Section 21 expired - tenant will not leave property

[chuckemuffin]

Hello,

I'm a very inexperienced private landlord with 1 property.

I've issued a section 21, which expired yesterday. (3/3/18)

The tenant built up 3 months of arrears and refuses to pay the money back.

I Issued a Section 21 just to keep things simple (oh dear! :-()

I went to the property yesterday to pick up the keys, but the tenant will not answer the door and will not communicate with me.

I have confirmed he is actually still in the property.

What do I have to do now to get the tenant out of my property? I guess it's off to the courts, but how do I start the process?

Also, how can I legally try and get back the rent arrears, will small claims court deal with rent arrears?

Will I need to appoint a solicitor to deal with this, or can I do this on my own?

Thank you

[theartfullodger]

S21 does not end a tenancy nor require tenant to leave: It merely permits landlord to start court proceedings on expiry. Do so, but after checking it against here..
https://markprichard.co.uk/content/d...ecker-tool.pdf

Also issue s8 g8, 10 & 11 & any others (a strong hint to tenant, but try to avoid taking this to court). Nothing to stop you also starting small-claims - send an LBA today. Explain, verbally if possible, to tenant they will get a CCJ quicker..

Likely timescale from issuing valid s21 is 40+ weeks if tenant digs heels in.. see
https://forums.landlordzone.co.uk/fo...ess-statistics

For future reference an s8g10 may be validly served if only 1p is underpaid for only 1 day.

[jpkeates]

You don't need a solicitor, it's perfectly possible to do it yourself.
On the other hand, there are specialists (some of whom advertise here) and a solicitor can make the process less stressful (although both will charge you for their work).

[Hillsy101]

Follow above advice, these guys helped me out lots recently! There is the possession claim online system (PCOL) if you choose to do it yourself which is what I did. There's an accelerated route but you can't claim rent arrears with this. If you want the arrears you definitely want the s8 served and if using pcol ensure you tick the right box! . Check you have issued all required documents prior to any action.
It often better to offer to not chase the arrears in return for the tenant signing a deed of surrender and walking away as the eviction process is very long and very painful and you lose rent every month.. .

[Wannadonnadoodah]

If you thought that upon section 21 expiry you'd be getting a surrender and the keys back I've not got any faith that the section 21 you issued would be valid. The link to the section21 checker is very useful. Use it and let us know if the notice you served was valid and then the forum can aid you to gain possssion of your property.

[mariner]

Join the NLA/RLA tomorrow and take their Distance Learning Modules for LLs.

[Flashback1966]

You can apply for an eviction yourself, but I suggest you phone around specialist eviction companies and get quotes. See how things happen the first time and then next time do it yourself. If your Section 21, was n't served correctly or there was small admin error, they may throw the case out. You will end being being in square one. Let someone else do it for you. Even if you win at court, you still can' get possession of the property, until the bailiff is appointed.

You were naive, when you though the tenant will be there to hand the keys to you.

Whilst you have this going on, go back and check your tenants references and figure out how this happened. Did this tenant have a history of non-payment? Where you give fake references? Is it a case of 'can't pay' or 'won't pay'. If you used a letting agent, complain to them, especially as you have paid a fee to them.

This will cost you.You need to pay the mortgage and these legals fees.

Don't harass your tenant. Avoid a confrontation. Send them polite letters. Send them a statement. Also, tell them if there are repairs to let you know. Tenants who are in arrears often don't landlord to tell them about problems, so if the roof it leaving, even if the ceiling falls down they don't tell you about it, because they are in arrears. They don't want the landlord there....