Frequently Asked Questions...Residential Landlord & Tenant

  1. The tenancy of my property has ended. Can I get the Tenant to leave without going to court?
  2. My tenant is in arrears with the rent. Can I evict them?
  3. My property is let on an Assured Shorthold Tenancy. There are no rent arrears but I want the property back when the term expires. How can I do this quickly?
  4. My tenant is in arrears of rent, and their fixed term Assured shorthold Tenancy came to an end 4 months ago. How quickly can I get them out?
  5. My tenant agrees they have to leave my property but they will need to be rehoused by the local authority. The local authority has advised them that if they leave before I get a court order for possession, they cannot help them, so the tenant won't leave. Is this true?
  6. I have a deposit equal to one month's rent. My tenant is leaving but on inspection I have found some damaged furniture. Can I keep some of the deposit to replace it?
  7. I have an order for possession, but the Tenant won't leave. Can I get them out?
  8. I am selling my property and the Tenants have moved out. Before completion of the sale and while the house was empty, squatters broke in. How can I get rid of them?
  9. The leaseholder has refused to pay the service charge demand I have presented. As the Freeholder, can I forfeit the lease?
  10. I have presented a service charge demand and one of the Leaseholders is refusing to pay, and threatening to take me to a Leasehold Valuation Tribunal. Can they do this?
  11. I am a Freeholder and I need to carry out major works on the property including a new roof. It will be expensive and I will want to apportion the cost amongst the Leaseholders. Can I add the money to the service charge?

The tenancy of my property has ended. Can I get the Tenant to leave without going to court?

Not unless they leave voluntarily at the end of the Tenancy. You must serve the correct notice and if the Tenant does not leave when the notice expires, you will need to start a claim for repossession at the local court. It is an offense under the Protection from Eviction Act 1977 to evict Tenants without a court order, even if the tenancy has ended and the Tenant has stopped paying rent. If they do not leave the property by the last date stated in the court order, you will need to instruct a court appointed Bailiff to evict them. You should not take any steps to remove the Tenant yourself. By doing so you could leave yourself open to criminal charges.

My Tenant is in arrears with the rent. Can I evict them?

It depends how much rent is outstanding. If there are at least 2 month's rent owing at the time you issue the claim and at the date of the hearing, the court has to make an order for possession. If there is less than that due, but the tenant has always been late in paying the rent, you may be able to get your property back, but the court has a discretion. You might not get the property back if the Tenant pays the arrears before the hearing.

You will need to serve a notice telling the tenant you intend to start proceedings, and then issue the claim.

My property is let on an Assured Shorthold Tenancy. There are no rent arrears but I want the property back when the term expires. How can I do this quickly?

You need to make sure you have served a notice before the end of the fixed term of the tenancy, giving no less than 2 months notice and telling the tenant that the tenancy will end after the notice expires. If they don't leave, you will need to issue a claim for possession when the notice has expired. Provided your notice requiring possession was correct and served in time, you should get an order for possession of your property. The quickest way is to use the Accelerated Possession procedure which is faster than mainstream possession proceedings. Your tenancy agreement and notice requiring possession need to be filed at court with the claim form. Provided they are correct you can ask for an order for possession without a hearing.

My tenant is in arrears of rent, and their fixed term Assured Shorthold Tenancy came to an end 4 months ago. How quickly can I get them out?

If the Tenant has remained in the property after the fixed term expired, they now have a 'periodic' Assured Shorthold Tenancy, which continues on the same terms as the original written agreement. Provided you have a written Assured Shorthold Tenancy Agreement, and you want to get possession of the house or flat quickly, you may be able to use the Accelerated possession procedure,as described above. You need to give the Tenant at least two months' notice, to expire on the last day of a period of the tenancy. So, if rent is paid on the 1st of the month, the notice must expire on the last day of the month, no less than 2 months after the notice is served. You will not be able to recover the rent arrears using this procedure, but you can still sue your Tenant for any arrears in a separate debt claim.

My tenant agrees they have to leave my property but they will need to be re-housed by the local authority. The local authority has advised them that if they leave before I get a court order for possession, they cannot help them, so the tenant won't leave. Is this true?

