Question:

Will I be Homeless after going Bankrupt?

I'm a rent paying tenant in a one bedroom flat in a small building and will be petitioning for my own bankruptcy soon. My tenancy agreement clearly states that if I become bankrupt or enter into a voluntary arrangement with my creditors, the landlord shall be entitled to terminate and forfeit the tenancy. I've heard somewhere on this site that landlords sometimes turn a blind eye to a tenant going bankrupt as long as they continue to pay their rent on time (which I do and always have done), but I wouldn't want to second guess them on this. I also don't want to try and phone them annonymously to find out what they'd do because they'd recognise me from my voice (I have a slight accent) and there are only four flats in the building. So it looks like I'm going to have to move or face homelessness. But should I move and then go bankrupt at the new address, or should I go bankrupt at my current address and try and move afterwards? If I move and then go bankrupt at my new address then surely the new landlord will find out about my bankruptcy and I'd be back to square one again. Or am I missing something here? If I go bankrupt at my current address and then try and move, I'd be faced with two other problems. Firstly, I'll struggle to find a bankrupt-friendly landlord. Secondly, and even if I did find a bankrupt-friendly landlord, I won't be able to afford the security deposit, rent in advance or the actual cost of moving. Have I summed up the situation correctly, or are there other ways around all this that I'm unaware of? Help please ...

Answer:

There is no ideal answer here as your current landlord may have this clause in the tenancy agreement, but will not enforce it. And if you move and go bankrupt, a new tenancy agreement may have the same clause, or now that you are bankrupt the management firm or landlord may not let to you.

You may want to discuss this with your landlord, if they state you would have to move if you go bankrupt, then look at other accommodations and see what is available and if bankruptcy would effect living there.

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