’s like a never-ending saga!

Honestly, these companies that do tenant pre-checks? Pretty lacklustre, if you ask me. I don’t know what kind of software they’re using for credit history checks, but it seems to only look at the tenant’s last address. Any reputable debt collection company should be able to dig deeper and check all previous addresses for CCJs and similar issues. It’s not rocket science!

When a tenant becomes a debtor

When bad tenants fall behind on rent, they either do a runner or just hang around until they get evicted. And then, poof—they vanish, thinking they’ve pulled one over on everyone. The kicker? They often leave behind a trail of destruction.

Tracing a lost tenant

Most debt recovery companies have access to tracing software, so rest assured, those rogue tenants can usually be found eventually. It might take weeks or even months, though, as credit reference agencies tend to lag behind by a month or two.

If you plan to trace your tenant yourself, have a look at my tracing guide

What next?

So, you’ve finally tracked down your debtor—what’s next? Send them a solicitor’s letter? Nah, that’s about £400 down the drain. Write your own letter? That would just eat up your time and don’t forget about the cost of stamps these days! Go knock on their door? Same deal. That’ll just crank up your stress levels and waste your energy. In truth, it can be a real slog for debt collectors too—like getting blood out of a stone sometimes.

My strategy is to find something actionable right off the bat. I consider factors like: Are they working? Do they have a vehicle? Any other CCJs? What’s the neighborhood like? All these bits of info can be gold.

Is chasing a tenant turned debtor worth it?

Honestly, you often have to show up early or late and leverage whatever intel you’ve gathered to try to strike a deal with them. Most of the time, all you can hope for is a payment plan, and let me tell you—it takes constant checking to keep that going.

It’s not impossible, but it’s definitely no walk in the park. The best advice I can give? Try to steer clear of bad tenants in the first place. Use a solid asset-checking company to check for CCJs, and don’t waste your time with those shoddy tenant screening services. Trust me on this one!

By all means, get in touch and send me the debtor’s name and the address that they stayed at, and I will give you my opinion and try and point you in the right direction.