aetius Posted April 5, 2010 Report Share Posted April 5, 2010 Hi, My tennant is 5 weeks in arrears at the moment, the tenancy agreement has expired and is on a monthly rolling basis. My tennant claims she's fallen on hard times. I've tried being civilized about the matter to find a mutual solution, but have been met with lies and silence so far. I've just purchased a section 8 notice from legalhelpers limited. The document is 8 pages long and spells out the entire act with the last page stating that "your landlord cannot make you leave your home without an order for possession ". Is it normal to send the entire 8 pages out? I was hoping that I could scare my tennant into moving out, but the statement such as the last doesnt fill me with much confidence, as it's likely if we go through the courts it will end up costing me around 500+ with little chance of me getting my rent arrears back, worse case scenario for my tennant is that she'd end up with a bad credit rating. Does anyone have any sample completed section 8 notices that I could look at? I can't issue a section 21 as I never protected her deposit. I know I can't legally change the locks, but I'm wondering what are my chances of being prosecuted as there's often a big difference between the maximum penalty and what's likely to happen? Any advice much appreciated, thx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mortitia Posted April 6, 2010 Report Share Posted April 6, 2010 Oh dear, Another deposit not protected and this is the downside. Yes you will have to issue a section 8 but wait until she is 8 +weeks in arrears. Either way you are going to lose income - either by the courts taking 3X the deposit off you for not protecting it or by loss of income from the non paying tenant. Try paying her to go! If she has already taken advice she will know the score. Difficult one but get property back at all costs and move on. Mortitia Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snorkerz Posted April 9, 2010 Report Share Posted April 9, 2010 Charges for illegal eviction are very likely - especially if tenant goes to the coulcil looking for acommodation - the police will simply let tenant back in. Protect the deposit now at www.tenancydeposit.com and issue the prescribed information to tenant. Once you have done that, your tenant will not be able to sue you for the 3x statutory penalty AND you will then be able to issue s21. Cost for a s8 is £100 online fee. Maybe another £100 for bailiffs if required. Requires court hearing but gets order for missing rent. Cost for s21 is £150. Maybe another £100 for bailiffs. No court hearing usually but you don't get an order for rent. Use MCOL for that. It is normal to send all 8 pages because you need to quote the grounds you are citing - there are 17 - and that way you are sure that the 1 or 2 grounds you are citing are covered. Probably not worth serving until ground 8 applies. Don't pay for tenancy notices any more - they are free on this site and other 'landlord' sites. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamest Posted April 18, 2010 Report Share Posted April 18, 2010 Oh dear, Another deposit not protected and this is the downside. Yes you will have to issue a section 8 but wait until she is 8 +weeks in arrears. Either way you are going to lose income - either by the courts taking 3X the deposit off you for not protecting it or by loss of income from the non paying tenant. Try paying her to go! If she has already taken advice she will know the score. Difficult one but get property back at all costs and move on. Mortitia Absolute rubbish Mortilla! The OP can issue a S8 when he has two months unpaid . That means that if the tenant does not pay for one whole month and then does not pay on the next due date, then that is two months owing, and he can issue a S8 grounds 8,10,11 the following day. Pay her to go. Why? All the OP has to do to get over the deposit issue is to protect it now and send the prescribed information, there have been many cases where this has forestalled a penalty. S8 and S21 notices can be downloaded for free from many websites. OP, protect the deposit now and issue a S21 the next day, at least it's a sure way to get your possession order. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SPEEDTWIN Posted April 20, 2010 Report Share Posted April 20, 2010 Pay her to go. Why? It can be cheaper to pay a tenant to go then wait for the court process. Serve s8 and give 14 days + 3 days for postage 17 Days Apply for a court hearing 6-8 weeks 49 Days approx Judge gives possession for 2 weeks 14 Days (can be longer) Tenant doesnt go so need court bailif 14 Days approx (can be longer) TOTAL 94 DAYS = 3 MONTHS RENTAL INCOME Plus £5 Postage depending on how many tenants £150 Court fee £90 Bailif fee £100 Locksmith You are looking at the best part of 2k (lost) and that is without the cost of any redecoration and doing it at cost price yourself and then you take the risk of getting one bit wrong in drawing up the court papers and serving the notice and it being struck out and back to sq one. So if the tenant moves out for 500 or a grand you could be a lot better off. I know it would hurt to do that but renting a property is a buisness and all about making a profit. (normally) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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