There are two different kind of notices that you can serve on your Tenant. They are both used to evict a tenant but they are very different. It is very important to use the correct Notice to avoid wasting money on court fees and having your Tenant stay in your property for any longer than necessary.
This is also knows as a Notice to Quit. A Landlord can use this notice when a tenant has breached their contract and therefore there will be grounds for possession.
The most common ground (reason) is rent arrears. However, this can be used in many different circumstances depending on what is in your agreement with the Tenant and what has been breached.
This Notice can be served any time any time during the tenancy, including the fixed term. The notice will be dependant on the grounds for the notice.
This is known as a Notice of Possession. The notice cannot end before the fixed term, and is valid for up to 6 months. A landlord does not have to give any reason for serving the notice in order to regain possession. This can not be served in the first 4 months of a tenancy.
All tenancies (including renewals but not tenancies that continue on a statutory periodic basis) that started after the 1st October 2015 are now subject to new regulations associated with the service of Section 21 notices.
You must provide your tenants with the following documents at the commencement of the tenancy:
You can not serve a Section 21 notice if you have not given your tenants these documents. It is strongly recommended that you retain evidence that these documents have been provided to your tenants.
It is often easier to serve a Section 21, even if the tenant is in arrears, as the process for a Section 8 can be costly and any grounds you give can be contested by the tenant in court. It is possible to serve both notices at the same time.
Before starting this process, it is always best to speak with your tenant and try to see what has happened for the rent arears. Sometimes you can set up a payment plan to cover the rent arrears with the tenant.
The process starts with the completion of the claim form which we will do for you. This is the Court form a landlord or property owner uses to apply to the court for a possession order for residential property that has been let on an assured shorthold tenancy (AST).
Currently the court issue fee is £355 for possession claims. This may change from time to time so it may be worth looking at the GOV website. This needs to be covered by the Landlord.
Once the documents are filed with the Court you will receive a hearing date.
Notice must be served and currently with the current Covid 19 pandemic the possession claims are not a priority of the courts. The current ban on possession claim has been lifted as on 20th of Sept 2020. You can instruct a solicitor to start the possession claim for you. Including the relevant section 21 of section 8 notice. This depends on the circumstances of the notice and eviction.
Extension to the notice period
On 29 August 2020, the Coronavirus Act 2020 (Residential Tenancies: Protection from Eviction) extended the minimum notice period a landlord must give a tenant before commencing possession proceedings from 3 months to 6 months. This will apply until at least 31 March 2021.
What are exceptions to the 6 months notice period?
Anti-social behaviour (ASB) is anything that causes alarm, harassment or distress that adversely affects another person's quality of life.
This might include:
You can ask the court for a ‘warrant for possession’ if your tenants:
When the court issues a warrant, it will send your tenants an eviction notice with the date they must leave your property by.
A bailiff can evict your tenants if they do not leave by this date.
You can apply for a warrant of possession up to 6 years after a possession order is made.
It costs £121 payable to the Court.