How long does it take to evict a tenant? How do you do it?

[migratingsouth]

My tenant wants to be evicted officially so she can go on the council list.

(I was really hoping it wouldn't come to this, I had a thread on this before).

She's happy to go, but wants me to evict through the courts.

She spoke to someone today who gave her all sorts of reassurances that it could take as little as a week to go through the courts.

I reckon the person she spoke to is talking nonsense!

Does anyone have any experience of this - how long did it take you to evict your tenants? (she doesn't actually want to stay, just for the council to recognise her as homeless).

How long did the court and bailiffs order bit take and how much did it cost?

Can it really be done quickly if not contested?

TIA

[ohbuggerhelp]

What specialist said.
Do the decent thing, get out with references intact and find somewhere better.

[specialsubject]

your daughter does not have to live in North-West London. She rents from a slumlord who clearly does not fulfill their side of the obligation. She should not have with-held rent (two wrongs don't make a right) but this landlord will keep ripping her off. She needs to stop throwing good money after bad.

she is entitled to two months' notice (she only has to give one month). She can stay put until the bailiffs come, but with a record like that no-one else will rent to her.

[Nanadee61]

I am looking at all your comments on here from the opposite side, but I hope you wont all hate me? My daughter has been given notice to leave her flat, and my concern again is how long the process will take. She has paid her rent on time each month (exorbitant amount as it is North West London) but has had loads of problems with the flat, no hot water, cooker blew up, no electricity, foul smell in the bathroom, etc etc... Landlady not interest in the slightest! but because my daughter then witheld a months rent until some of these things were fixed she has been been asked to leave. She lives here with her 13yr old daughter and she and I are worried sick as to what will happen come the last day of this month when she is supposed to vacate? I hate the thought of court orders and bailiffs but she cannot just leave and has not got the money together that will be needed to find another place. Please appreciate, all you landlords that there are two sides to this situation.

[mimi2013]

CONGRATS for your tenant leaving mine is sue to leave on wed cant wait

[pettyprudence]

met the bailiff yesterday and tenant had already gone (which is that i was hoping for). got a bit eek about as she was still there the day before
just one bailiff turned up, banged on the door VERY hard, neighbour came out and told us tenant had gone. flat was left relatively clean (except for all the doors kicked in by her ex). turns out instead of paying rent the tenant had been doing her weekly shop @ m&s

[Boomboomboomboom]

The bailiff will evict the tenants on the day - unless the tenant puts in a last minute stay application with the court which is unlikely to be granted if you are evicting using the s21 procedure.

that is the point of the bailiff - they are the enforcers of the court order and if the tenant refuses to get out, the bailiff can force entry and forcibly remove them, although having police around is a good idea,

HTH

[mimi2013]

I have been going throught this i have my baliffs appt next wed

[pettyprudence]

i am meeting bailiffs for my first court ordered eviction on Thursday - im a pa to a landlord. the tenant is still in the property, no idea if she has packed. i haven't arranged police but as she hasn't left yet i am expecting the bailiff to escort her off the property - eek! anyone been through this bit???

[specialsubject]

if you've followed all the right procedures, she can whistle.

thread here may be useful:

forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?t=3795711

as you see you may still have aggravation and expense because it seems YOU are responsible for the safeguarding of her possessions.

[mimi2013]

hey just wanted some info if anyone can help me

i finally got the bailiffs coming on the 17th but the tenant still hasnt packed and has told us she willwont be leaving as someone has told her she get a few more months in there and theres nothin we can do about this

is this true ?

[reastie]

DHs tenant stopped paying rent. It's taken us around 4 or 5 months to get her out through the courts.

[Sunnyshores]

you could ring the balliffs at the county court, but they can come whenever they like really and it sounds like they're busy.

[mimi2013]

Hi just need some info i have finally got the bailiffs letter and its for the 17th of next month thats nearly two months snice the possession order is that right ?

[Sunnyshores]

lalalonglegs - nothing accelerated about it!!

[mimi2013]

lalalonglegs

i have

[noddyholder]

Not a week for sure!

[lalalonglegs]

Grrr, I have just found myself in this position - periodic tenancy, notice given almost three months ago with a S21 notice (have sent copy to my solicitor and am praying it is all correct). I had builders etc lined up for a refurb and am now going to be sitting on my bum and lose my slot with them. And yes, the tenant wants a formal eviction so that he can be homeless and be eligible for council housing .

Has anyone got any experience of the accelerated possession procedure as my scenario seems to qualify for it and I am banking on it being a bit faster [hopeful]?

[Sunnyshores]

It will take at least 6 months and if you can do it all yourself it will cost about £500. Using a solicitor for a simple case will cost around £2000.

Note - You can only evict if you have protected the deposit.

