We understand that taking possession of your property from a tenant can be time sensitive for any Landlord wishing to seek vacant possession. Matters need to be handled promptly and efficiently to minimise your loss of income.
Mr Christopher Stockdale leads our Housing Team and has over 20 years’ experience in Housing Act law. He offers a straightforward, easy to understand costing policy to ensure Landlords are aware at the start of the likely cost of the whole procedure.
Chris is a very approachable and friendly solicitor who will explain the various steps in easy to understand language.
Below is some helpful information in relation to the two types of Notices available to gain possession of your property.
Section 21 Notice
You are entitled to issue a Section 21 Notice if over four months have elapsed since the date the Tenancy Agreement was signed. If a Section 21 Notice is issued it will elapse after six months. Therefore, you have six months in which to start Court proceedings if the Tenant does not vacate.
A Section 21 Notice means that a Tenant must be given Notice for at least two calendar months in writing to leave the property. If they fail to do so at the end of that period, an application to the Court will need to be made for a Possession Order.
In order for a Section 21 Notice to be valid, the Tenant must have the following documentation/information before issue:
- (i) An up-to-date Gas Safety Certificate.
- (ii) An Energy Performance Certificate.
- (iii) Government Leaflet entitled ‘How to Rent’.
Also, certain requirements must be fulfilled with regards to the deposit and evidence provided that this has been protected by a Tenancy Deposit Scheme. Further, if there are issues appertaining to disrepair at the property, this can also impact on a Landlord’s ability to issue a Section 21 Notice.
Therefore, so long as you comply with the requirements as set out above, you can issue a Section 21 Notice if so advised.
Section 8 Notice
This is an alternative route to obtaining a Possession Order in respect of your property. If the Tenant is in arrears, then there is a breach of tenancy. You are therefore entitled to rely upon Grounds 8, 10 and 11 of Schedule 2 of the Housing Act 1988. Ground 8 is mandatory. This means that if the Court is satisfied that as at the date of issue of Notice and the date of any Court hearing the arrears of rent are at least 2 months or more, then the Court has no alternative other than to make a Possession Order subject to all procedural matters being properly adhered to.
However, if the Tenant reduces the arrears to under 2 months before the Court hearing, then this means that the Grounds for possession to be relied upon are 10 and 11, both of which are discretionary. In that situation if the Tenant makes proposals to pay the rent and to clear the arrears over a reasonable period of time, a Judge can consider whether it is reasonable or not to make a Suspended Possession Order which allows the Tenant to remain at the property so long as payments are adhered to.
A Section 8 Notice is for a period of 14 days. If the Notice is served by first class post, then usually two further working days are added on. A Section 8 does allow a Landlord to issue Court proceedings quicker than a Section 21. However, Court proceedings themselves can prove more costly as there will be a Court hearing. Whereas under a Section 21, if the accelerated procedure is utilised, then the matter may be dealt with on paper if the Landlord wishes it to.
Below is a table of our fixed fee costs for each step of the procedure.
| Stage/Action | Disbursement Amount £ | VAT £ | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pre Action | Initial instructions & Draft Notice | 220.00 | 44.00 | |||||
| Issue Pleadings | Draft Claim and Issue | 350.00 | 70.00 | Court Fee | 355.00 | |||
| After Issue costs charged at an hourly rate | £210.00 | 42.00 | ||||||
| Trial | Attend 1st Hearing only. | 400.00 | 80.00 | Travel to Grimsby County Court | 30.00 | 6.00 | Parking at court (maximum) | 3.00 |
| Enforcement | Apply for Warrant of eviction | 200.00 | 40.00 | Court Fee | 130.00 |
If the tenant raises a defence, or the hearing is adjourned, fixed fees will no longer be applicable and additional work will be charged at an hourly rate of £240.00.
Contact a member of our Housing Team on 01724 843287 or email cstockdale@hetts.co.uk