Q: Regaining Possession Of Property

My partner has rented out her flat. This person has not payed the rent for quite a few months. A section 8 was issued, but to no effect. The case went to court where the tenant was given unti 30 September to pay up the arrears (original date of hearing was 16th September),if he did not pay by that day he would then have 14 days to leave the property.

After the 14 days has expired is she allowed to enter her property and evict the tenant? If she has to go through the bailiffs this will then take another 2/3 weeks to do which will then have been almost 6-months (end of contract) He was also served with a section 21 at the court hearing. Can he be evicted without bailiffs? Many thanks for your time. Regards Bill Langford

A:

I strongly advise against your partner entering the property and evicting the tenants herself, even if it will save on time.

It is important that she sticks to current tenant regulations and eviction procedures, as she could provoke your tenants into taking action against her instead. The problem is, whilst the tenant remains in the property, your partner will have to seek permission to enter. That is why it is important to request County Court Bailiffs to come evict the tenant.

I am guessing that after the Section 8 expired, your partner applied to the courts using an N5 form to claim possession of the property, where the court then made a 'mandatory' possession order as her tenant was still in arrears.

Now if her tenant does reach the 14 days given to vacate and they still don't leave, your partner will need to apply for the County Court bailiffs (preferably the same ones who dealt with her possession order) to come and evict her tenants.

To do this she will need to complete and send a County Court Form N325 and make a cheque of £95 payable to HMCS. They will then send her a date and time for when the eviction will take place.

It is important that your partner attends on this date and brings a locksmith with her to change the locks on her property let to prevent the tenant from re-entering after they have been evicted.

Next she will need to enforce the 'money order' which she will have applied for when she completed a N5, as this will enable her to recoup any outstanding rental arrears (if there are any).

I know this is time consuming, but should she take steps to evict the tenants herself, she could undo everything she has achieved so far and find that the tenants are living in the property even longer.