Possession Order

jack2uk

Hi all, I'm New to this site.
I have a problem tennant in a house, basically he is several months in arrears and he has been issued a Section 21 Notice that was witnessed receiving it by a relative. He refused to go so after 2 months notice i have commenced accelerated possession procedure with the county court, he has filed for defence before the 14 days. His defence form N11B contains false claims eg he said he never received the Section 21 notice (pure lies as i had a witness when it was hand delivered to him!!!) also there is a dispute about a deposit, now it does not state on the AST Agreement that a deposit is payable, he just paid 2 months rent when he moved in and it was never classed as a deposit.
Other parts of his defence is that he is being treated for a heart condition and would require 6 weeks to move as exceptional hardship. He never completed his Date Of Birth and on the Statement of Truth he quoted the wrong date as 2011 instaed of 2012. He left other sections blank.

Could someone please advice me what will happen next? The letter says "The matter will be referred to a Judge for Direction"

Will i be granted possesion or would it go to a court hearing?
(as yet i have not made any claim for unpaid rent arrears)

Thank you in Advance

RAS

Is he paid Local Housing Allowance? If so, have you asked the COuncil to pay you directly?

Have you added a section 8 notice as well, on two month grounds and for persistant late payment?

G_M

To avoid confusion/duplication, can I suggest you delete your other identical post?

click edit, then delete.

jack2uk

Hi,
He is not claiming housing Benefit, the main concern is eviction from the property and like i said he was issued Section 21 form by hand but has denied this on his Defence form.
thank you

theartfullodger

Time will tell: S21 is about taking someone's home, someone's property (tenant's not landlord's..) away from them & potentially making them homeless so system treats it seriously..

Time will tell, update us after the court decision!

Cheers!

Artful (landlord if you were wondering..)

Annisele

jack2uk wrote: »

also there is a dispute about a deposit, now it does not state on the AST Agreement that a deposit is payable, he just paid 2 months rent when he moved in and it was never classed as a deposit.

This bit confuses me.

You say he paid two months rent when he moved in. Why? Did he pay two months rent in advance? Or was it one month's rent in advance, and one month's "really-a-deposit-but-neither-of-you-called-it-that"?

If it was really a deposit, then depending on when your T moved in your s21 might be invalid.

jack2uk

It was just 2 months rent in advance, not a deposit.
It was a joint tenancy with 2 others but they have left over a year ago. He only has 1 bedroom in the house.
He has obviously lied on the Statement of truth aboiut receiving the Section 21 Notice. Also he has the wrong year 2011 instead of 2012 when he signed it.
Do you think it will go to a court hearing?

Hump

jack2uk wrote: »

It was just 2 months rent in advance, not a deposit.

Sounds like a deposit - good luck persuading the judge otherwise

Annisele

The two months rent thing does sound like a deposit - so you'll need to make very clear that it wasn't.

For example, say that the rent is £1,000 per month and the T moved in on the 1st of June. If it went:
1 June - T pays £2,000
1 July - T pays £0
1 August - T pays £1,000
Then you've got a very good chance of arguing that there was no deposit.

On the other had, if it went:
1 June - T pays £2,000
1 July - T pays £1,000 (or should have paid £1,000, whether or not he actually did)
1 August - T pays £1,000
Then you'll *really* struggle to show that there was no deposit.

Are you absolutely sure that your s21 was served properly? All dates correct, not served too early (i.e. not to expire before the end of any fixed term), etc? If not, join a landlord's organisation or get proper paid for legal advice. S21s are *very* easy for newbie landlords - and even solicitors - to get wrong.

I doubt the T's wrong date on the signature will make an material difference.

Werdnal

Hump wrote: »

Sounds like a deposit - good luck persuading the judge otherwise

I agree, this can be a grey area especially if it goes to court. If Judge deems that it was a deposit, and you have not protected it, the S21 will be null and void and you may have to start all over again.

Sadly, no-one here has a crystal ball or is a mind reader, so depends on the Judge's mood on the day which side of the argument he/she will support!

When you say there was a relative as a witness, I take it that was your relative? May not be considered "independent" as related to you they will not be impartial. A posted S21 (2 copies from separate post offices) with proof of posting carries a lot more weight, and also definate proof of the date it was served, meaning you cannot be accused of serving late (ie not giving 2 full months).

jack2uk

Hi Thanks for your replies. We are talking small rent here for 1 room only, £ 120 per month, yes it was my relative who was witness and it was served a full 2 months notice and everything was correct.
Surely any tennant facing eviction is going to claim they never received a S21 and try and make things difficult. I have a text message saying they cant move out on the said day.
Also with the tennant not correctly filling in defence form and signing wrong date(wrong year) and not giving their DOB when requested, then the judge should rule against them ? any thoughts on this please?