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Landlord Services
How can I evict my Tenant?
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Some information on this page is from Gov.uk
You firstly need a valid reason why you want to evict your tenant, for example; if they have stopped paying rent. From there you can serve an eviction notice, and if the tenant does not leave the property you can apply to the court for a possession order. If your tenant still refuses to leave you can get bailiffs to evict them.
I want the rent that is owed to me
When applying to the court, you can put in a claim for the rent that is owed to you by your tenant. The judge at the hearing could make an order for possession of the property and a money order, which orders the tenant to pay any rent outstanding. But be aware, you will have to have exact records of what rent was paid, when the rent stopped being paid, and how much rent is left outstanding.
Disputes
We have dealt with many cases where the main concern is a dispute. In most cases, if the dispute can be resolved, this fixes the issue entirely.
We will work with both sides to try to reach an agreement to end any disputes.
However, if an agreement is not reached, and the Landlord wants to take further action, we can advise what the next step will be.
We can assist and advise you throughout the process, from start to finish.
Tenant's Property
Before starting any proceedings, no matter what stage you are at, you need to be aware of the rules regarding your tenants property.
Lots of court cases and hearings are thrown out becasue the landlord has sold, or removed a tenant's property without consent or permission. Follow these steps to ensure your tenant can't claim against you for their property;
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do not throw away any of the tenant's property
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do not sell any of the tenant's property
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do not move the tenant's property to another location / outside the property
Once the court proceedings are completed, and the judge has made an order, you can always discuss with the tenant the arrangements for their property. Be that if you will let them in under super-vision to remove their property, or if items can be thrown away.
If you are in the position that your tenant has left items in your property and they have left, you must;
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try to contact the tenant, by post, by email, by phone or personally talk to them - before doing anything with the items
We recommend that you leave your tenants property as is, until you have contacted them regarding this. You can agree with your tenant to move, sell or dispose of items - but ensure that you keep clear correspondence of all contact regarding this. If you are unsure of what to do, give us call on 0115 845 6583 or email us at contact@amlawsolicitors.co.uk
Starting Proceedings
You must follow strict procedures if you want your tenants to leave your property.
You may be guilty of harassing or illegally evicting your tenants if you don’t follow the correct procedures.
The exact procedure will depend on what type of tenancy agreement is in place.
Assured shorthold tenancies
The 2 types of assured shorthold tenancies are:
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‘periodic’ tenancies - these run week by week or month by month with no fixed end date
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fixed-term tenancies - these run for a set amount of time
If you have one of the above agreements with your tenant, you must serve a Section 8 or Section 21 Notice to them.
Excluded tenancies or licences
You don’t have to go to court to evict your tenants if they have an excluded tenancy or licence, for example if they live with you.
You only need to give them ‘reasonable notice’ to quit. Reasonable notice usually means the length of the rental payment period, so if your tenants pay rent weekly you can give them one week’s notice. The notice doesn’t have to be in writing.
You can then change the locks on their rooms, even if they still have belongings in there.
Assured and regulated tenancies
If your tenants started their tenancy before 27 February 1997, they might have an assured or regulated tenancy. You’ll then have to follow different rules to evict them and they’ll have increased protection from eviction.
You can get information from Shelter about assured tenancies and regulated tenancies in England.
If you are unsure of what type of agreement you have between your tenant(s), bring us a copy and we can take a look.
If you do not have a tenancy agreement with your tenant, it can be complicated. We advise that you come and see us to discuss the current situation.
Section 8 and 21 Notices
Section 21 notice of seeking possession
You can use a Section 21 notice to evict your tenants either:
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after a fixed term tenancy ends - if there’s a written contract
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during a tenancy with no fixed end date - known as a ‘periodic’ tenancy
Section 8 notice of seeking possession
To give your tenants notice using a Section 8, you must fill in a ‘Notice seeking possession of a property let on an assured tenancy or an assured agricultural occupancy’. You can give between 2 weeks and 2 months notice depending on which terms they’ve broken.
We can advise you on which notice is best to serve, and which grounds to serve the notice on if a section 8 is required.
If the tenant(s) do not leave the property by the date specified in the notice, you may then have to apply for a court order to remove them from the property.
With any notice, it is important that it is served correctly. This entails how the notice is completed, how it is sent to the tenant and what other documents are sent with the notice. For some notices, several documents must also be sent to the tenant to ensure that the notice is valid. We can assure you that your notice will be valid if your case needs to progress to court.
If a notice is served incorrectly, this can count against you in court, and you may have to go through the process of serving a notice again.
Want to ask us a question? Contact us today - 0115 845 6583 | contact@amlawsolicitors.co.uk
Possession Orders
Standard Possession Orders
There is a 'Possession Claim Online Service' if you want to get your property back because your tenants owe you rent.
This service lets you put your claim through to the court online, and you can also see how the claim is progressing. It service costs £325*.