In some cases, yes. Many local authorities will regard a tenant who has left the previous accommodation without an order for possession as having made themselves voluntarily homeless. In some circumstances teh council will not rehouse them as a priority or at all. If your tenant has no other option than rehousing by the council, they will usually be advised to wait until you have obtained a court order and a Bailiff has been appointed to evict them, before approaching the council again for accommodation. Unfortunately, some tenants in that situation may have arrears of rent which they cannot pay and it can often be better to seek an order under Accelerated Possession Proceedings (see above) to get your property back quickly and re-let it.

I have a deposit equal to one month's rent. My tenant is leaving but on inspection I have found some damaged furniture. Can I keep some of the deposit to replace it?

Not without the tenant's express agreement, preferably in writing. For all deposits taken after 6 April 2007 from assured shorthold tenants, (the vast majority of short residential tenancies are assured shortholds), you need to ensure that you comply with the new government regulations on safeguarding deposits. That means sending the money to one of the scheme administrators or joining one of the insurance based schemes where the landlord keeps the deposit but pays a premium to insure it. You must also tell your tenant within 14 days of taking the deposit which scheme their deposit is registered with. If you can't agree how much the tenant is entitled to get back at the end of the tenancy, the schemes offer a dispute resolution service to decide how much the landlord can retain. failure to comply with the regulations means that the tenant can apply to court for an order requiring their landlord to protect their deposit, plus a penalty of up to 3 times the amount of the deposit.

I have an order for possession, but the Tenant won't leave. Can I get them out?

Yes, but you will need to appoint a court a court Bailiff. You must apply for a Warrant of Possession and the Bailiff will issue you with a date for eviction of the tenant when, if necessary, they will physically evict them. If you try and do so before then, you are open to criminal charges under the Protection from Eviction Act 1977.

I am selling my property and the Tenants have moved out. Before completion of the sale and while the house was empty, squatters broke in. How can I get rid of them?

You will need to issue a claim for possession, get a court order and if necessary, an appointment with the Bailiff. The claim will be against the trespassers by name or if you don't know their identities, against 'persons unknown'. There are particular rules for service of claims against trespassers. You may be able to get a quick appointment with the Bailiff to evict the trespassers if there are good reasons, for example, the trespassers are causing a nuisance or a danger.

The leaseholder has refused to pay the service charge demand I have presented. As the Freeholder, can I forfeit the lease?

No, not immediately. The Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002 has changed the procedures Freeholders need to comply with before they can forfeit a leasehold property. Before you can serve the Notice to Forfeit, for unpaid service charge or any other breach of lease, you now need to get a finding from a court or Leasehold Valuation tribunal that the Tenant is in breach.

Without that finding, unless the Tenant admits the breach, you cannot start forfeiture proceedings. There are a raft of requirements with which a Freeholder must comply, affecting, amongst other things: service charges, statements of account of service charges and consulting leaseholders about services engaged on the property. Failure to consult may mean you can only recover a very small sum, set by statute, even if you have spent thousands on works.

I have presented a service charge demand and one of the Leaseholders is refusing to pay, and threatening to take me to a Leasehold Valuation Tribunal. Can they do this?

Yes. The Leaseholder has the right to ask the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal (LVT) to assess the charges being made and make a ruling as to whether the service charge is payable and if so the amount, who it is payable to and by which date. If the Tenant has admitted the money is payable then no application can be made. The Freeholder may also ask the LVT to assess whether a charge, or a proposed charge, is reasonable. This is a useful provision for the Freeholder who may be faced with a Leaseholder who withholds payment but is slow in making an application to have the dispute determined.

I am a Freeholder and I need to carry out major works on the property including a new roof. It will be expensive and I will want to apportion the cost amongst the Leaseholders. Can I add the money to the service charge?

Yes, although you need to make sure that you comply with the consultation requirements. Where works would cost an individual leaseholder more than £250.00 or you propose to enter into a long-term contract for services on the property, you must consult all of your Leaseholders in writing. You must also provide alternative quotes for the work and allow Leaseholders to put forward other quotes. If you fail to follow the procedure you will only be able to recover a fairly small amount, set by law.

We can advise you on what you are entitled to as a Freeholder, and what you must do to be in the best possible position to recover it from Leaseholders.

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