There
is no consistency in the eviction process and it
is archaically slow. It can take up to three months
to gain a court eviction order. Judges
seem to review cases on a random basis and opinions
differ from judge to judge. There is confusion amongst
judges and magistrates on the terms in which eviction
notices can be granted.
David
Absalom, a leading property expert who provides
advice and training to landlords and agents, supports
the call for change. David said: “Some judges
are poorly trained in eviction notices. Others are
even playing the system. For example, when a tenant
asks for extra time the judge sets a hearing for
six weeks time – giving the troublesome tenant
longer time in the property at the expense of the
landlord. Even if the judge is in the wrong, landlords
find it difficult to fight their case in court.
Who is going to argue with a judge even if he is
spouting erroneous law?”
Under
the Housing Act 1988, a landlord who has a shorthold
tenancy agreement has a legal right to get their
property back at the end of the tenancy using a
section 21 notice. A section 8 notice is used where
a tenant has broken part of their tenancy agreement.
The most common reason is non-payment of rent, but
there are 17 grounds in which a section 8 notice
can be used. The court will require the landlord
is able to show adequate evidence of the breach
before it will award possession and /or a money
judgment.*
It
has been found that some judges have an ill informed
view that you cannot enforce a section 8 notice
until the section 21 has expired.
Around
five per cent of tenants we evict leave the
property damaged and full of rubbish. We’ve
entered properties with human excrement smeared
over the walls, rooms littered with used needles
and in one case a tenant had removed all the
floorboards in the upstairs of the property
and laid the carpet back down so the landlord
fell through the floor, sustaining serious
injuries. Speeding
up the eviction process would limit the danger
to both landlords and people in neighbouring
properties.” |
|
This
is not just a problem for private landlords; social
housing landlords are also suffering from the slow
court eviction process. A housing association in
Manchester, Irwell Valley, announced this week it
took two months to gain a magistrates’ eviction
order for a problem tenant, by which time the house
had been vandalised and stripped of anything of
value. Irwell Valley has also called upon the government
to speed up the process and provide more powers
to landlords to evict problem tenants.
Frustration and a sense of injustice can lead to
desperate landlords talking the law into their own
hands as rent arrears reach an all time high. In
April, unpaid rent totalled £284 million across
the UK, with 11.8 per cent of all UK rent unpaid
or late by the end of the month. This is an increase
from the £224 million unpaid in March.
The
trend is being highlighted as a landlord in North
Yorkshire used ten skips to block access to his
£1million farmhouse to stop tenants leaving.
Simon Everingham claims he is owed £15,000
in rent, legal fees and interest payments by his
tenants.
“This
case highlights the frustration faced by landlords
on a daily basis. I see examples all the time, of
landlords who are driven to despair by tenants who
have failed to pay the rent agreed. Landlords should
act as soon as rent falls into arrears. If the rent
runs up, then in many cases, eviction is the only
answer. Whilst landlords should not tolerate tenants
who refuse to pay rent, they should never take the
law into their own hands. A process must be followed
in every case including a notice given to terminate
the tenancy and all paperwork must be in order.
Speak to an expert who will deal with the whole
process on your behalf.
Recent
research by the National Landlords Association found
52 per cent of landlords have reported rent arrears
in the past 12 months. The survey also found that
the average late paying tenant owed £730 in
late rental payments.
*
www.landlordadvice.co.uk/html/section_8.html
www.propertyinvestmentproject.co.uk/blog/section-21-notice-of-possession-order-form