The S21 notice runs for 2 months, then you fill in court forms, get a court date (months later), court may give her another 4 weeks, when she doesnt leave you instruct baliffs, they take 2 weeks to turn up.... nightmare even if it goes well.

If you do decide to go down this route, I would join NLA for approx £99 and use their free legal helpline to make sure you fill in all the paperwork correctly, you really dont want the hassle of doing something wrong and having to go back to the beginning.

In my experience the evicted tenants dont get a house, they go into a hostel for months, make sure your 'friend' knows what she is letting herself in for, not to mention what she is doing to you.

[mimi2013]

to migratingsout

I don?t know if this will help but ive had tenants in their since june



I at first thought it would be a easy process as the contract had finished and it was just a roll on agreement and we had a understand with the tenants, I got married in June and asked them to leave and even gave them offered them another property to move into which they turned down so we told our estates agent w needed out property back and they wrote to the tenant asking for the property back , she then took the letter to the free legal aid and complained we were harassing her and she had young children and needed to stay in the house as it was close to their school and family which is compete rubbish we then found out the estate agent didn?t even put her in the
tenancy deposit scheme which meant after two months of waiting it was for nothing and had to start again

but this time I had to go to a lawyer who told me the right steps to take

he did everything for me and told me to sit tight as it would take a few moths

her noticed ended 16th dec finally but as it was over the Christmas period the courts were a bit slow in sending out her first notice and it ended on the 23rd of January nearly a month after the section 21 had finished

I then had to wait for a possession order to be done which the court again took a few more weeks that noticed ended today 20th feburday the tenant is still refusing to not only leave but is not willing to pay the money the judge had told her to

Everything I had brought over the last few month is all in storage and is costing me a lot she wont let us come to the house so we can get builders to give us quotes us she has left the house in a mess

The only good thing out of this was she still paying the rent thank god

I am now in the process of waiting for the bailiffs to come

Hope this helps and also go to see a lawyer and don?t deal with all this yourself and also try to be friendly with them because at the end of the day they can do anything to your house and get away with it

It will take time but in the end you will get it back

I really feel your pain

[susiesheep2]

Ok, well it looks like 6 weeks was a bit optimistic, but as I am eviction on mandatory eviction grounds (as I have discovered there are two different types www.evictions-southeast.co.uk/section-8-eviction-notice.htm it should be straight forward. Although I am worried she will pled hardship which will get her another 6 weeks rent free. Ahhh.

[susiesheep2]

If the OP is around, how did this resolve? I am in a similar situation and trying to work out time scales?.. Served notice this week (section 21 and section 8) So far I think ill need to wait around around 6 weeks until court, then I am trying to figure out how much notice the possession order will give her. Lied when she moved in on tenancy reference, paid 1 month rent and bond, then nothing ever since. She says she is waiting for council house. Im livid! I was going easy on her as she has a baby, but I know her "partner" is living there even though she pretends not to have one, and both have brand new cars!!

[oreocrumbs]

migratingsouth, I know your tenant is your friend, so I would ask her to leave or make other arrangments. It will take ages, and will cost you a lot of money. I think you should perhaps take a free half hour with a solicitor and ask them about fees, etc and where you stand with acepting rent during this time. If you try to do it alone, it will take longer but then solicitors don't come cheap.

It cost me best part of £10,000 to get rid of my tenant (it was complicated though).

I have a feeling that if you go along this route your friendship will suffer. It is stressful and unpleasant. You will likely still have her in your property at the end of this year, and I know you want to get it sold.

To be honest I think your friend is asking too much of you. She may not realise what this will involve, but take it from those of us who have been through it - it is a lot, and rules is rules the 'system' won't run any smoother for you because she is co operating. She can't co operate - she has to opose you every step of the way in order to achieve these results.

Could you perhaps look to helping her find more private rental that would take HB with excellent references from you etc rather than going to court?

[igetcrazytoo]

Don't want to upset you, but my brother had to wait from April to September to get into his flat. I'm not sure why this is your problem. I'd personally steer clear of it.

[migratingsouth]

Reallytired shelter have confirmed that the council will only recognise her as homeless once the bailiffs have been called, this did not come from her

[ReallyTired]

It typically takes 6 months to evict through the courts and longer if you have to use balifs. Without ballifs you are looking at 5K for an eviction. Its not cheap.

She can plead homelessness on showing the formal letter of eviction. There is no reason for her to use the courts, unless she is a nasty cow. Councils do not expect people to break the law inorder to get housing.

We had a tenant asking to be evicted and I gave her the formal letter. All she did was take it to the council. She did have to put up with being in B and B for a few weeks, but she has her council house now. She paid all her rent and it fairly amicable between us with no need for courts or anything else.