Tips for landlords

Evicting a tenant

You may find yourself in a situation where you need to evict a tenant.  This may happen even if the tenant has been a good tenant but you now need the property back to sell.

Recently, the legislation has changed considerably and there are some differences between the laws in England and Wales.  It is important that you apply the correct law from the start of the tenancy to ensure that if you ever need to evict a tenant, your paperwork is in order to do so.  This is most important if you wish to rely on a Section 21 notice.

A Section 21 notice can be served if you simply require the property back by giving the tenant at least 2 months’ notice.    There are currently three types of Section 21 notices in England and Wales depending on the type of the tenancy.   It is important that you check this. Please also note that you will not be able to serve a Section 21 notice unless you have dealt with the deposit properly and placed the same in one of the three Government approved schemes.

If you are seeking to evict a tenant due to rent arrears or they have caused damage to your property then a Section 8 notice can be served.  The notice will set out for the tenant the grounds upon which you are relying to seek possession.

In relation to rent arrears if there are 8 weeks arrears (if the rent is paid weekly or fortnightly) or 2 months arrears (if the rent is paid monthly) as at the date you serve the Section 8 notice and at the date of the Court hearing for possession, the Court must grant possession in not less than 14 days with the discretion to extend the time up to 6 weeks in the event of exceptional hardship under Section 89 of the Housing Act 1980.

Otherwise, the Court has a discretion whether or not to grant possession.

In order to avoid any problems we set out some useful points below:-

• You or your letting agent must make sure that your tenancy is legally compliant; if it is not then you could be prevented from serving a Section 21 notice. Our experts will be able to draft, and advise you on your tenancy agreement.
• You must provide the Tenant with a certain amount of information prior to the commencement of the tenancy. Again if this information is not given to the Tenant, it will invalidate any Section 21 notice. In Wales Landlords need to be licensed with Rent Smart Wales.
• You need to take into consideration, prior to serving a Section 21 notice, whether or not it is a fixed term tenancy and/or is there a break clause? Or whether or not your tenant has breached the tenancy.
• You should ensure that the correct amount of notice is given on a Section 21 notice or Section 8 notice. If the incorrect amount is given, it will invalidate your notice.
• You must follow the correct procedure when evicting a tenant, otherwise you might find yourself subject to criminal proceedings.

We strongly suggest that you seek legal advice before serving  a Section 21 notice or Section 8 notice to ensure your paperwork is in order to avoid your notice being invalid which would result in you being back in square one – needing to serve another notice, costing you time and money.

To make sure that you have got your paperwork in order then please contact our offices on 01978 291 000 and we can arrange an appointment to discuss and consider the same.