how long to get court possession order?

rock_queen

Hi,

The situation is that my tenants haven't paid rent for 6 months, they have been served notice to quit the property (all correct paperwork, my agents did it) and they should have quit by last weekend. They have been giving us different stories (when we've actually been able to get hold of them) and the latest one was that shelter and the council had told them to stay put (this is after her saying the council had a house for them and they could move out) The question is roughly how long between solicitors becoming involved to going to court for the possession order? or is it a case of how long is a peice of string?

many thanks in advance!

vax2002

If the s21 has been served correctly and expired if you have genuine reason YOU can apply for a urgent re-possession order, the tenants refusing to pay rent is a genuine excuse to "mitigate losses"
YOU need to fill this form in NOT THE AGENTS !
http://hmctscourtfinder.justice.gov.uk/courtfinder/forms/n5b-eng.pdf
It needs to be returned to the county court covering the property.
If you tick the box that they should pay costs, bailiffs will go after them for the costs so you get some sweet justice of a kind.

GDB2222

You should get a possession order in roughly a month. You then need to book a date with the court bailiffs (you can't use private bailiffs), which can vary considerably. In some areas the waiting list is several months long.

You can use this website https://www.possessionclaim.gov.uk/pcol/ rather than involving solicitors.

BitterAndTwisted

If the documentation has been correctly served (Section 21 and a Section 8 Notice with the correct grounds) you can apply to the court to have the eviction enforced the day after the notices expired. This is all dependent on how busy the courts are. The success depends on:

the documentation having been correctly served. (This is quite easy for people to get wrong, even professional landlords).

the tenant's deposit was registered and the prescribed information supplied to them.

and that they are not still in the fixed-term of their AST.

The real answer is that is is entirely dependent on how busy your local courts are: you may have to wait a couple of months for a court-hearing date.

Please be aware that some Councils advise tenants that in order to qualify for LA housing they may have to wait until the court-appointed bailiffs are at the door. Not all Councils enforce this policy, depending on pressure and availability of what housing they are in a position to offer.

GDB2222

BitterAndTwisted wrote: »

If the documentation has been correctly served (Section 21 and a Section 8 Notice with the correct grounds) you can apply to the court to have the eviction enforced the day after the notices expired. This is all dependent on how busy the courts are. The success depends on:

the documentation having been correctly served. (This is quite easy for people to get wrong, even professional landlords).

the tenant's deposit was registered and the prescribed information supplied to them.

and that they are not still in the fixed-term of their AST.

The real answer is that is is entirely dependent on how busy your local courts are: you may have to wait a couple of months for a court-hearing date.

Please be aware that some Councils advise tenants that in order to qualify for LA housing they may have to wait until the court-appointed bailiffs are at the door. Not all Councils enforce this policy, depending on pressure and availability of what housing they are in a position to offer.

Hi B&T why is it important for them not to be in the fixed term part of the tenancy? Surely, S8 notice works in those circs?

BigAunty

Was it an S21 that was served, rather than an S8 for the rent arrears?

Many councils will not assist tenants who have submitted a homelessness application if they discover that the landlord has served them notice for not paying their rent. If the council identifies during the process that they could have, but did not pay rent, they are deemed to have made themselves intentionally homeless and do not qualify for assistance.

Are the tenants on benefits? If so, you could have contacted the local council about the rent arrears and had their local housing allowance paid directly to you after a couple of months rent owed.

BitterAndTwisted

GDB2222 wrote: »

Hi B&T why is it important for them not to be in the fixed term part of the tenancy? Surely, S8 notice works in those circs?

You are correct that a S8 would work, depending on which grounds were decided on however the OP made no mention of which specific documentation had been served. Which is why I felt it necessary to mention both. A S21 served during the fixed-term wouldn't succeed.

On the other hand if the tenants are being evicted purely on the ground that the rent is in serious arrears and has been for some time the Local Authority would not re-house for that reason. They could wash their hands of these tenants entirely.

Hope I've clarified rather than obfuscated for those reading.

G_M

rock_queen wrote: »

Hi,

The situation is that my tenants haven't paid rent for 6 months, they have been served notice to quit the property (all correct paperwork, my agents did it) 1) to get sensible advice here we need to know what notice has been served, and with what dates. Also what tenancy agreement is in place 2) just because your agents did it does not mean it was done right!

and they should have quit by last weekend. Why? Have they been served a court possession order? That does not appear to be the case

They have been giving us different storiesnaturally. They don't want to leave. They are living for free. You expect honesty?

The question is roughly how long between solicitors becoming involved solicitors? what for? to going to court for the possession order? or is it a case of how long is a peice of string?

many thanks in advance!

Timing depends on court time in your area.

Which landlord association do you belong to? Are they advising you?

rock_queen

Hi and many thanks for your replies.

it was a section 8 that was served on the 7th Dec and gave them until the 7th feb. They were coming to the end of the AST (6months) when notice was served. The agents have been doing everything as the property is fully managed and i live 300 miles away. Luckily I had insurance and through the insurance company it has now automatically been passed over to their solicitors as the period has expired. The tenants weren't on any benefits originally but obviously that isn't the case now. The agents have been in talks with the council regarding this and it was them who confirmed that they had applied for HB.

the property is in north wales if that makes any difference?

GDB2222

There's a problem with your agents then. A S8 notice only requires you to give 2 weeks notice. Why did they give 2 months?

G_M

+ of course if they pay off enough of the arrears the day before the court hearing to get below the 2 months threshold, the S8 will fail.

A S21 should have been served as well.