Arrears in rent - do we have to give 2 months notice?

GV29

Hello my dad is trying to evict two tenants who havent paid the rent for the past month.
he has got forms from the county court for the accelerated eviction process but i think we have to give them two months notice before we can apply for it.
my dad is going to check with teh court tomorrow.
does anyone know if this is still the case?
thanks is advance

pinkshoes

They need to be two months in arrears before court action don't they?

What sort of tenancy do they have? Is there a signed inventory? Is the deposit protected?

princeofpounds

They have to be 2 month's payments overdue (assuming that there is nothing odd about the payment frequencies of the AST).

This is not the same as 2 months in arrears. In practice it can often mean 1 month and 1 day from the first missed payment deadline.

However, if they creep under the qualifying line before court (even if handing you one penny as they step in front of the judge) then your action will fail and you still have the costs you spent.

GV29

Pink Shoes - it's an assured short tenancy - no deposit - no signed inventory.

Prince of pounds - yes i meant two months in arrears. does it make a difference if they pay weekly?

chappers

Are they still within the fixed term or is the tenancy now periodic.

Nirvana9

Does he definately need to evict them, as it's only one month (has it happened before)? Has he spoken to them about it? Perhaps they're not doing this on purpose and are really struggling this month, meaning your dad could come to an arrangement if he spoke with them?

may_fair

GV29 wrote: »

Prince of pounds - yes i meant two months in arrears. does it make a difference if they pay weekly?

Yes, if T pays weekly, then you can serve a s.8 notice citing the mandatory ground 8 (in addition to the discretionary grounds 10 and 11), when there is eight weeks' rent owing and unpaid. (As PoP points out, this is not the same as arrears).

A s.8 notice citing grounds 8, 10 & 11 must give T 14 days' notice before you can apply to the court for possession.

jamie11

GV29 wrote: »

does it make a difference if they pay weekly?

Also, if they are paying weekly, the law says they must be supplied with a rent book.

GV29

ok thanks everyone
wow more complicated then first thought.
the T have been paying on and off - they have now told my dad that they are not working at the mo.
my dad wants to change the locks and kick them out. i told him not to do that and go thru the correct process. he wont be happy to know that he has to wait for 2 months approx. it's tricky!

GV29

my dad does have a rent book

may_fair

GV29 wrote: »

my dad wants to change the locks and kick them out. i told him not to do that and go thru the correct process.

Tell him if he does what he's proposing, he would be committing a serious criminal offence, which carries a potential custodial sentence. T might also bring a civil claim for damages; the awards in such cases can sometimes amount to tens of thousands of pounds.