Eviction of tenant, UK law?

Question

I have a tenant whio has missed payments for the past 2 years although they do 'catch up' eventually. I presume I have to give them 2 months notice to leave. If they ignore this, what is the next step?

This property is in England.

Answer 1

Assuming the original contract has expired, your tenant will be on a statutory periodic tenancy. You have to give them at least 2 months notice (by serving a section 21 notice) to expire the day before a rent due date (i.e. if the rent is due on 7th September and you serve notice on the 14th September, the notice will expire 6th December).

If the tenant does not leave by this date, you can apply to the court for a possession order, assuming you have served the notice correctly, as above, the court will order possession within 14 days of the court hearing. The tenant does not need to be present. If they still do not leave, you can then enforce the court order by calling in the bailiffs through the court.

If at any time there is 2 months or more rent owing (i.e. if they don't pay rent due 7th September, they will instantly owe 2 months on the 7th October if there is no payment) you can serve a section 8 notice (this should be done through a solicitor as it has to follow a prescribed form). This will give them 7 days to leave and/or pay the rent, as soon as this notice expires, you can apply to the courts (just means you can speed up the process a bit). If on the date of the court hearing, they still owe at least 2 months rent, the court have to make a possession order. If at the hearing they have caught up a little, the court has descretion but usually sides with the landlord as consistant late payment is also a ground for eviction.

If you are going the section 8 route, you should serve a section 21 as well (this is perfectly allowed) as by the time of the hearing, there is a good chance the the 2 months notice will have expired anyway and again the court will have no descretion but must order possession.

Hope that's not too complicated. Good luck!

Answer 2

I totally agree with your first answer - get to the CAB or even a solicitor (some do have a limited time free consultation) as soon as you can. Sods Law this is a Bank Holiday weekend! I so understand how sick to the stomach you must be over all this. I think there are rights when it comes to being a sitting tenant but for sure, this guy has really stuffed you. The lesson here is ALWAYS get it in writing. Friends or not. This is a classic example of why. Add - Good advice - contact the Mortgage company as soon as you can after this Holiday. First thing Tuesday. They are probably not aware that you are tenants in there.

Answer 3

Sorry to hear that. You need to contact a solicitor. Your tenants are referred to as 'squatters' colliqually and even if they didn't make the payments and had simply walked in and began living there while you were on holiday there are laws that you cannot throw them out on to the street, regardless of the nature of the tenancy agreement agreed before they moved in, so giving them a two month notice really doesn't do you much good considering this has been the routine for 2 years.

It happened to my teacher a few years back (and that was her only home!) and when they were finally moved out through the correct legal channels (not soon enough) they had done 6,000 pounds worth of damage to the flat (London Flat), laws across Eurpose and the United Kingdom Differ), but there is a similar attitude towards squatters. They just can't be 'physically' thrown out/ its a long winded legal process that can take weeks and weeks depending on the resiliance of your tenants. Its all well getting various legal documents but they can't really do much than 'ask them to leave'. You will get them out eventually, the sooner you start the better.

You best consult a solicitor right away to save yourself any further unecessary expenses. You can see solicitors who specialize in tenancy the same way you can find solicitors who specialize in immigration laws etc...You can usually have a fixed fee interview (the fee depends but it is nothing above standard and not really extortionate averaging at about 90 pounds or so)/ They will talk to you, review your situation/ tell you what they can at the time and actively look into it after and confer with their superiors and get back to you on a personal number. They really are quite efficient at what they do, just find some good ones.

You'd think something like law was subject to rigid rules and definitive consequences for standardized violations but its just as arbitrary as anything. You'd be amazed how well a good solicitor can speed things on and find loop holes in the system.

Unless your tenants happily pack their backs and move out, this one is out of your hands. Tenants like these ones usually tend to make a habit of this kind of behaviour and will most likely ignore your 'eviction notice'. You will have to weight the benefits of having them evicted. I understand you are not running a charity home or shelter and so you are annoyed that the tenants aren't paying their rent on time. It is better than them not paying it at all, but this is no excuse. You will just need to weigh the legal fees against what you are losing by letting them remain in this cycle. Another very important thing to consider which decides the urgency of your problem is perhaps first and foremost: 'Are They Damaging They Property?'. Are you going to feel the pinch of their presence long after they've gone paying extensively for repairs (As a land lord you are undoubtedly well aware of the price of repairs).

Good Luck.

Answer 4

If their original contract has run out and the tenancy is continuing on a month by month basis, then you only need to give two months notice.

If they ignore it, you can then apply to the courts for an eviction order. It will take about 6 weeks to come to court and the courts will usually give them 2 weeks notice. If they are not out by that date then you can apply to the courts for a bailiffs order which will take another few weeks.

It's a long, drawn out process and will cost you a lot of money in legal fees that you may not recover. I would imagine that a solicitor will advise you that if your tenants are not being a huge problem, it might be in your best interests to leave things be.

Answer 5

The next step is a solicitor as this is a legal situation. The tenant cannot be kicked out (With notice) Not unless he has been informed of your decision to terminate the tenancy and a chance to defend himself/herself. Tenants have so many rights now it makes it really hard for landlords. I don't know if it has occured to you but the council might give you some help! You see it could be they know the person? Would offer to give him/her a place to move to? If so it would make it easier for you.

Answer 6

Go to a Citizen's Advice Bureau for free advice; alternatively, find a solicitor who deals with tenancy law specifically and have a fixed fee interview. Take someone with you, have your questions ready and note what the solicitor tells you. The Court of Appeal is full every day with cases where the legal team on each side is convinced they are right. Solicitors earn a fortune out of other people's misery - whatever you do, don't get talked into having one represent you.

Answer 7

depends what contract you gave them, long term. or short hold.
If you state a term example 5 years you cant do anything, unless your pay compensation.
if not stated, you Will have to approach your solicitor.
Read the contract you gave them, it should have stated your notice of termination.
You have to have good grounds for termination.
Terminating a tenancy agreement under falling behind, and tenant do pay up eventually cannot be used for termination.

Your contract you gave them must state your termination of tenancy, and will be difficult to terminate tenancy without stating your terms.

If not stated your going to have problems, and court procedures, if no rent areas.

even if your selling to terminate tenancy without it stated, you can only sell your property tenanted.

Tenants have the law on there side.

I have rented property in the past.
My tenancy contract was like a book, covered everything, including decorating property - Breach of contract.
Very important is the contract.

Answer 8

assuming that your tenants signed a tenancy agreement, you have the right to give them one months notice before the tenancy agreement ends and make them aware that it wont be renewed. if the tenants still refuse to move out, then you can take them to court to get them evicted.

Answer 9

For a mere £200 I would pay for a "special visit" from a gang of blokes in the early hours of the morning and evict them. They are taking the p**s out of you!

Answer 10

Scotland or England? Different laws