Eviction Service

Yes, you can still evict your tenant in the absence of a written tenancy agreement.

We will assess the arrangements between the parties to determine the type of tenancy and ensure that we serve the correct notice. It is highly likely that you will have the default tenancy agreement which is an Assured Shorthold Tenancy Agreement or AST Agreement.

Yes, our specialist lawyers can draft and serve an eviction notice for you.

We will assess your circumstances and the setup of your rental agreement to determine whether you will need a Section 21 or Section 8 Notice. We will then draft the eviction notice for you and serve it to your tenants.

It will generally take between 6 to 8 weeks for a judge to grant a possession order under Section 8 or Section 21. However, it is not uncommon for tenants to ignore the possession order granted by the courts, in which case you will have to take the process further to seek eviction by County Court Bailiffs. In some circumstances we may even need to seek High Court Enforcement to forcefully evict your tenants.

If the eviction process is followed correctly (which our specialists will ensure), you should expect to regain possession of your property in no more than 2-3 months. However there are some exceptional cases where the process could take slightly longer.

The easiest way to explain the difference between a Section 8 and Section 21 is that a Section 8 is used to evict your tenant when a tenant is in breach of their contract (e.g. by sub-letting the property without the landlord's consent, or generally failing to meet the terms laid out in the tenancy agreement). A Section 21 on the other hand, is served to end a tenancy agreement simply so that the landlord can regain possession. The tenant does not have to be in breach of their rental contract for a landlord to serve a Section 21 notice.

It is often easier to serve a Section 21 notice because the process for a Section 8 can be costly for the landlord and any grounds you give for the eviction can be contested by the tenant.

Regarding a Section 21 Notice, since 1st October 2015 there are a number of new requirements that must be met to successfully serve a Section 21 Notice.
You must provide your tenants with the following documents at the start of the tenancy:

• An AST Agreement
• A valid Gas Safety Certificate (CP12)
• A copy of the Energy Performance Certificate
• A copy of the Government's 'How To Rent' Guide

If you have not provided your tenants with all of the above documents, you may not be able to serve a Section 21 Notice to your tenants.

Landlords must follow the correct procedures to evict a tenant. If they don't, this would be an "illegal eviction".

It is a criminal offence for a landlord to illegally evict a tenant, and you cannot force a tenant to leave before bailiffs arrive to remove the tenant, even if you have a court order granting repossession.

The rules to follow when evicting a tenant are quite complex and it can be surprisingly easy to make a mistake in the process. This is why we believe our Eviction Service is a great option for landlords who need to quickly and easily evict a tenant.

Yes, it is indeed possible for a landlord to evict a tenant themselves. However, landlords who choose to handle the eviction themselves are normally more experienced landlords who have been through the eviction process before and are familiar with how the court system works.

We speak to landlords who are struggling with problem tenants every day, and unfortunately we have heard multiple stories of landlords attempting to handle the eviction process themselves but ending up in a nightmare situation when they discover that part of the process had been carried out incorrectly, resulting in the landlord needing to start from scratch all over again.

Evictions can take 2 to 3 months even if everything goes to plan, and even a minor mistake in the process can result in weeks or months of delay and more lost income for the landlord.

Due to the reasons outlined above, we strongly recommend that, especially for "accidental" landlords, you seek the help of a professional when trying to evict your tenants. Our Eviction Service gives landlords the helping hand and expert advice that they need during a stressful time. Our specialists will talk through the situation with you, assess the best course of action to quickly evict your tenants, draft and serve the correct eviction notice for you free of charge, and even handle possession claims and seek High Court Enforcement if necessary.

Call us today on 020 3325 4198 to find out more.

Yes, you can indeed evict your tenants for non-payment of rent as this represents a breach of the terms laid out in the tenancy agreement.

If 21 days have passed since your tenant failed to make a payment and they still have not made any payment towards the overdue rent, you should send a letter to the tenant advising them that you will reclaim your property if rent payment is not received. If they also miss the next month's payment, they will be 2 months in arrears.

One your tenant is officially 2 month's in arrears, the Housing Act 1988 gives you the right to take legal action to evict the tenant and reclaim possession of your property. In this situation you would typically serve a Section 8 Notice as this type of eviction notice is used when the tenant has breached one or more of the terms laid out in the tenancy agreement (such as non-payment of rent).

Non-payment of rent is one of the most common causes for landlords to seek eviction and our specialists have a wealth of experience in dealing with cases like this. We can help you quickly and efficiently regain possession of your property if your tenant has stopped paying rent. Simply give us a call on 020 3325 4198 and a member of our team will be happy to help.

In theory, yes. If you are evicting a tenant for non-payment of rent you can also ask the judge to grant a repayment order for any unpaid rent owed by the tenant.

Unfortunately, the actual success rate for getting a tenant to repay rent arrears, even after a court order has been granted, is incredibly low. The vast majority of landlords will end up taking the hit on any unpaid rent.

For this reason, you may want to look into some of the Rent Protection or Rent Guarantee insurance products available for landlords. Rent Protection Insurance will protect your income in the event that your tenant can't or won't pay the rent. There are some great policies out there - TheHouseShop's Rent Protection Insurance will cover your full rental income, provide £100,000 worth of legal expenses cover should you need to evict a tenant, cover 75% of the rent for up to 2 months post-eviction to allow you time to find new tenants AND give you access to a free legal advice helpline. On top of all this, there's no excess to pay when you need to make a claim!

Find out more about TheHouseShop's Rent Protection Insurance here: Rent Protection for Landlords