Welcome to Evict Tenants

Whilst if your property is vacant it simply makes sense to obtain an extra income by renting it out, selecting a trustworthy tenant is no easy task, nor is predicting the way your relationship will evolve in the future.

Whilst most tenants will abide by their initial agreement with the landlord in order to avoid complicating their existence and that of others, there are some whose attitude is a definite breach of bona fide and therefore need evicted. Needless to say, eviction is the very last option one would consider, as it entails the deterioration of interpersonal relations and enforcing a court order; it’s not desirable nor pleasant, and yet, as a last resort, it is sometimes necessary.

Therefore, if you have reached the final decision to take legal action against your tenant, it is imperative that you act within the boundaries of the law and never use unethical tactics such as hassling and intimidation. As a matter of fact, in order to discourage landlords from recovering their financial losses using methods common to the moral abomination that is any debt collecting agency, the law is very strict on such matters and harassing tenants is a criminal offence. Moreover, there are very clear and accessible ways for you to regain control of your property through the legal system. Before you start any proceedings, you need to determine if you have the legal grounds to take matters to court. When dealing with assured short hold tenancies, the law states that you are entitled to do so if the rent has not been paid, for more than two months in England and Wales and three months in Scotland. It is fairly frequent for tenants to commit themselves verbally to paying the rent they owe, yet sometimes they fail to do so. However, you must make sure first the culprit isn’t a simple misunderstanding such as a direct debit problem at the bank either of you is using.

Once you’ve made sure everything is in order, you are required to notify them of your intentions at least two weeks prior to taking legal action. This must be done by serving them with a written notification, specifying your full name and address, the infringement of the contract which made you decide to terminate it, as well as the exact date you expect the property to be vacated by. Regarding the latter, you are required to give them at least two weeks to vacate the premises. The time granted is deemed reasonable as it is highly unlikely for tenants to be caught unawares by the notification.

In the event that you still don’t come to an understanding with the tenant or whatever verbal agreement was later reached was not complied with either, the only solution remains applying for a court order of repossession of your property, which done properly and in good faith, should bring about an adequate finalisation of the whole carry-on, on your part at least. There are two types of eviction and possession procedures, according to the way they unfold, and particularly the time scale they are structured on.

The first and simplest, which is why it is also the most common, is the Accelerated Possession Procedure, which basically involves providing the court with a few essential documents to prove your case, namely the initial tenancy agreement, the official written notification sent to the tenant with the intention of dissolving it and whatever document is necessary in addition to that, in order to prove your identity and validate the accuracy of the facts stated in those documents. Provided that you have followed the steps correctly (and the only way to make sure of that is to seek legal representation or at least legal advice, to avoid any possible complication), you should be granted the order for possession, as well as an order stating that the tenant is obligated to pay the fixed costs of the whole procedure. The other option available is referred to as Under the Rent Arrears Ground and is very similar to the first one, except it applies to cases involving rent owed for more than two months and also involves a hearing that the landlord is require to attend, in order to elaborate on the claims and verify the grounds they are based on. The main advantage of the first type of procedure over the second one is expediency and lack off hassle, as the case can be handled entirely by your legal representative.

We can all agree that this century is one of excessive walking up and down court corridors, and surely nobody finds themselves in court due to agreeable circumstances. Yet when all this is necessary in order to revert to normality, the only thing one can ask for is a quick and efficient solution..