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Article > Court Eviction Process is Failing Landlords

 

Article kindly supplied by Sim Sekhon

www.Legal4Landlords.com

A RADICAL shake-up of the county court eviction process is needed to help landlords get rid of problem tenants, according to a lettings industry specialist. Sim Sekhon, director of Legal 4 Landlords, is calling on both Her Majesty’s Court Service (HMCS) and the Government to reform the way tenant evictions are handled in court.


Sim said: “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 Legal 4 Landlords’ 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.*

Legal 4 Landlords have found some judges have an ill informed view that you cannot enforce a section 8 notice until the section 21 has expired.

Sim added: “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.

Legal4landlords


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.

Sim Sekhon, director of eviction specialists, Legal 4 Landlords, said: “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.

Legal for Landlords is the comprehensive service provider for landlords, letting agents and tenants. The business has 22 offices across the UK. Log onto www.legal4landlords.com for more information. Legal 4 Landlords is the UK's largest specialists in tenant evictions, with more than 30 years experience in evicting tenants across England, Scotland and Wales.

 

* www.landlordadvice.co.uk/html/section_8.html
www.propertyinvestmentproject.co.uk/blog/section-21-notice-of-possession-order-form

 

 

BAD Tenants Beware!

Legal 4 Landlords, have released a self-titled application for the iPhone (and iPod touch) that helps landlords and letting & management agents make sure they always have up to date information regarding any tenant that a landlord or letting agent may be considering taking on.

Download your app HERE

The application gathers information on prospective tenants in the UK, and specifically, if they've previously been listed as tenants from hell in the past, by former landlords or agents.

The new iPhone App accesses the firm's extensive database which contains thousands of details of tenants who have previously left property damage, been evicted for unpaid rent, or other caused problems for other landlords.

 

 

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L-R: Sim Sekhon, Stephen Moss & Binder Dhillon

Legal4Landlords

Legal 4 Landlords are market leaders within the letting
industry, with offices throughout England, Wales and Scotland.

Legal 4 Landlords are specialists within the lettings industry. Whether you're a landlord, agent or tenant, our unique products and services cater for all of your needs. Our core areas range from Tenant Evictions, Debt & Rent Recovery, Tenant Referencing, Insurances and Guarantees.

Built by landlords to serve the aims of the lettings market, we are a one stop shop solution to not only solve your problems but to help protect you from them happening in the first place or occurring again.

Legal 4 Landlords have offices in England, Scotland and Wales giving our customers the local and personal touch.

We are a forward thinking organisation at the forefront of the market.

 
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