Eviction of Tenants

[duracellred]

In a nutshell, we have a house in London and the same tenants have been there for 10 years. We have had our ups and downs over the time - twice I have had prospective viewers in (of course with estate agents and given two weeks notice - with a mutually agreed time with the said tenant) who advised the viewers (when not in hearing distance of agent) - 'do not buy this', 'a lot of issues' and so forth. Anyhow, we decided after two separate occasions, we would not sell.

At all times, I have complied with the law in respect of advising the tenant of updates with her agreement (work to be done etc etc).

My DH and I have now decided that after January 2018, we would like to sell and given past history etc, we need to give the tenants at least 3 months notice to find elsewhere to live via a Section 21 Notice.

My question is: I have heard nightmare stories regarding the eviction of tenants - does anyone else have any stories of how they managed to remove them (and I state this because I know that they will refuse to leave on the given date of legal Notice).

Thanks

Read it can take up to 6 months to go through the process if tenants are unwilling to move out. Is it financially feasible to give them their notice sooner just in case?

The problem will be the catch 22 of the advice they will be given by Shelter and the council, namely to stay put if they have nowhere else to go/cannot find new accommodation. As soon as they leave they will be accused of making themselves homeless so get no help. It sucks for both tenant and landlord.
So...you make sure it's all done by the book and wait it out/go to court. The only viable alternative is to offer them money to leave: it all depends what buffer you have in place, whether you have legal insurance, whether going to court is going to cost more than a financial inducement (you should be awarded costs and the tenants will lose a decent reference but if they need help from the council they have no choice but to stay put).

DesparatelySeekingSusan - absolutely no way will I give them any monetary incentive to leave. She works in a good role and the ex (highly qualified person) are joint on the AST. If it goes to court, the ex could potentially lose his job as being taken to court is not good for his career.

Just wondering now to start the process in case it drags on.

I think it depends on the area as to whether the council advises tenants to sit tight for eviction. I was recently served a Section 21 and went to council for advice and they would have offered me emergency accommodation from the day the Section 21 expired and didn't recommend staying beyond that date unless negotiated with the landlord. (I found somewhere in time, luckily.)
Just because your tenants scuppered viewings doesn't mean they necessarily won't move out or that it would go to a hearing. It would seriously hinder their chances of getting another private rental and they would have to pay your costs if evicted.
I would not mention selling and just serve notice and hope they cooperate. You could offer a payment to move out to help with moving costs. Lots of advice on the Landlordzone forum.

I would start now yes. What makes you think they won't go then?

I would start now yes. What makes you think they won't go then?

If they are not in a fixed period tenancy, then serve the s21 notice now. It could take months to get them out and if you leave it until later in the year, it will be harder for them to find somewhere else close Christmas. You cannot validly serve them a s21 notice if you have not protected their deposit in one of the three schemes. This is the case even if the tenancy commenced before 6 April 2007.

You may have to go to court - you can accelerate things a bit by going to the High Court, but it costs. I agree you shouldn't tell them you plan to sell; you just want to end the tenancy. What happens next is not their concern. Has the tenancy been breached at all? If so there are alternatives to a s21 notice which can be quicker.

Purple is right. Some councils will accept people as homeless 28 days before the S21 expires, some from the date of expiry and some not until there is a possession order and/or bailiff's warrant and an eviction date.

However, if the tenants don't have children and aren't vulnerable in any way, that's a bit irrelevant as the council won't have a duty to help them anyway.

Just been through this process. It took five months from court to eviction.

Section 21 is two months assuming they are on a rolling tenancy. If they don't go then it is court, possession granted and bailiff. Fees for that are £355 for the court and £115 for the bailiff. Get any paperwork wrong and it is back to the start. It is worth employing one of the three specialist firms who all charge an extra £600 or so.

There is no other way to remove them legally. Wait for bailiffs can be many months in London, only judge decides if you can use high court bailiffs who are quicker but cost more.

You must be 100% on deposit protection and paperwork. Are you?

Start now. It may well cost you but if you want to sell it has to be done. If they refuse to go once you get an eviction notice for the magistrates court escalate it and get a high court writ which gets them out very quickly.

No. You don't choose to use the high court! The judge does and permission can be refused, especially if tenants are going to the council.

Start now.

Ensure any deposit they paid is in a protection scheme before issuing the notice. The scheme came in before their tenancy so there is leeway but you don't want to give them anything to dick about with.

Issue a no fault S21. Best case scenario they go.

Worst case it goes to court and you have to instruct court bailiffs. If this happens pay more to get it elevated to the high court and they will have them out faster.

Yes, the deposit is in one of three schemes so we are covered there. In a further nutshell, obviously I cannot say too much however, what I can say is that the rent was unpaid (due to high electricity bills and our fault WTF - had just had the 5 year landlord electricity certificate completed prior to them moving in and all passed as new electrics) so after 5 months, issued a CCJ against them both - and very very quickly paid up - as mentioned one of the joint signatories would be severely affected if a CCJ occured). A cat suddenly appeared without our knowledge in the house (against the tenancy agreement) and clawed its way through the carpet). The list is endless.

Thank you for all the assistance. I will be looking to issue a Section 21 for the end of January departure (just in case of any further issues). Going to the High Court will not be a problem for me as I know any communication of this will result in the tenant leaving immediately :-). Its £60 I believe for a Writ that can be enforced with Sherriffs/Balliffs.

They sound like a nightmare. I would start now and if they go straight away then sell straight.

wowfudge - yes they have breached the AST on two occasions - what is the faster route of S21 that you mention?

IF you are thinking a section 8, it's riskier than a section 21. They could successfully defend and you start all over again. Same if you bugger up the section 21. Go to a solicitor and get proper advice. A good solicitor who knows about housing.

Repeat - you dont choose the high court bailiffs. They will cost extra as well as the £60.

If they do leave voluntarily, take advice to ensure that the tenancy is correctly ended.