Evicting a tenant – Consult the legal experts

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The law surrounding eviction is complex and ever-changing. Our expert Landlord Services team at Paul Crowley & Co Solicitors are here to assist landlords through the eviction process and the legal steps required in order to avoid costly errors.

There are various reasons a landlord might wish to evict a tenant, but due to numerous changes in legislation and rising costs in mortgage interest rates, countless landlords through no fault of their own are left with no choice other than to pull out of the sector.

Before an eviction notice can be served

Before notice can be served to a tenant, a landlord must fulfil a number of responsibilities especially if a no-fault Section 21 is the chosen route. Paul Crowley & Co’s Landlord Services department can help to ensure this process is carried out accurately as failure to undertake this correctly, could deem your Section 21 notice invalid, incurring costs and increasing the time to regain possession of your property.

How to serve an eviction notice on a tenant

Whenever possible, an eviction notice should be served personally by hand to the tenant or by posting it through the letterbox of the property in an envelope addressed to the tenant(s). Paul Crowley & Co can serve the eviction notice on your behalf under the Housing Act 1988. Serving a notice may seem like a simple task, but failure to do so correctly could cause costly delays.

There are two types of notices that can be served on a tenant

Section 8 notices: These can be used for many reasons, for example, if a tenant is in rent arrears of 8 weeks or more. The notice must state what grounds for eviction the tenant has breached under the Housing Act 1988. Some of these grounds are ‘mandatory’, which means the Court must grant you possession of the property. Others are ‘discretionary’, which means the Court will consider the circumstances and decide whether to grant a landlord possession.

Section 21 notices: These notices are used either during a periodic tenancy or after a fixed term ends and are predominantly a no-fault eviction to recover possession of a property. A Section 21 notice can only be served if you have provided the tenant with the correct documents upon moving in, these documents have been kept up to date and the tenancy has been ongoing for at least 4 months. The tenant has 8 weeks to vacate the property after being served a Section 21 notice.

What if the tenant refuses to leave after an eviction notice?

Once a Section 8 or Section 21 notice has been served, if the tenant refuses to leave the property, Paul Crowley & Co will apply to the Court for a Possession Order. Once the application is approved, the Court will send a copy to the tenant and they will have 14 days to challenge it. The judge will then either issue the Possession Order or arrange a hearing. If the tenant still refuses to leave after a Possession Order is granted, Paul Crowley & Co can apply for a ‘Warrant of Possession’ to transfer the case to the High Court. This enables a High Court enforcement officer to evict your tenants.

Tenancy agreement

For landlords looking to rent out a property, Paul Crowley & Co can provide a robust tenancy agreement to prevent issues should a dispute arise later down the line.

If you need help with the process of evicting a tenant, Paul Crowley & Co are here to help.

For a free, no-obligation chat with one of our experienced Landlord Services solicitors, call us now on 0151 264 7363

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