issuing s21 and rent arrears

amjustagirl

Hi all,
am due to give my tenant his s21 at the weekend in person. Do i need a witness? does the witness need to sign anything? Also the tenant owes me nearly 1k in rent arrears and wants to give me part of that when i see him. Do i issue him a receipt? as he always use to pay me via the bank. I just want to make sure i cover myself.
Thanks

ironflower

Hi amjustagirl,

You can serve the Section 21 by post, or in person, if by post you need to forward date it 3 days ahead so that it takes into account ample time for the tenant to receive it. It is advisable to have a witness there, and for them to sign a witness form to demonstrate that you have indeed served the notice. This is a provision typically only called for if you know you are going to have to go to court to enforce the Section 21.

Secondly, I would definately give a receipt.
You could even combine the two, give him a receipt for the money, and get him to sign a receipt acknowledge the Section 21.
Then you are indeed covered.

Hope that helps.

Jowo_2

http://www.landlordzone.co.uk/pdf/servingS21.pdf

BitterAndTwisted

If the tenant is in rent arrears why aren't you serving a Section 8 as well?

amjustagirl

I thought the main advantage of the s21 route (as opposed to the s8 route) is the certainty of a possession order (this is mandatory when everything is in order and you don’t need to
give a reason to evict) and also the fact that a tenant cannot issue a defence or a counterclaim, thereby incurring the possibility of legal costs awarded against the landlord.

theartfullodger

Serve both S8 & S21.

amjustagirl

what's the point in serving the s8 bearing in mind that the tenant will be paying part of his rent and has been recently made redundant? If i take the tenant to court with the primary breach of contract being rent arrears the judge will most likely rule in favour of the tenant.

BitterAndTwisted

Follow the advice of Artful and serve both the S8 and the S21 at the same time.

amjustagirl

are you saying i should try and get possesion via s8 1st rather then s21? baring in mind my main priority is gaining possession. I can always go through small claims court to get the arrears, sorry for the questions.. just trying to gain an understanding of all this!

BitterAndTwisted

Serve both. It's belt-and-braces time if you're utterly intent on gaining possession

amjustagirl

you did'nt answer my question though!