Evicting tenant - do I need a court order?

BigAunty

sarah1980 wrote: »

The info I got on giving them 2 weeks' notice is given here:

https://www.makeurmove.co.uk/page/Guidance-Notes-Section-8

Are people saying this info is incorrect? Because I believe that they are now more than 2 months in arrears so I need only give them 2 weeks notice.

Yes, their dependents do mean that they may be considered in priority need (if they aren't deemed to have made themselves intentionally homeless by not paying rent when they could have done. Perhaps having dependents mean that this overides the fact that they didn't bother to pay their rent, perhaps the councils are obliged to help anyway despite their homelessness being self inflicted, I don't know).

It doesn't mean that they will necessarily get the council property they aspire to, since they are in England and english councils don't have to offer social housing to the homeless anymore. The council may perhaps say they owe them no duty in housing them and then you might have to go right through to the bailiff's stage if they can't get their act together and find themselves a new landlord.

Landlordzone is a very good site for expert info. Here's what they say about different ways to evict a tenant.

http://www.landlordzone.co.uk/content/section-8-procedure

http://www.landlordzone.co.uk/content/accelerated-possession

http://www.landlordzone.co.uk/landlordzone-update/tenants-stopped-paying-rent-long-wait-evicting

If you don't have the appetite to do the paperwork yourself, then look at organisations like Landlord Action that offer a fixed fee for each stage of the eviction process.

http://www.landlordaction.co.uk/site.php/tenant/information/the_residential_eviction_process

sarah1980

Thanks all. I should add that neither tenant is a British Citizen (although they are both EU Citizens) not sure if that makes a difference.

BitterAndTwisted

It won't make any difference to how you evict them. Whether the Local Authority will accept their homelessness application is not your concern. If they are evicted on the basis of rent-arrears I would say that it's most unlikely.

In your position I would issue both a S21 and a S8 together with a rent-statement showing how long they have been in arrears and how it's been built up. Belt and braces. Get them out.

kirkbyinfurnesslad_2

sarah1980 wrote: »

Thanks all. I should add that neither tenant is a British Citizen (although they are both EU Citizens) not sure if that makes a difference.

Not at all

thesaint

I don't think anyone has asked this question.

Does your tenancy agreement allow you to begin proceedings using Sec 8 of the 1988 Housing Act?

RAS

thesaint wrote: »

I don't think anyone has asked this question.

Does your tenancy agreement allow you to begin proceedings using Sec 8 of the 1988 Housing Act?

Why use section 8 anyway, which could easily be scuppered by paying down the debt, when a section 21 notice requires mandatory approval?

tom9980

Knowing which council the tenants fall under may help decide on the right course too. I certainly know a few that advise tenants to dig heels in until the bitter end, some others actually do help in the proper way.

The OP may be a bit confused about which notice to give but i think i would do both personally, the goal now is to get rid of them for good because its clear the tenant is not able to manage money and that will always end in disaster.

The OP may also wish to consider why this situation arose. They took the eye off the ball 2-3 years ago when arrears first started and never once got the tenant back into line. You must draw a line in the sand at some point, giving a tenant some time to pay due to illness/job loss is one thing but there needs to be a limit on how long arrears last. All arrears should really be paid within 6 months via a payment plan assuming the tenant pays all other subsequent rent on time. If they dont then evict using s21.

N1AK

BigAunty wrote: »

If your tenants are in England and the penny drops that they won't necessarily be catapulted into social housing, what then?

Will they dig in and stay and remain paying the rent as and when they have disposable income rather than prioritising it as their main expense?

This. I would explain clearly, and again in writing, that the council won't automatically give them social housing if they force you to go through the eviction process. They will access income and the fact they have intentionally made themselves homeless.

Refusing to leave will lead to a lengthy legal process for them, eviction and additional debts with considerable risk at the end of the process.

poppysarah

https://www.landlords.org.uk/services/nla-lettings-and-property-management/forms/court-forms/england-and-wales/ending-a-tenancy

You may need to register (free) to get access to that page.

A section 8 they can dip down below 2 months rent arrears and you can't go any further.

I_have_spoken

If the woman gets herself up the duff, they could be living rent free for 18 months easy so long as she weeps pitifully at the court