Evicting a tenant

[marsaday]

The time has come to ask for my property back. The tenant was a social services tenant and they were to live in the house only for a few years. They also want to leave, but cannot get other accomodation. He has been on a 6mth SHC since may 2010. So it has lapsed into a short hold tenancy.

All i am doing is writing a letter stating they have 8 weeks to leave from next Monday.

I dont know whether he will leave, but i hope so.

Do i need to do anything else. He is behind in his rent by £200 odd. I am not bothered about this money however.

[Snorkerz]

Forget your letter - it will have no effect unless it complies with sectio 21(4)(a) of the 1988 Housing Act - which is the piece of law you will have to use to gain possession of the property.

Have the tenant or his sponsors (Social services?) paid a monetary deposit to you? If so, is it protected in a government approved scheme?

You'll find a run-down of the process here: http://tenancyanswers.ucoz.com/index..._contract/0-37 but to come back and ask any further questions.

[marsaday]

Hello again

I understand in order to evict this tenant i have to use the section 21(4)(a) notice.

Now i am a bit unsure when to give this notice. The 6mth SHT started on monday 31st may 2010. The rent was stated to be paid weekly, not monthly.

So Do i just start the 2 mth eviction notice from say next monday or do i have to start it from the end of january ?

I dont think it makes any difference, but the tenant is behind with his rent by 10 weeks. Can i get possession quicker ?

[westminster]

Please tell us:

1) Is this an Assured Shorthold Tenancy (AST) in England/Wales?
2) Assuming it is, how was the fixed term expressed in the contract? e.g. six months commencing 31st May 2010, or [date] to [date] (i.e. is an 'end' date given). Exact wording please.
3) Did T pay a deposit and if so, is it protected and has the prescribed info been given to the T?

The reason for Q2 is that a s.21(4)(a) notice must expire at the end of a tenancy period; the tenancy periods began the day after the fixed term expired, and their length is based on the frequency with which rent is payable, not the rent due date/day. That's why we need to know the actual date that the fixed term expired.

You can serve a s.21 notice at any time. What matters is that the notice complies with s.21(4)(a) by giving T at least two months and also expiring at the end of a tenancy period.

As for the unpaid rent, you can (in addition to the s.21 notice), serve a s.8 notice citing the mandatory ground 8, as well as grounds 10 & 11 (see this link). To fulfill ground 8, there must be at least eight weeks' rent owing and unpaid. The notice must give at least 14 days, after which you can apply for possession and, if there is still at least eight weeks' rent owing and unpaid at the time of the court hearing, the court must make a possession order.

It may not end up being that much quicker, however, despite the much shorter notice period, because of the need to wait for a court hearing; with s.21 it is often the case that, if paperwork is all in order, there will not be a court hearing. What LLs in your position often do is to apply first after s.8 notice expiry, then, if that fails, (by which time the s.21 notice will have expired), try again via s.21 procedure.

[thesaint]

He is behind in his rent by £200 odd. I am not bothered about this money however.

I dont think it makes any difference, but the tenant is behind with his rent by 10 weeks. Can i get possession quicker ?

£20 per week rent. Where in the country does he live?

[marsaday]

1) Yes it was an AST for 6mths. It then becomes a periodic tenancy.

2) Yes it was a fixed term of six months starting from 31st may 2010. No end date was used.

3) no deposit

4) DATE OF EXPIRY of this NOTICE: (This is the last day of the tenancy period – AFTER which date I seek possession - see notes below) This section is on the section 21 notice and this is the bit which confuses me. Does this notice expire after the 2mths notice you give ? So the last 2mths notice is the last 2mths of the agreement ? Do i need to serve this notice always just before the 31st of a month (which ties in with when the agreement started)


1) Is this an Assured Shorthold Tenancy (AST) in England/Wales?
2) Assuming it is, how was the fixed term expressed in the contract? e.g. six months commencing 31st May 2010, or [date] to [date] (i.e. is an 'end' date given). Exact wording please.
3) Did T pay a deposit and if so, is it protected and has the prescribed info been given to the T?

The reason for Q2 is that a s.21(4)(a) notice must expire at the end of a tenancy period; the tenancy periods began the day after the fixed term expired, and their length is based on the frequency with which rent is payable, not the rent due date/day. That's why we need to know the actual date that the fixed term expired.

You can serve a s.21 notice at any time. What matters is that the notice complies with s.21(4)(a) by giving T at least two months and also expiring at the end of a tenancy period.

