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Problem Tenants. Update for Landlords.

by Mary Groves

For a lot of Landlords having a problem Tenant in your property can be a headache.   Whether you have one or two properties or a portfolio of residential properties you may be unlucky with letting to a Tenant who is not paying the rent on time or refuses to leave your property when the Tenancy Agreement expires.

What steps can you take?

The most important step to take before you let your property and before you allow a Tenant to occupy your property is to make sure that you have a properly drafted
Assured Shorthold Tenancy Agreement.

Yes, you can use an old Tenancy Agreement but does it comply with the current legislation? Also, does it reflect the terms under which your Tenant is occupying your property?

We can draft a Tenancy Agreement for a fixed fee which will ensure that should you need to evict your Tenant you can use the Tenancy Agreement to make this happen. We can tailor the Assured Shorthold Tenancy Agreement to reflect the terms that you want.

What can the landlord do if the tenant does not pay the rent?

If you have a Tenant in your property who is in arrears of rent there is action which you can take to evict them.

Under the Housing Act 1988 you are required to serve a Section 8 Notice on your Tenant giving them notice that if they do not pay the rent arrears you will evict them by obtaining a Court Order which requires them to leave your property.

We can draft the Notice for you and arrange for the Section 8 Notice to be served on your Tenant. We can then draft the County Court Claim Form and issue the claim in the County Court and represent you at the Trial. We can assist you to get the County Court Possession Order and a County Court Judgment (CCJ) for the rent arrears.

We can help you to get your property back.

What can the landlord do if the tenant does not leave their property at the end of the 12 months?

A lot of Landlords who are new to letting do not realise that if the Tenant refuses to leave their property when the Tenancy Agreement expires they cannot simply change the locks or evict the Tenants themselves.

In order to regain possession of your property you are required to take the Tenant to the County Court and get a Possession Order to remove them.

In many cases you will also need to get the Bailiffs to evict them before you can get your property back.

This can take time and may be costing you money in lost rent.

Before you can start the Court proceedings you are required to serve a Section 21 Notice on your Tenants. There are two different Section 21 Notices and if you serve the incorrect Notice your claim will not succeed.

We can arrange to draft and serve the correct Section 21 Notice on your Tenants and to draft the County Court Claim Form. Sometimes you are also required to attend the County Court before the Court will make a Possession Order – we can also arrange to represent you at the hearing.

Why use ascot lawyers?

We have the experience and the expertise you advise you how to regain your property as quickly and as cost effectively as possible. In doing so, we can save you time and money. We will let you know if we can act for a fixed fee and in all cases we will let you know at the outset how much our fees and the Court Fees will amount to.

Mary Groves, Solicitor, Ascot Lawyers.
Contact Mary for assistance on 01344 383233
[read more about Mary]

Ccontact a member of the dispute resolution team on 0845 300 3574 and we will be happy to give you advice and guidance.

You can also contact us via our online contact form and we will respond quickly.

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