Josie Clegg Posted March 29, 2008 Report Share Posted March 29, 2008 I have a tenant who is 3 months behind on his rent (£2300). From May 07 to Nov 07 he paid in cash and had been a relatively good tenant. At Christmas he started to give excuses and promises and it has taken a while to realise he is giving me the run around: he is a friend of a friend and I thought he wouldn't do that. I have an assured tenancy agreement with him and an employers reference. I have spent some time on this site and have phoned a couple of DC agencies but am still unsure of how to progress. Section 21 seems to be used regularly by landords with non paying Ts and I have been advised to serve this by an agency. Why not section 8? It seems to be more appropriate when money is owed. T has offered to leave several times and I have taken him up on his offer, not in writing though. I am keen to give the right formal notice first time. Secondly, can anyone recommend an effective DC agency in the swindon area (unless,they are country wide- I am new to this) ? am I obliged to warn him that I will do so? Hope some of you can help. J Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Dewsberry Posted March 29, 2008 Report Share Posted March 29, 2008 googe "debt collector swindon" and make sure you are using a "no win..no fee" agency ...also No payment up front ... Search this forum for loads of explicit advise on timing and implementation of DC use (or not ...just threaten ....which can be far more effective!!) The Rodent Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simonbaldry Posted March 30, 2008 Report Share Posted March 30, 2008 Section 8 and a solicitor will do the job, also take a picture of the tenants car number plate, this may help tracing him later on. However a little trick that has worked twice this year ( I inherited a number of problem properties from another agent) Write to the local housing benefit(HB) office with an ilustration of the rents that have been paid and how much is outstanding, even if you don't know the tenant is claiming. In the first case the tenant told me he wasn't in reciept of HB but we are now being paid the rent directly whilst he is evicted. In the 2nd case the tenant cliamed she had paid rent , however the HB was suspended as she was unable to prove it and did not respond to the councils enquires, we have just heared we will be recieving a cheque for 2 months rent, even though she left in January. Has anyone else had success with this ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GPEL Posted March 30, 2008 Report Share Posted March 30, 2008 Possession claims for rent arrears etc under Section 8 can be done on line without the need for a solicitor or a lot of the other hassle and expense that used to go with it. However, if called to court you will still need to attend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simonbaldry Posted March 30, 2008 Report Share Posted March 30, 2008 Possession claims for rent arrears etc under Section 8 can be done on line without the need for a solicitor or a lot of the other hassle and expense that used to go with it. However, if called to court you will still need to attend. Thats true but get the wording wrong and the judge will throw it out. I really would recomend using a solicitor if you have never evicted someone before. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GPEL Posted March 30, 2008 Report Share Posted March 30, 2008 The online forms are designed to lead you by the hand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simonbaldry Posted March 30, 2008 Report Share Posted March 30, 2008 The online forms are designed to lead you by the hand. So you have used them to evict a tenant? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trenners Posted April 1, 2008 Report Share Posted April 1, 2008 Hi J Swindon, Section 21 is much quicker and much more certain than a Section 8. I appreciate that a Section 8 is the correct notice when the tenant is 2 months in arrears - but a Section 8 requires a Court hearing and it can tak upto 4 or 5 months to gain a possession order via this route. Section 21 can be followed by the request for an eviction order via the accelerated possession procedure - which only takes 28 days after applying to the court and doesn't require a court hearing. Why make life difficult for yourself. If you can serve a Section 21 then SERVE IT. Getting possession is the requirement! Good luck, Mark (of Swindon) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GPEL Posted April 1, 2008 Report Share Posted April 1, 2008 Yep, empty property better than a bad tenant. Use a solicitor and find yourself £500+ poorer. Do it yourself if you're confident and PCOL for ease of use with S8s. Twice solicitors got the serving of notices wrong for me so I would only use them if there are likely to be complications. Having served 3 Section 8s myself leading to court appearances it's easy to do it by paper or online and get right, if you follow the guidance. Sec 21 or Sec 8, both routes end up in court if the tenant won't leave, however serving either doesn't necessarily mean it'll end up in court if an amicable solution is reached beforehand. They're just the formal notification that the landlord is seeking possession. Section 8 notices lead to possession claims with an award for arrears and the S21 based awards just gives possession, with a separate claim necessary for arrears. The route you choose depends on the point of time in the tenancy. On matter of timing, S21 requires a minimum of 2 full months notice (so long as it expires outside of the fixed period) and then time for court to process a subsequent claim within the accelerated route criteria; S8 is served when rent is 2 months in arrears (usually served during the fixed period) ie 1 month and 1 day and papers can be served to courts soon after. Outside of the fixed period either a S8 or S21 can still be served if there are arrears but the S21 route is the more straight forward. There are circumstances where it may be useful to have served both a S21 & S8. Length of time to the Hearing for either is subject to the court's workload. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simonbaldry Posted April 1, 2008 Report Share Posted April 1, 2008 Yep, empty property better than a bad tenant. Use a solicitor and find yourself £500+ poorer. Do it yourself if you're confident and PCOL for ease of use with S8s. Twice solicitors got the serving of notices wrong for me so I would only use them if there are likely to be complications. Having served 3 Section 8s myself leading to court appearances it's easy to do it by paper or online and get right, if you follow the guidance. Sec 21 or Sec 8, both routes end up in court if the tenant won't leave, however serving either doesn't necessarily mean it'll end up in court if an amicable solution is reached beforehand. They're just the formal notification that the landlord is seeking possession. Section 8 notices lead to possession claims with an award for arrears and the S21 based awards just gives possession, with a separate claim necessary for arrears. The route you choose depends on the point of time in the tenancy. On matter of timing, S21 requires a minimum of 2 full months notice (so long as it expires outside of the fixed period) and then time for court to process a subsequent claim within the accelerated route criteria; S8 is served when rent is 2 months in arrears (usually served during the fixed period) ie 1 month and 1 day and papers can be served to courts soon after. Outside of the fixed period either a S8 or S21 can still be served if there are arrears but the S21 route is the more straight forward. There are circumstances where it may be useful to have served both a S21 & S8. Length of time to the Hearing for either is subject to the court's workload. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simonbaldry Posted April 1, 2008 Report Share Posted April 1, 2008 A section 21 have to be issued 2 clear months from a rent due date and is just notice to end a tenancy if the tenant doesn't move you still have to get a possesion order. Whilst a section 8 can be acted on after 14 days and with acelerated possesion order be much quicker than section 21,as I said before a good solicitor is the way forward. Also you may be able to recover some of your rent this way through a ccj There is a good book in your local library by Geoffrey Randal callled The Housing Rights Guide, this has answers to most questions Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GPEL Posted April 2, 2008 Report Share Posted April 2, 2008 On the need to use a solicitor for straight forward cases we differ. Further clarification on use of S21 & S8 notices for anyone unsure is available at http://www.letlink.co.uk/letting-factsheet...n-8-notice.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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