UK Landlord Forum / Life

Hello

I am new to the forum but often come to look at advice from others but wanted to share recent experience of tenant problems, court possessions and impending evictions.  I have had a DSS tenant in my property for 6 years, always paid the rent on time, but has caused disruption to other tenants in the block (loud parties, abusive and aggressive behaviour). I can only describe her as unpredictable and potentially volatile, saying that, I have had a good relationship with her and we can come to mutual agreements on repairs etc. Back in March I received a call from the council saying that she had had all her housing benefit stopped and so could not pay my rent but had no-where to go. In not so many words they said 'take her to court and get a possession notice' and then we 'might' help her. I was in a complete state of shock, the tenant was now refusing to talk to me, would not allow access to the flat, so I had no option but to take legal advice immediately. This was the best decision I made and luckily found a really good solicitor who has been speedy and very efficient (about £1400 in costs).

We served the tenants with notice of an impending application to the courts, ie: we were going to lodge a legal case (Ground 8 - rent arrears of 8 weeks) and then played a waiting game. My tenant continued to live in the property, paid no rent, even bough some new curtains and became quite oblivious to what was ahead, she told others in the block that I would never go through with an eviction and that she was planning to stay forever.  This made me more determined to get her out but I had advice not to contact her again because tenants can use harassment against a landlord in their defence in court.

I finally heard back from the court and had a possession hearing set which I attended with a solicitor. The judge was about 90 yrs old, my case was one of 35 being held at 10am and the waiting room was full of unhappy people all trying to get a good result, my tenant did not attend and didn't put in a defence as she was sure I would lose. In attendance at court were Shelter and the CAB  who got 10 of the cases that day adjourned to give tenants time to build a defence - I know this because people openly talked about their cases and their were fights broken up. The 'court' room is actually chambers, so I sat at a desk and didn't say anything while my solicitor did the talking, I did have to take an oath but only to answer any questions, of which there was only one about rental payment. I was given possession back of my property forthwith and the whole thing was over in 5 minutes. I was so relieved and am now waiting for those court papers to begin bailiff proceedings, but am only 3/4 of the way there, I still have to get her out.
Interestingly the tenant has opened the lines of communication again and suddenly wants to talk, but I feel exhausted and need some time. I would give the following bits of advice to anyone in the same situation, don't hesitate in getting legal advice if you can, court papers are tricky things to get right and your case could be adjourned if something is amiss, the legal system is heavily weighted towards tenants, the council will advise tenants to stay put and carry on until tenants get a possession order.
I hope this is helpful to someone out there who is beginning or contemplating this process.

Quote from: shoppingmad on August 29, 2015, 09:20:49 AM...the legal system is heavily weighted towards tenants...

Thank you for taking the time to write this. The bit I've quoted is obviously an opinion formed after going through the process. But it is subjective and people should understand that when reading. Others might actually say that the system clearly favours Landlords... after all, the whole concept of a Section 21 is an interesting one, isn't it? The idea that a Tenant can be evicted on a whim by a Landlord, having done nothing wrong, and that there is no defence to that which can be made.

Yes I agree with your point about section 21, I suppose I am right in the middle of it at the moment and feel like its handwork.

I really hope that you get the right result. Thank you for taking the time to post your experience.

I thought I would post an update on the progress of evicting my tenant. After 2 weeks I have still not received my paperwork from the court about the immediate possession order which was granted by the judge. The court only deal with e-mail enquiries and so I am sure my numerous requests to find out where my precious paperwork is are still in an inbox.
My tenant is very happy to talk now and told me about a leak in the bathroom and that I should do something about it because she can't use the taps, I politely told her that no more maintenance will be done in the flat unless she moves out (luckily I have a legal clause in my tenancy which states that no repair work will be carried out if the tenant is in rent arrears).
So, I will continue to wait, but have made enquiries about bailiffs which on the whole are 13 weeks before enforcement from the county court and 4 weeks before enforcement if you go to the high court.  Realistically this could go until christmas

Quote from: shoppingmad on September 04, 2015, 01:55:52 PM(luckily I have a legal clause in my tenancy which states that no repair work will be carried out if the tenant is in rent arrears)

Y'know, sadly, I'm not sure about the legality / enforceability of that...