You won’t be able to use the online service for some kinds of standard possession claim, for example; where there’s been trespass on your property, or your tenants have broken the terms of the lease. If this is the case, we can assist you in completing the standard possession claim form (this form costs £355*).
*please be aware that these costs above are to be paid to the Courts, and these costs do not reflect AM Law Solicitor's fees.
Accelerated Possession Orders
You can apply for an accelerated possession order if your tenants have not left by the date specified in your Section 21 notice and you’re not claiming rent arrears.
This is sometimes quicker than applying for a standard possession order and there’s usually no court hearing. This service costs £355*. This is not online, but a form that is completed and sent to the court.
*please be aware that these costs above are to be paid to the Courts, and these costs do not reflect AM Law Solicitor's fees.
The court will send your tenants a copy of the accelerated possession order application.
Your tenants have 14 days to challenge the application, from the date they receive it.
A judge will decide either to:
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issue a possession order that states your tenants must leave the property (this is normally the case)
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have a court hearing (this usually only happens if the paperwork isn’t in order or your tenants raise an important issue)
Even if there’s a hearing, the court can still decide to issue a possession order.
If your tenant(s) is in an exceptionally difficult situation the judge may give them up to 6 weeks.
Hearings
At the hearing the judge might:
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dismiss the court case - no order will be made and the hearing will end
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adjourn the hearing - it will be moved to a later date (this happens if a judge believes a decision can’t be made on the day)
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make an ‘order’ - a judge’s legal decision on what should happen
The judge will dismiss the case if there’s no reason your tenants should be evicted. This might also happen if:
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you haven’t followed the correct procedure
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you or your representative don’t attend the hearing
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your tenants have paid any rent that was owed
Your tenants can stay in your property if the judge dismisses the case. You must restart the court process from the beginning if you still want to evict them.
We can assist you with all paper work needed for a court hearing, and if you wish, we can also represent you at the hearing.
(Court) Orders
The judge can make different kinds of orders.
Order for possession (or ‘outright possession order’)
This means your tenants must leave your property before the date given in the order.
The date will be either 14 or 28 days after the court hearing.
You can ask the court to evict them with a ‘warrant for possession’ if your tenants don’t leave your property by the date given. If the court gives a warrant, your tenants will be sent an eviction notice with a date by when they must leave your property.
Suspended order for possession
This means your tenants can stay in your property as long as they make the payments, or obey the conditions, set out in the order.
You can ask the court to evict them if they don’t make the payments.
Money order
This means your tenants must pay you a specified amount. The courts could take action if they don’t make the payments, including:
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deducting money from the tenants’ wages or bank accounts
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sending bailiffs to take away things they own
You can go to court again and ask for a possession order if your tenants get into rent arrears after a money order is made.
Possession orders with a money judgment
A judge can add a money judgment to any of the possession orders. This means your tenants owe a specific amount of money, usually made up of:
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their rent arrears
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court fees
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your legal costs
The money judgment will apply if they don’t pay the amount set out in the suspended possession order that’s linked to the judgment.
If they don’t pay, you can ask the court to carry out the instructions in the order and the judgment.
The money judgment won’t apply if your tenants pay their arrears and the amount set out in a suspended possession order.
Evictions and Bailiffs
You can ask the court for a ‘warrant for possession’ if your tenants don’t leave your property by the date given in an order for possession. This service costs £121*. We can assist you in this process and complete all necessary paper work.
When the court issues a warrant, your tenants will be sent an eviction notice giving a date by when they must leave your property.
If your tenants don’t leave your property you’ll need to ask for a warrant of possession to arrange for a bailiff to evict them.
There are many bailiff agencies in the UK, we will carry out our research to find the best agency regarding the location of your property.
*please be aware that these costs above are to be paid to the Courts, and these costs do not reflect AM Law Solicitor's fees.
Get a faster eviction from the High Court
You can speed up the eviction by applying to have the warrant transferred from the county court to the High Court. A high court enforcement officer will carry out the eviction.
You can only do this if you’re claiming more than £600 including court costs.
Delaying the eviction
Your tenant(s) can ask a judge to ‘suspend’ the warrant for possession at a new hearing. The judge could delay the eviction or let your tenants stay in your property if they can make payments again.
Changing payments
If your tenants’ circumstances change, they can ask a judge at a new hearing to change what they pay.
If this does happen, we may need to go through the hearing process again. Dependant on what the judge rules, we may have to go from a new hearing that would cancel out previous proceedings (for example; court orders, evictions or money claims). There is a chance that this could happen in your case, but it not likely to happen.
We deal can deal with the entire process from start to finish. But if you need a notice serving, if you want to be represented at a hearing, or need assistance during any part of the procedure to evict a tenant, we can help. Contact us on 0115 845 6583 or email us at contact@amlawsolicitors.co.uk