fraudulant tenancy agreement

[taylordean1]

hi,
i wish to evict one of my tenants(various issues), i have just discovered he forged his fathers signature on the tenancy agreement, can i kick him out without the hassle of s.21/s.8.

any advice appreciated

[mind the gap]

hi,
i wish to evict one of my tenants(various issues), i have just discovered he forged his fathers signature on the tenancy agreement, can i kick him out without the hassle of s.21/s.8.

any advice appreciated

Please explain why your T's father's name appeared on the tenancy agreement in the first place (regardless of whether the signature is forged). Was his father supposed to be the tenant - or a guarantor? Or what?

[taylordean1]

sorry, as a witness, his father found out and has informed me he did'nt sign it.

[mind the gap]

Assuming this is an assured shorthold tenancy, then it did not need to be witnessed in any case. The deception is thus (I think) insignificant, or at least not significant enough to be able to evict your tenant.

Unless there is any other valid reason why you could serve a section 8 notice, you will have to wait until the earliest expiry date of a section 21 notice, correctly served, before you can apply for a possession order requiring him to leave (assuming he is unwilling to go). Unless the T is a violent criminal putting someone in immediate danger (in which case the police would have to remove him), you can never just 'kick him out'. Whatever the 'issues' you have to follow the correct legal procedure.

[Lawcruncher]

Even where writing is needed, in fact only the signature of the landlord is needed to grant a tenancy. The signing by a tenant indicates first that he accepts the tenancy and secondly that he agrees to comply with the tenant's obligations. Acceptance can also be indicated by conduct which would include going into possession knowing the terms of the document signed by the landlord. In any event, if the tenant is in occupation and has paid rent there is a tenancy. It can only be terminated in one of the ways the law allows.

If the father was to be have been a guarantor and his signature was forged, you may be able to obtain possession on ground 17:

The tenant is the person, or one of the persons, to whom the tenancy was granted and the landlord was induced to grant the tenancy by a false statement made knowingly or recklessly by—
(a) the tenant, or
(b) a person acting at the tenant’s instigation.

The only question is whether the forgery amounts to making a false statement. The ground is in any event discretionary, so if the tenant is paying the rent and otherwise behaving himself you may not get an order for possession. If you have other grounds for possession you may as well include ground 17.

EDIT: Just read we are talking about a witness only. I agree with mtg's last post.

[taylordean1]

thanks for your advice, will evict via s.8

[jeffrey]

thanks for your advice, will evict via s.8

Mind the gap and Lawcruncher are correct. However, a s.8 Notice is not a Notice To Quit nor an Eviction Notice.
Instead, it simply warns T that L intends to begin Possession proceedings after the Notice period (which can be two months or two weeks, depending on which grounds are used; but there's no Notice period if L is using g14, with or without other grounds).

[Poppy]

thanks for your advice, will evict via s.8

What ground will you be citing?

When does the fixed period of this tenancy end?

[mind the gap]

Mind the gap and Lawcruncher are correct. However, a s.8 Notice is not a Notice To Quit nor an Eviction Notice.

Thank you for pointing that out, however I don't think either of us said it was, did we? We both spoke in terms of applying for a court order for possession and pointed out that OP could not 'evict' as he wished to.

[jeffrey]

Thank you for pointing that out, however I don't think either of us said it was, did we? We both spoke in terms of applying for a court order for possession and pointed out that OP could not 'evict' as he wished to.

Er, I didn't say that you did. Instead, I explained to OP what a s.8 Notice is and does.

[taylordean1]

tenant been there on a six months ast for about 12 months, rent arrears of 3 months+

[jeffrey]

So serve s.8 Notice on grounds 8/10/11.