Tenant eviction

Periodic or Fixed-term

If the tenancy is periodic or if the fixed-term has come to an end, landlords can evict fairly easily. There is no need for a landlord to give a reason to the court but they must be able to show that an assured shorthold tenancy was in place and that the correct notice has been served.

A landlord may wish to evict a tenant during a fixed-term, but in order to do so they must have a valid reason. The most common reason is rent arrears but others may include:-

• The tenant has broken the terms of the tenancy, such as subletting

• The tenant is consistently late with the rent payment

• The tenant has damaged the condition of the property

• The tenant has caused nuisance

• The property is being repossessed

STEP ONE

Serving Notice – Section 8 proceedings

A Section 8 notice is a notice seeking possession, which is served on the tenant when they have breached one or more clauses within the tenancy agreement. A section 8 notice is commonly used when the tenant is in arrears of rent. There are 17 Grounds for possession (17 reasons that the law gives for when a section 8 notice can be issued). Rent arrears being the most popular grounds (Grounds 8,10 & 11 of Section 8 of the Housing Act 1988 as amended 1996).

If a tenant owes a minimum of two months arrears when a notice is served, all three rent related grounds are included within the section 8 notice (8, 10 & 11). If the tenant fails to clear the arrears and/or vacate the property when the section 8 notice expires, then court proceedings are required. The tenant will need to owe at least 2 months rent on the day of the court hearing in order for a landlord to rely on all three grounds for possession.

STEP TWO

Court hearing and what it means:-

Where a claim is for possession and rent arrears (Section 8), there will be a Court hearing before a Judge. The landlord will be required to attend the hearing, or appoint an agent to attend on their behalf.  An agent is a letting agent or somebody appointed to manage the tenanted property on a day to day basis for the landlord. The landlord or agent must be fully conversant with the tenancy and have all relevant paperwork readily available, such as the tenancy agreement and an up to date schedule of arrears at the hearing.

If the tenant clears the arrears prior to the hearing date, then it is unlikely a landlord will get a possession order.

If the claim is successful, the Judge usually grants a 14 day possession order; this means the tenant has 14 days from the date of the hearing to vacate. In the event the tenant does not vacate, the landlord will be required to appoint a bailiff to carry out the eviction. In addition, a Judgment for the arrears of rent may also be granted at which point a landlord may also make a claim for interest and costs.

If the tenant reduces the arrears to below 2 months of arrears, then the Judge may order a postponed possession order (provided grounds 10 & 11 have been included in the Section 8 notice), which means the landlord would get a possession order, but the tenant is permitted to stay provided he/she continues to pay the rent each week/month on time and clears the arrears by an agreed and reasonable time. Failure to adhere to the order would mean that the landlord can apply for a Bailiff to execute the warrant of possession i.e. evict the tenant(s).

If a tenant defends the case by, for example, raising a disrepair issue, then proceeding under a section 8 notice only may see the matter adjourned. “In such cases, we would often recommend serving a section 21 notice in addition to a section 8 notice and then only issuing proceedings once the section 21 notice has expired.”

Giving tenants a Section 21 notice

In England, we use form 6a if the tenancy was started or renewed after 30 September 2015. You can also write your own Section 21 notice.

In Wales, you must explain in writing that you are serving an eviction notice under Section 21 of the Housing Act 1998.

How much notice you need to give

Usually, a Section 21 notice must give your tenants at least 2 months’ notice to leave your property. Because of coronavirus (COVID-19) you must now give them a longer notice period.

If you gave your tenant notice between 26 March 2020 and 28 August 2020, the notice period must have been at least 3 months.

If you gave your tenant notice on or after 29 August 2020, the notice period must be at least 6 months.

In Wales, the notice period must be at least 6 months if you gave your tenant notice on or after 24 July.

In England, you may need to give a longer notice period if you have a ‘contractual’ periodic tenancy. This is a fixed term tenancy that has ended, but included a clause to continue as a periodic tenancy. The amount of notice must be the same as the rental period, if this is more than 2 months. For example, if your tenant pays rent every 3 months, you must give 3 months’ notice.

In Wales, if it’s a periodic tenancy, you must let your tenants stay for the notice period and any additional time covered by their final rent payment.