Updating post from Reddit.
I'm a bit confused by what the letting agent of a property on my road that has been rented since April this year is telling me and hoping someone here can give some insights into what the process actually is.
I understand the tenants moved in and only paid one months rent and then stopped payment, the letting agent told me a Section 21 notice was served end of August and that it expires in 2 months, after that they have to apply to the court for a hearing date.
They've now told me that if the tenant did not leave by mid November they have to apply to the court for possession order.
I'm a bit confused, what are the next steps they'd be taking? Will the court now need to grant the possession order and give the tenants an eviction date, which if they refuse to leave on then will require bailiffs to evict them?
The tenants are being evicted primarily for non payment but also ASBO, but can the court reject the S21 if it's valid? Can the tenants bring any defence?
That is why s21 are used rather than s8 is because you can’t challenge them (caveat, certain repairs and paperwork issues) so the performative legislation banning s21 won’t help anyone… anyway….
so issue s21 to first available date allowed in the ast
once that expires you issue court papers for possession
once possession date has passed then it is bailiffs
given your tenants stopped after month 1 they sound like professional bad tenants and non payers. They will know the law better than you. Get some proper legal advice, it will save you money compared to getting it wrong and the tenants staying longer that absolutely necessary.
Thanks for the reply, very valuable information here. The eviction process has been passed on to a specialist I believe and it makes sense they are professional bad tenants - they've been illegally subletting the property too and have seen more tenants arriving this morning to stay!
Why didnt the agents say about section 8 you could have issued this on the 2nd month that payment date was missed (making it 2 months in arrears) then booked the hearing date if its not paid by a certain date which then would give tenants x amount of days to pay which they wont then you book baillifs for eviction. Section 21 cant be issued in the fix term for 4 months meaning in your case you have already lost 2 months in the process. I was in the same boat tenant stopped paying after the first payment to obtain keys.
OP, the letting agent is almost certainly connected with this "professional bad tenant". It's probably one of their mates. This happens all the time. Demand to see official documents showing what the letting agent has actually done on the eviction and I'm 90% sure you'll find they're lying to you. If this is happening in London please DM me as I know many of the bad actors in this space.
Others have answered your questions correctly but I want to ask:
You havent had any rental income since April from that property? Why didnt estate agent start section 8, two months into arrears? Do the estate agents guarantee you rent?
There is rent guarantee insurance in place so that is covering payment
Oh excellent. Please go through your insurance documentation about the claiming back of legal costs. Some are terrible, such as only will pay it if there is more than 51% chance of them claiming it back from tenants.
Also Section 8 should have been used after 2 months arrears. That might cause an issue during insurance claim. Thats my concern.
The letting agent has failed you by not putting in a section 8 notice that means you could also get a money order against the tenant from the court. It also would have been quicker.
Not a landlord but going through Section 21 process myself for sale of the house. Luckily we got given extra notice and secured another property before even receiving the Section 21. I’ve researched it heavily though.
If the end of the Section 21 notice date has passed then can you apply to the courts for possession. This can take a number of months and may eventually require bailiff action. As far as I’m aware, a Section 8 should be served for non payment of rent. Has your agent advised serving a Section 8?
Is it normal to leave this stuff to a letting agent? Not something I’ve come across before. If I was OP I would be wanting to check the real occupier isn’t paying rent to someone connected with the agent.
It's been passed onto eviction specialists who are handling the case is my understanding.
If a tenant doesn't move out despite a section 21, the landlord will have to take them to court and get a possession order. How long it takes generally depends on how big a backlog the courts have. Unfortunately, it can take some extra months to get a court date settled.
If the section 21 is valid then it's unlikely that a court would rule in favour of the tenant. The landlord does have the right to take their property back, as long as this is done correctly.