UK Landlord Forum / Life

Hi there,

First of all I want to say thank you guys for all the information and advice over here. I've been following the blog and the forum for quite a while and it's been really helpful with my unexpected journey as a landlord.

So basically, I'm going through my first eviction and I thought I would try and conduct the process myself. I've read a lot on which grounds to use when your tenant is in rent arrears but I had a niggling question that hasn't been addressed so far.

I know the tenant isn't going to defend herself in court and I know I can use Ground 8, 10, 11, 12, 13 and 14. But, I'm worried that the more Grounds I use from the standard 8, 10 and 11 for rent arrears would give more opportunity for the judge to dismiss my claim.

What would you do in this situation?

I'll give a brief explanation why i'm using each ground below:

Ground 8- The tenant  pays the rent monthly and has failed to pay more than two months worth of rent.
Ground 10- The tenant has failed to pay rent.
Ground 11- The tenant has consistently been late with the rent.
Ground 12- The tenant has failed to properly ventilate the premises as stated in the tenancy agreement leading to damp and mold.
Ground 13- The premises has deteriorated due to the neglect of the tenant by failing to comply with the tenancy agreement.
Ground 14- The tenant has been a nuisance to the neighbors by using the communal lobby as a personal storage area and admits responsibility for damaging the communal main entrance through repeated carelessness at our cost.

Would you play it safe with ground 8, 10 and 11 or go full force with all viable grounds to strengthen your case?

Any advice would be hugely appreciated

Just my two pennies worth, but unless you've got real, solid proof to back up grounds 12, 13 and 14 (like photos documenting mould or stored boxes or written statements from other tenants) then it's going to look like overkill. If the tenant has genuinely done those things, and you can reasonably prove it, then fine, go for it. But if she's just not paying her rent, then stick to what you can prove (i.e. grounds 8, 10 and 11).