What are the grounds for issuing a notice of possession?

Brie

Asking for a friend.....

She's getting letters from her landlord suggesting that if her rent arrears are not brough up to date quickly a notice of possession will be issued.

Now her arrears are less than a full month's rent and I'm surprised that things can proceed on that basis.  And she is attempting to bring them up to date but cannot do so as quickly as the LL would like.  Net result is she is being bombarded with calls, texts and emails making demands that she cannot meet and these are being received nearly hourly.  All seems a bit excessive to me.

I've had a look at the gov.uk site "understanding the possession action process" but at no point does it say what the grounds are for possession other than "rent arrears".  

Any additional info on this please!?!

El_Torro

Assuming the rent is paid monthly then the arrears need to be at least 2 months before the landlord is able to start court action. Even then it can take some time for the bailiffs to turn up and forcibly evict your friend. 

The above assumes there is a tenancy agreement. If there isn't then the landlord can ask your friend to leave at any time (issuing the correct  Section 21 notice and giving the correct amount of notice). 

anselld

Section 8 can be issued for any arrears.  However, the grounds do not become mandatory until 2 months are overdue.
Section 8 is notice that the L may seek possession through the Courts after the necessary notice period has elapsed.  Only the Court can actually issue a possession order after hearing the evidence.
Overly frequent demands and reminders would class as harassment and if this continues your friend should seek support from the private rental sector team at the local Council.

Hoenir

Brie said:

Now her arrears are less than a full month's rent and I'm surprised that things can proceed on that basis.  And she is attempting to bring them up to date but cannot do so as quickly as the LL would like. 

I note the use of the word "now".  Are you getting the full picture.  Is this an ongoing issue that has festered for some time with varying levels of delinquency.  

FlorayG

What are details of exactly how long arrears have been owing?
Landlord rent out properties in order to get an income. If the tenant doesn't pay the rent the landlord is making a loss and is entitled to remove the tenant and get a better one; however I agree he should not be hassling her. he should just send one letter giving her a date to get up to date ( and as other have said it needs to be two months arrears but that doesn't mean two months unpaid, it means for at least two months she hasn't paid the full amount) then he can issue notice to quit because of rent arrears. Note that she will find it very difficult to find another rental with this on her record
On the other hand if he's fed up with dealing with her he can just issue a Section 21 notice to quit, for which he needs no reason AT ALL other than " I want you to leave"
Best thing your friend can do is speak directly with the landlord and make an arrangement to clear the arrears as quickly as she can, then get this in writing so both parties know what payments need to be paid and when. Tell her to be aware that the landlord may NEED this money to pay a mortgage on the house and because of her default is now in financial difficulties himself - while this doesn't excuse him hassling her, he may not know the correct way to proceed either. Tell her to be the voice of reason ( of course if she can't pay off the arrears that's a different story)

EssexHebridean

That the LL doesn’t know the right way to proceed does not excuse them from being in the wrong by harassing the tenant, IMO! 

FlorayG

EssexHebridean said:

That the LL doesn’t know the right way to proceed does not excuse them from being in the wrong by harassing the tenant, IMO! 

No, of course not, I'm just pointing out that the tenant can be the adult here, find out the legal situation and offer a decent payment plan. At the same time, pointing out gently to the LL that harassment is illegal. It's always to your advantage to be the reasonable party in any dispute

theartfullodger

Depends on the country (Wales, NI etc ..) but if England an s8g10 notice may validly be served if only 1p is underpaid for only 1day.  Unlikely judge would evict, but possible.

Amazing how many gurus, agents, landlords appear unaware of this.

A very cheap way to send a message - just paper, envelope, stamp.

silvercar

Once 2 months rent is overdue, a section 8 served correctly would be a mandatory eviction, if 2 months were still owing at the time of the court case.

Note that 2 months owing means one month outstanding and the full rent not paid on the next rent day. This is because rent is due in advance, so on the rent day the new months rent is due plus the arrears. 

horsewithnoname

theartfullodger said:

A very cheap way to send a message - just paper, envelope, stamp.

You’ve not bought a stamp recently 😂

theartfullodger

silvercar said:

Once 2 months rent is overdue, a section 8 served correctly would be a mandatory eviction, if 2 months were still owing at the time of the court case.

Note that 2 months owing means one month outstanding and the full rent not paid on the next rent day. This is because rent is due in advance, so on the rent day the new months rent is due plus the arrears. 

Tenant can defend on basis of dis-repair - even if landlord thinks there's no/not so much repair needed.  Judge then assesses and decides what is any dis-repair there is, cost thereof, and reduces "arrears" by that much - so it might not be mandatory. - see
https://england.shelter.org.uk/professional_resources/legal/housing_conditions/legal_remedies_for_disrepair/tenant_deducts_from_rent_or_offsets_rent_arrears_because_of_disrepair

How do we know rent is due in advance?? The default is rent paid in arrears - see
https://england.shelter.org.uk/professional_resources/legal/costs_of_renting/rents_and_rent_increases/payment_of_rent

""" 

Payment in arrears or advance?

Rent is payable in arrears, unless specified otherwise in the tenancy agreement. """"

Yes appreciate most landlords specify in advance....

Best regards to all