I would certainly like to see the clause in its entirety if you'd be willing to copy it into here?

Did you apply for leave of the Court to use a High Court Enforcement Officer under Section 42 of the County Court Act 1984?

If not you could find your next issue is a 3 month wait for the County Court Bailiffs to find the resources to evict your tenant.

A FREE GUIDE is downloadable here: http://thesheriffsoffice.com/resources/tenant-eviction-ebook

Thankyou - yes I have just applied to get a high court writ as the bailiffs at the county court advised me that they are taking 12-14 weeks to get to enforcement. In answer to the previous messages yes I will post the clause about repairs when I get all my info back from the solicitor.

It was going to be such a lengthy wait for Court Bailiffs and my property is sold STC but tenant refused to move because 'she couldn't afford anything' and council were assisting with rent.  I went to the High Court via the Sheriff route and she was evicted on Monday!  At least a month-six weeks earlier than I was told by the local court that it would take to get a bailiff.  Council put her and 18 year old son (and presumably the illegal cat!) into emergency accommodation and she's returning tomorrow to meet with my Estate Agent for 2 hours to pack up her stuff.  Sheriff says it's up to me but generally evicted tenants can go back once for supervised packing.   I went in there today.  This lady has soooooooo much stuff, it's clearly going to take more than two hours.  No-one can tell me whether I have the right to dispose of her stuff if she leaves it behind.

I know this is an odd question.

Do you feel bad?

Boboff - To whom are you asking this question?

Hi Josie

Thanks for your post, how did you get on with the tenant removing her stuff? I am still waiting for my high court Writ and then should have bailiffs in. My tenant has been to the council and been told that due to her circumstances ( of which I don't know) they deemed her still not eligible for emergency accommodation. There is so much more to my tenant than I knew about and in answer to one of the other posts, no I don't feel bad anymore as this tenant has pushed me into debt and has told me that the system owes her - read what you will into that.

Quote from: Josie on September 11, 2015, 09:38:59 PM
Boboff - To whom are you asking this question?

Your goodself.

Update on eviction of my tenant as above. We transferred the case up to the high court and obtained a sealed writ which meant that enforcement officers removed my tenant from the property last week. They didn't give her any notice which is usual with high court enforcement, and told me not to inform her. She wasn't at the property when we arrived and the enforcement officer called her once we gained access and changed the locks. She went  completely mad as I expected and threatened to do all sorts of things but she was given an opportunity to collect essential items.
My question is about how long I have to keep her possessions safe before I can dispose of them, some people say 7 -14 days, does anyone have experience or any idea? I have searched online but can't find out an exact number.
thankyou in advance

It is about being reasonable.

We would usually advise that you serve notice on the former tenant that unless they make an appointment to retrieve their goods within 14 days then you reserve the right to remove and dispose of them.

You must ensure that the tenant receives this notice so delivering it by hand and by email is prefered.

The next issue is what happens when they come to retrieve the goods. Many of our clients instruct us to have an enforcement against on site for a couple of hours to oversee the removal but clearly there is a cost to this. The other option is for you to inventory everything in the property and then have it waiting in boxes outside at the pre-organises time of collection. The advantage of this is hat the property will be empty as when former tenants are left to collect the goods themselves they inevitably leave lots of rubbish behind.

As always, it would make sense to speak to your solicitor in the first instance.

Hi,

Can you let me know of the firm you used for eviction if they are good and reasonable please?

Thanks

Hi

I used the Sheriffs Office they were fast and efficient and helped with all the paperwork. They do cost more than a county court bailiff but I if like me you are desperate to complete the process then I would call them asap.

Good Luck to you, I have had my property back for 6 weeks now and it feels great but I am also really pleased that I did everything lawfully.

Hi ShoppingMad,

Does Sherrifs Office does the whole process right from serving the notice to getting a court order and bailiff service if required?
I checked their website, but it is not clear as to what services are provided and how much it costs.

Anything you can share?