locolupa Posted September 23, 2008 Report Share Posted September 23, 2008 Can anybody tell me if I have issued a Section 8 notice and have not entered the grounds exactly as stated in the 1988 act will it invalidate it and if so can I just issue a new one correctly? Would I have to cancel the first one and notify the tenant and his solicitor or just go with the new one. I know that a new issue would have to give the required 2 months notice and the previous 2 months would not apply. Also, if my tenant is well over 8 weeks in arrears but this is not concurrent and is spread over two years is this allowable under ground 8? There are six weeks concurrent running from Nov to Dec 2006 and two weeks in Feb 2007 plus other times. Any help would be much appreciated Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Preston Posted September 23, 2008 Report Share Posted September 23, 2008 Hi The problem you are facing is an increasingly common one, from what I can see. If you have copied the ground incorrectly (or if you have not used the prescribed form for your notice) the Court has the power to throw your notice out and make you start again. Unless it is a very, very minor mistake you have made - such as a minor spelling mistake - I would certainly advise you to reissue. Courts appear to be increasingly attentive to these details and its just not worth the risk of getting that far and having your case thrown out. The good news is that you can reissue whenever you wish; just send a covering letter explaining that the new notice replaces the old incorrect one. Also, if you are issuing the notice purely on ground 8 (2 months arrears) then you dont have to give two months notice as you suggest in your question, you only need to give two weeks. With regard to your query on arrears, it is definitely the case that the arrears do not have to be concurrent. They could have arisen at any time or times during the tenancy, they just have to add up to more than 2 months (or 8 weeks for weekly tenancies) when you issue and at the time of the court hearing. Good luck Preston Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
locolupa Posted September 23, 2008 Author Report Share Posted September 23, 2008 Hi Preston. Thanks very much! A great help and what I was hoping I'd hear (about the rent). Unfortunately it isn't just the rent issue so it'll have to be a two monther, but I can reissue tomorrow with the covering letter. Oh and do I have to set a new date for two months as I think I do, or does the reissue still continue the other? Does isssuing another section 8 start the whole process again? Another question! I have 2 mandatories and 5 discretionaries! 6, 8, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14. All genuine! How likely is it that a solicitor will defend the tenant in court on these would anyone know? I imagine the tenant is using legal aid. Would a solicitor be likely to defend a tenant when he knows he must lose, given the mandatories, using legal aid? Does the solicitor have to justify the use of public funds on a case he is bound to lose. Luckily, when I received the 3rd letter disputing this and that in the section 8 from his keen and prolific solicitor and stated that he was prepared to vigorously defend his client it made me a little suspicious. I thought, "why defend a mandatory?" So I rechecked the wording and realised that I had missed off a chunk off the ground 6 jargon! It's delayed me only three weeks which is fortunately not a big problem to me and in the meantime, thanks to you, Preston I can now legitimately add ground 8! Interesting to see how the solicitor will react to that! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Preston Posted September 23, 2008 Report Share Posted September 23, 2008 Hi, Not sure of the current position on legal aid, but my guess is that provided she passes the means test, she would qualify for legal aid only if she intends to dispute the arrears. Just a thought, has the fixed term period of the AST expired and if so, have you considered using the section 21 notice procedure? It would be much more straightforward with a more definite outcome. Preston Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
locolupa Posted September 23, 2008 Author Report Share Posted September 23, 2008 Preston! Thanks for being there. Tried the 21 route but the tenancy is assured commencing 1990. The tenant has up to press instructed the solicitor to defend. I edited my post as you were replying. I asked if you'd know if the reissue of the section 8 tomorrow would have to begin the process again or would it be a kind of codicil to the one issued three weeks ago? Will I have to set a new date for applying to court. (I think I do. Hope I'm wrong!!!) Can anyone help at all with this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Preston Posted September 24, 2008 Report Share Posted September 24, 2008 Hi Yes you are right. If the previous notice was defective then you need to start again effectively with a new notice and a new period of 2 months. Its very interesting that you are dealing with an assured tenancy. There arent too many of those about in the private sector these days. I think its going to be important that you get your information together for the hearing in some detail, particularly the background information for ground 6. Good luck and it will be interesting to know how you get on. Preston Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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