UK Landlord Forum / Life

Section 21 approved and possession order granted for tenants to move out in March but they are not budging.  Bailiffs have been instructed, but being that the London courts are that busy, we have heard nothing.  What happens when they do turn up?

I was told that they will physically remove the tenants if they refuse to go but what happens to their furniture and property?  Will I be left with a house full of stuff that I have to store and that will mean that although the house is empty, I cannot let it out with their stuff still in there. 

Tenant is paying old cheaper rent; rent increase is being challenged at rent tribunal and again, we have not heard as yet, so technically, she does not owe any £ per se.  Any advice always welcomed, many thanks

In reverse order, the rent will be due when the tribunal makes its ruling. The tenant will owe any/all the increased rent due since the notice expired immediately.

The bailiffs will send a notice at least 14 days before they attend to the named tenants and to "occupants of" the address. It will give a date and time.
You should arrange to attend (or use an agent) with a locksmith (to change the locks and to gain entry if the doors are locked and there's no one there).
Almost all repossessions are done with the property empty, it's very rare for bailiffs to have to actually remove anyone (TV programmes notwithstanding).
If there is someone there, it can get complicated and the police may be involved. That's never happened to anyone I've ever met.

If the tenants have left anything behind (which does happen, but it's rare), you have to make "reasonable efforts" to contact them to arrange for them to collect the items. What's "reasonable" depends on the value of what's left.
Photos and videos are useful so that there no chance of the tenants claiming that they'd left the Romanian crown jewels behind.
The usual process is to pass the items out to the tenants without letting them back in the property. If things need dismantling or are too heavy, they can pay someone to do it or you can charge them for someone to do it. You don't have to let anyone you don't want to into the property, nor do you have to do anything to help them.
If you then dispose of what's left, you can charge the tenants what that costs you (costs kept to a minimum). If you receive anything for the goods, it belongs to the tenant (or you can offset it agains the cost of disposal).

At some point, the most likely thing is that the tenants will simply give up having exhausted all possible delaying tactics.

Thanks for this; fingers crossed, let's hope that it all pans out that way and that they do go before the bailiffs turn up. They way they have been behaving, I half expect to see them chaining themselves to the railings like the suffragettes of old and singing "We shall not be moved"!

Thanks again for taking the time to respond