On a daily basis, each person manages his or her affairs in his or her own way. Among the situations that can give rise to conflicts or imbroglios: the renting of a house. Indeed, a delay in payment or even unpaid bills can force the owner to resort to several stratagems in order to obtain his due. Moreover, the story reported by our colleagues of the site Le Figaro Immobilier, is the perfect example!
To claim unpaid rent, landlords can act in different ways. Some of them, not hesitating to use the strong way to underline their annoyance and discontent, as it was the case in Forbach in Moselle.
It all starts with a story of unpaid rent…
It is a situation that may seem trivial or even recurrent, to which we pay little or no attention. It happens in Forbach, in Moselle. Guillaume, the owner of a house at 20 Faubourg Sainte-Croix, decided to rent it out to an association that helps vulnerable people by offering them accommodation solutions. It is thus from December 1st, 2021 that the renting started, Guillaume had agreed beforehand with the association on a free month of rent to begin with, then a monthly rent of 950 euros, thereafter. Except that things didn’t work out as planned. Over the months, Guillaume never received any rent from the association. Exasperated, after eight months, he contacted the state services that subsidize the association to alert them to this situation, which he felt could not continue. Despite this appeal, all the payment orders were contested. As a result, the eviction procedure was constantly postponed. From that moment on, things took a strange turn.
He removes the windows following the non-payment of the rents!
To express his dissatisfaction with such a situation, Guillaume did not hesitate to remove the windows of the house he rents, taking care to place nevertheless, wooden panels in their place as reported by the newspaper, Républicain Lorrain.
For its part, the association, whose headquarters are in Metz, claims that the non-payment of rent was a deliberate and fully assumed act. Indeed, the latter affirms that the owner had committed to undertake works before November 23, 2021, and that an agreement had even been signed in this sense. The work was to include, among other things, the installation of a safety railing in order to accommodate fragile people. It is thus the non-execution of these works, which justifies the non-payment of the rents.
The owner, does not understand this approach and these actions, stating in passing, having redone the roof and heating. As for the windows, he removed them in order to replace them but is still waiting for their delivery before being able to install them.
It should be noted that at the time of removing the windows, only one person was present in the house and his window was the only one that had not been removed. Between spite and anger, Guillaume declared: “I did not think that an association in the social field would adopt such an attitude”.
How to deal with unpaid rent ?
For any landlord who is confronted with a tenant who refuses to pay the rent, several recourses can be considered. The first one is to start a dialogue and an exchange, in order to understand the reasons behind the non-payment of the rent and why not find a solution that would suit both parties. The second, as explained on the Servive-public.fr website, is to turn to the person who has stood surety for the tenant or the insurer, if the latter has taken out insurance to cover unpaid rent. Furthermore, if the tenant benefits from housing assistance, the landlord can contact the relevant organizations in order to initiate proceedings for unpaid rent. As a last resort, the owner can send a payment order to the tenant. This document expresses the will to resolve the problem amicably by obliging the tenant to pay his debts. If the tenant still refuses, the landlord could then take the matter to court to request the tenant’s eviction.
This story shows how conflictual the landlord-tenant relationship can become and how it can lead to improbable actions. The best thing for both parties is to respect each other’s commitment when signing the lease contract.