As for the unpaid rent, you can (in addition to the s.21 notice), serve a s.8 notice citing the mandatory ground 8, as well as grounds 10 & 11 (see this link). To fulfill ground 8, there must be at least eight weeks' rent owing and unpaid. The notice must give at least 14 days, after which you can apply for possession and, if there is still at least eight weeks' rent owing and unpaid at the time of the court hearing, the court must make a possession order.

It may not end up being that much quicker, however, despite the much shorter notice period, because of the need to wait for a court hearing; with s.21 it is often the case that, if paperwork is all in order, there will not be a court hearing. What LLs in your position often do is to apply first after s.8 notice expiry, then, if that fails, (by which time the s.21 notice will have expired), try again via s.21 procedure.[/QUOTE]

[westminster]

The first period of the statutory periodic tenancy ran from Mon 31st May 2010 to Sun 6th June 2010.

The fixed term commenced on 31st May 2010, not the SPT.

[Snorkerz]

The fixed term commenced on 31st May 2010, not the SPT.

How utterly embarassing. Of all the people to notice

The first period of the statutory periodic tenancy ran from Wed 1st Dec 2010 to Tue 7th Dec 2010. Each subsequent period will therefore also run for 1 week from Wed to the following Tue. Therefore, if you serve your s21(4)(a) correctly by 27th January, it's expiry will be "after Tuesday 27th March 2012". The word 'after' is an integral part of that date.

[westminster]

1) Yes it was an AST for 6mths. It then becomes a periodic tenancy.

2) Yes it was a fixed term of six months starting from 31st may 2010. No end date was used.

Well, the start date makes it slightly awkward to calculate the end date, but by my reckoning the last day of the term would be 30th November 2010. This was a Tuesday. So the periodic tenancy began on Wednesday 1st December 2010, meaning that tenancy periods run Wednesday - Tuesday.

4) DATE OF EXPIRY of this NOTICE: (This is the last day of the tenancy period – AFTER which date I seek possession - see notes below) This section is on the section 21 notice and this is the bit which confuses me. Does this notice expire after the 2mths notice you give ? So the last 2mths notice is the last 2mths of the agreement ? Do i need to serve this notice always just before the 31st of a month (which ties in with when the agreement started)

• The notice may be served at any time.
• It must give T at least two months (it doesn't have to be exactly two months).
• It must expire at the end of a tenancy period (i.e. in this case, on a Tuesday)

For example, let's say the notice had been served today, Tuesday 24th January. Two months from today takes you to Saturday 24th March. But that's not a Tuesday, so it's not the end of a tenancy period. So you go to the next Tuesday, which is Tuesday 27th March.

The notice would therefore say you require possession "after" 27th March 2012. The word 'after' is essential, because s.21(4)(a) says:

(4) Without prejudice to any such right as is referred to in subsection (1) above, a court shall make an order for possession of a dwelling-house let on an assured shorthold tenancy which is a periodic tenancy if the court is satisfied—

(a) that the landlord or, in the case of joint landlords, at least one of them has given to the tenant a notice in writing stating that, after a date specified in the notice, being the last day of a period of the tenancy and not earlier than two months after the date the notice was given, possession of the dwelling-house is required by virtue of this section; and

(b) ...

BTW, forgot to ask, what does it say in the tenancy contract about methods of serving notice? e.g. by post etc. Exact wording please. This is important since, as well as getting the notice right, you must ensure it is correctly served.

[marsaday]

It doesnt say how you serve the notice in the contract.

I see you just count 6 mths from the start and come to the 1st day in dec, which is a wednesday.

Thanks for all the info

[westminster]

It doesnt say how you serve the notice in the contract.

Then the best way to serve notice is by hand, in person, through the T's letterbox, with a witness present. Whilst it's quite unlikely, the T may argue the notice hasn't been correctly served if you send the notice by post.

[thesaint]

Serve it by hand, and by sending it by 1st class mail with a cert of posting from the Post Office.

[marsaday]

Ok, this is what i intend to do. Can you just confirm my dates will be ok.

I will post the sec 21 tomorrow with a witness.

The eviction 2 mth period will start from next wed 1st feb and will finish on tuesday 3rd April (this will be 2 days over the 2 mth period).

Is this ok ?

[Snorkerz]

That will be fine, although I am not clear what you mean by the period starting on 1st Feb - it starts when you serve it.

Don't forget the expiry date must be "after 3rd April 2012"

[marsaday]

ok, so if i serve it tomorrow, this means he has 2 mths from the 26th jan. This takes me to the 26th March (monday), but i need the notice to finish
on a tuesday. So the notice can now expire "after 27th march 2012". This is a week earlier which is good.

ps, are there any complications if this is a joint tenancy ? It is a single tenancy with two named parties on it. I intend to name both on the eviction notice