Getting Rent From Tenant

[singhr]

Hi ppl,

I need some advice, i have a tenant in my property who has been in the property since June, she has made 3 full rent payment prevously and kept the property in a nice condition. Though she was late in making one payment by a few days, but that was dismissed as she was a good friend of my colleague at work. Now she has missed paying the current rent of a months rent payment in advance and keeps saying she will. I want her out of the property, im going to serve her a section 21 notice to leave tomorrow. Can anyone help me in some advice in whether or not i can kick her out full stop if she still does not pay the rent within this period of time? I understand she has two full months to leave the property in serving this order?

Many Thanks, i look forward to hearing from you

[fleming]

Hi! We went through the same scenario this time last year. I am assuming you have an assured shorthold tenancy agreement for 6 months. Unfortunately, this means you cannot evict the tenant before the end of the six month period, even if she is not currently paying rent. A minimum of 2 months' notice must be given and there are numerous rules which must be adhered to to ensure this is done properly. If she is still in the property after the notice expires you need to apply for a court order using the accelerated procedure. If all your paperwork has been submitted correctly, the judge will set a date for eviction. The tenant has the right to appeal to extend the time up to 6wk. If the tenant still has not budged, then you need to apply for a Warrant for Possession which is served by a bailiff. So be warned that even under the 'accelerated' method, a tenant can string things out and remain in the property legally for at least another 2 months from the end of the tenancy agreement. You could try the Small Claims Court to get any rent owed, but I have no experience of this. Our tenant had so many debts, we decided we'd never see any money!

[evicthem]

All good advice from fleming. It can be as straight forward as that, and providing the paper work is correct, a section 21 give you the right to your property back. The accelerated possession order, a non attendance court action, unless the tenant tries to defend the case ( usually because of a faulty section 21) also has to be filled in with care. Ed, evicthem.