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Advice Please


mecconoid

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Hi

As the date of the PO has been and gone, i have applied for a court bailiff, now i've learned that the tenants have left the property, can i enter the property before the bailiff date, and if so what repercussions could it have? or should i wait for the bailiffs to come out.

Thanks

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Hi Meccanoid,

How sure are you they have gone or how good is the quality of your information? I suppose you could go and knock on the door to find out but I think the main problem is if is not clear that they have vacated you may be walking into a trap and they try and do you for harrassment.

On the other hand you could save yourself the cost of bailiff and get the flat done upand back earning income rather than hang about. If it was me I'd take a witness with me, try the door and see what delights await you.

Best of luck,

Mortitia

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Hi Mortitia

Have been abit cheeky and had a friend go round and knock on the door and also ask neighbors if they have seen them, they said no they haven't seen them, so my friend let himself in and had a quick look round, no sign of the tenants and no sign of there personal belongings, but the place has been trashed, as i live 130 miles away i'm thinking of driving up there and taking possession, there's been no sign of them for 5 days i'm inclined to think they have left any thoughts welcome.

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Thanks for advice, i must admit i don't know what to do for the best,as i said everything points to the tenants having left The house is trashed and there's rubbish everywhere, shortly after the tenants moved in ,there was a problem with rats , when the rat man came out he said it was because they had lots of black bags of rubbish lying around and that was the reason for the rats, also there is a broken window at the front of the house on the ground floor so the property is not secure. I have spoken to my solicitor and he has said to wait for the bailiff because they could come back and say they have been illegally evicted, he said they do this, go away for a week or two and then come back so they can say illegal eviction the thing is the bailiff have said it will be January before we get a date. Can anyone tell me whats the worst that can happen if i go and change the locks etc and they should come back?. Also bearing in mind that there is still an ongoing court case for rent arrears.

Thanks Mecconoid

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Hi

I think the maximum penalty for illegal eviction is 6 months in prison or a £5,000 fine.

The reason why people use court bailiffs is that they are empowered to physically remove people and possessions from their home even when they are still in occupation. As a landlord you do not have this legal right.

So, as you have mentioned, the key issue is whether or not the former tenants are indeed still in occupation. Until they move out, they are still counted as residential occupiers and so are covered by the Protection from Eviction Act. If they have moved out, however, you are perfectly entitled to enter into possession and change the locks. Whether or not they come back at a later date is, strictly speaking, irrelevant. If you have a possession order and the date for possession has passed, the former tenant would need to show that they were in residence at the time you took possession.

Unfortunately, this isnt always easy to decide. But generally speaking the courts will take into account fairly common sense type evidence. Is the rent being paid? Has the former tenant moved their belongings out of the property? Has the former tenant failed to respond to contact from the landlord and others? Where is the tenants mail going to? Have the local authority and utility companies been notified of a change of address? Is there any other evidence, like information from neighbours?

Its difficult for you to act against the advice of your solicitor and the point he or she makes about people who pull "scams" is an interesting one. Its never easy to fight people who are determined not to tell the truth and who deliberately try to catch you out. All I can say is that I have entered into possession on many occasions in circumstances similar to yours without any negative consequences. My only advice is to gather whatever additional evidence you can from the list given above and then make a genuine assessment. Only you can decide, but on the face of it you may well have enough evidence to enter into possession well before next January.

Preston

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