If you have evidence to believe the tenant is involved in criminal activity, then you should contact the police and/or local authority depending on the severity of the situation.
Depending on the outcome of the police/local authority’s involvement, you may determine that the activity constitutes “anti-social behaviour”, in which case you should follow the steps set out in this article, which will involve in the first instance communicating with the tenant.
What can I do if my tenant has been sent to prison?
If the tenant is in prison, then the tenancy will not end automatically. If you would like to end the tenancy, you can do so by mutual surrender or through the eviction process as set out in this article.
Although this may be classed as an implied surrender, depending on the exact circumstances, you should not go in and change the locks as this is not clearcut and you would risk breaching the Protection from Eviction Act 1977.
If you know where the tenant is, you can try to contact them and get them to agree to a mutual surrender. They may agree to this so as to avoid being responsible for the rent going forward.
If a mutual surrender is not possible, then you can rely on either a section 21 or section 8 notice to end the tenancy.
The S21 notice cannot be used to end the tenancy within the fixed term unless there is a break clause, however, if possible, it is often the easier route as it does not require additional evidence (unlike the S8).
In order to serve a S8 notice, you must rely on a particular ground. There is not a specific S8 ground for tenants that are in prison, however, other grounds will likely be available, such as ground 14 if the offence was committed in the premises or the locality, or ground 8 or 11 for rent arrears. If you are to rely on the S8 route, then we suggest you seek independent legal advice.
Information on this site is by way of general guidance only and may not apply in your particular circumstances. You should not act or refrain from acting upon information on this site without seeking independent legal advice.