HCEOs going in on Tuesday

[whodbealandlord]

Nearly two years after the last rent payment, High Court Enforcement are finally going in on Tuesday.

Any recent experience among forum members as to what happens when the squatters (the tenants are long gone) inevitably say they have Covid? If the official guidance is gospel then there can never be any evictions as occupants will always say they have Covid if that’s all it takes.

Will update here with my experience if people are interested.

[Hudson01]

We will be interested on how it goes and all the very best of luck with it....... 2 years is crazy, you're right though about the '' Covid Card '', it can be the gift that keeps giving and if you have the right mind could use it to very good effect. I do not have experience of arrears but i am sure others will be along soon with some sage advice. All the best.

[jpkeates]

Luckily there are tests for Covid, you can no longer simply claim to have it.
A person being evicted could always claim to have some illness, it's not the Covis has changed anything too much.

[whodbealandlord]

Wow well Tuesday was an experience to remember.

In terms of useful information to pass on, I want to say is that High Court Enforcement were worth every penny. I don't have experience of County Court BailIffs but I would be surprised if they would've managed to get them out. It took three officers three hours. I used the firm from the BBC documentary series a few years back and they were brilliant throughout. It has been a particularly difficult case as the occupants were senior members of a drugs gang closely connected to the lettings agency, so they had both the legal knowledge and a supply of anonymous men to occupy and re-enter by breaking & entering.

On the COVID question, the HCEOs I used won't ask anyone to take a test but as posted above, they won't pause an eviction without proper evidence of a positive test. The occupants probably knew this as they took a different legal route to stop the eviction, unsuccessfully.

Wait times in London from getting the County Court judgement were basically no time at all for HCEO beyond the statutory hand-delivered notice of 14 days. The High Court process was near instant with the firm I used but other firms were talking of long waits. Another judgement issued the same day in the County Court has just had a first appointment for County Court Bailiffs set for 5 months after judgement, and the landlord did everything without delay.

[DoricPixie]

Thank you for sharing. May I ask what other legal avenue did the occupants try to take to prevent the eviction?

I wonder if there’s sone redress to be had with the letting agency although maybe you’re content to draw a line under the whole sorry mess now you have the property back.

[whodbealandlord]

Sorry I can't give too much detail in public, someone might connect the dots and there are pretty dodgy people involved.

Actually while I'm on, my accountant is saying the (astronomical) tax losses with all the legal expenses and no rent can be carried forward to future tax years, but only against profits on the same property. Whereas the HMRC guidance I'm reading seems pretty clear that they can be carried forward and applied to other properties I let out:

https://www.gov.uk/hmrc-internal-man...manual/pim4210

Any views on this?

[jpkeates]

Any views on this?

If you run the different properties as separate limited companies, I'd agree with the accountant.
If you have one personal business with multiple properties, I'd ask him why he's of that opinion, because I'm not (but I'm also not an accountant).