Now you might be in the minority of very fortunate landlords who have never had to even think about evicting a tenant, but I suspect if you’re here you are having issues. We all know the score on paper they sounded amazing and these perfect tenants were impeccable when we first met but this image soon starts to subside. Before you know it, your house is a mess, the neighbours are complaining, their getting in dodgy sorts to name just a few!
This was meant to be an easy guide and I apologise there is nothing easy about this whole process. I have tried to keep this guide easy and comprehensive, but instead it became wordy and lengthy. But we have searched all over the net for something similar to this and not come across anything; hence we decided to write our own.
If you have been landlords for as long as we have then you would have had your few share of these types of tenants. If you have been lucky they have moved on, once told to amend their ways. But as we all know landlords have very limited powers in this world. Tenants can get away with everything.
Let us tell you about our story (we will try to keep this as vague as possible so people can’t be identified). We have a property that was under the local authority guaranteed rent scheme. The Council undertake the checks and we thought great we will have guaranteed rent. These schemes may look great on paper but in reality the burden of the issues can quickly transcend to the landlord. One of the tenants in our property was misusing the water and causing mammoth damages. The environmental team came out and said that in this situation they can only fine the tenants and their hands were tied. But if it was the landlords fault then they had a whole range of other tools (Hey isn’t it fun being a landlord). With no help from the Local authority we set out on this path by ourselves.
When we went back to the local authority they said we are the landlords and we will have to evict – (IMPORTANT- all letting agents are in the same boat, if a tenant goes rogue then the burden of eviction falls on the landlord)
When we decided to set up our agency we made a positive choice to support all our landlords when they are going through this. We can’t provide legal advice but we can support and guide individuals going through this with the benefit of our personal experience. Check out My Landlord Cares for more information about us.
So let’s get to the fun bits (NOT)! This is a guide to for evicting a tenant on an accelerated possession order in England with a section 21. This is not a definitive guide but more of a template. We were frustrated around the lack of information around this and hope this helps you through your situation or at least preps you about the steps which will come ahead.
Step 1 –
Make sure have copies and evidence of submitting the following forms to your tenants (have a signed checklist)
1. How to rent guide
2. Gas safety Certificate
3. EPC
4. Assured Shorthold Tenancy
5. Tenancy Deposit Scheme Certificate
6. Electrical safety standard certificate
7. Right to Rent
I know this sounds extensive but trust us it is better to have this upfront and submitted to your tenants before the tenancy starts, because you will be asked for these at some point during this process.
Serve a section 21 notice –form 6a . Now in the days before Covid the typical notice period for this form was 2 months this has all changed. Check out this linkto find further information around how much time you need to serve this (it could be up to 6 months!).
PLEASE make sure you have some type of evidence that this has been submitted.
Let this run it’s time and hopefully your tenants may be spooked by this and leave (always optimistic!)
The form you will need is N57 – Claim form for possession of a property located in England please check this link for more information Government website. Download the form and type straight in. Provide a copy of the forms required and label them accordingly.
· Make sure you fill these out correctly as any mistakes could cause you to fail to get possession.
· Make sure you pay the Court fee, your claim will not be issued until you do.
The charge for this process is £355.
You will need to submit 3 copies of the documents so be warned you will have a massive wad of papers to send (courts will resist to this being sent via email)
During Covid there was need to complete a reactivation notice. This was due to the backlogs of cases in the court and they needed to know what had dropped off and if anything had changed.
Once this has been accepted you will get a letter from the court labelled ‘notice of issue’. Your paperwork will be submitted to the tenant (defendant). This is a chance for the tenant to put their case forward (they may have financial issues, you may be a horrid landlord etc)
Dependant on what has been received back from tenants you will most likely get a letter which is a notice of hearing. In this new digital world more than likely this will be a done virtually. You will need to prepare another case bundle (this is so frustrating because most of this will be the old stuff you have sent).
The bundle will need to be submitted to both the court and the defendant. It is wise to seek legal advice when working on this. Usually it needs to be presented in a certain matter.
This is what a typical review bundle looks like
Case Number XXXXX Claimant Vs Defendant
Review hearing date XthMonth Year
Bundle Index
1. Notice seeking possession Page 2-4
2. Notice of Issue Page 5 – 23
3. Claim form (Tenancy agreement Page 24-28, EPC Certificate Page 29-32, Gas Safety Page 33, Checklist Page 34, How to Rent guide (Attached to email labelled MHCLG How to Rent V4)
4. Reactivation Notice (attached to email as Reactivation notice claimant)
5. Witness Statement Pages 35-39
Do label pages.
As part of your witness statement put down your personal situations, and end this with ‘I believe that the facts stated in this (Review Bundle Case number Claimant Vs defendant Judge review date) are true. I understand that proceedings for contempt of court may be tough against anyone who makes, or causes to be made, a false statement in a document verified by a statement of truth without an honest belief in its truth.
If you are invited to a hearing both physically or virtually be mindful of the below:
Preparation for the Hearing
Make sure you can attend the hearing. We have had a number of cases where Agents and friends have attended for absent landlords and the Judge will not grant possession. When making a possession order the Judge has to ensure that the person stood in front of him claiming possession has a greater right than the tenant, he can only do this if you are there. If you can’t personally attend you will need to instruct a Solicitor/Barrister to act on your behalf. A Solicitor/Barrister can attend on your behalf with an Agent and/or friend.
Make sure all your paperwork is together and the Court and the tenant have received copies. .
Attending the Hearing
· Don’t be late.
· Don’t forget your paperwork. There is no harm in you taking you full tenancy file in case the Judge needs any further information.
· Have 3 copies of your up to date rent statement (one for you, one for the Judge and one for the Tenant/Solitictor), you can hand these out at the start of the hearing.
· Be prepared, you may have to go into the witness box and give evidence, this may be just on rent arrears, but if the tenant has raised any issue before or during the hearing, you may be asked other questions.
· If the Judge asks you a question, answer it, if they ask the tenant a question allow the tenant to answer (even if you don’t agree with the answer) and when the tenant has stopped talking then ask the Judge if you can reply, do not speak over the tenant or the Judge or get into any arguments, try and remain professional.
· If the Judge is going to make a possession order he will give the tenant a date to move out of the property, the minimum time is 2 weeks, the maximum times is 6 weeks. Be aware that the Judge may give the tenant the full 6 weeks.
What to ask the Judge at a possession hearing
When asking the Judge for possession, you need to also ask for the following:-
· Judgement for the rent arrears to date
· Occupation order from hearing date to the date the Judge has given the tenant to move out, this is calculated using the daily rental rate (you will have filled this in on the Court Form)
· Court fee
· If there is a deposit ask if the Judge will include in the Order an order that the deposit be repaid to you to cover some of the arrears. This is not automatic and without this in the Court Order you will have to prove to your deposit scheme that you are entitled to the deposit.
After this date you will get a letter giving you a decision. We do hope it is an Order of possession. If the tenants do not still evict the property then it is time to contact the bailiffs.
In order to request possession of your property you will need to complete form N325 which can be found on gov.uk website and the application fee required is £121.00.
This was meant to be an easy guide and as you will see there is nothing easy about this process. Please feel free to contact us on My Landlord Cares.