The tenant eviction process can be a particularly tough situation to face. So here are the 4 steps you need to follow to know how to evict a tenant in the UK.
Write a tenant eviction notice.
You must give a minimum of two months’ notice under section 21 of the Housing act 1988 if you want to evict your tenant. This is also known as a Section 21 notice. (For further reference, check How to handle bad tenants). It can only be served by a landlord earlier than any fixed term if the tenancy agreement makes provision for it.
How to write an eviction notice to a tenant
The precise form of the notice to evict tenant letter can differentiate, but it must be in writing and must specify the date of required possession. This date must not be sooner than two months after the notice has been served. It also mustn’t be earlier than the end of the fixed term.
If the fixed term has expired, or the tenancy was periodic, the date specified must be the last day of the rental period.
It’s very easy to get the date wrong in this situation, so be careful because if the date is wrong, then you won’t succeed in possession. For further reference, check Section 21 and section 8 notices
Evict a tenant using a court possession order.
If the tenant doesn’t move out as a result of the Section 21 notice, you’ll have to go to court to seek a court possession order.
How do I get a possession order?
The court can’t make a possession order in the first six months of the tenancy.
For an assured shorthold tenancy you need to have grounds for eviction. And to have served the proper notice on the tenant before possession proceedings are started.
There are several mandatory grounds for possession, but two that are most commonly used are these:
- Shorthold tenancy If the tenancy is an assured shorthold tenancy, you’re entitled to a possession order after the fixed term has expired, provided the proper Section 21 notice has been served.
- Rent arrears If there are serious rent arrears at the time of service of the notice (Section 8 notice), and at the time of the court hearing, the tenant is in arrears of rent of more than eight weeks. A Section 8 notice requires possession because of rent arrears. For further reference, check The best way to deal with rent arrears
Evict a tenant using accelerated possession
You can also opt for an accelerated possession procedure.
The accelerated possession proceeding is a quicker way to gain possession as there is no court hearing. However, you will need to pay a fee before the action can commence. For accelerated possession, you need to fill in a for N5B at the county court of the area that the property is situated.
The court will then post the papers to the tenant, along with a form of reply allowing them to lodge an objection if they would like to within 14 days.
If successful, you will get an order for possession and one confirming the tenant needs to pay court fees. The possession order is normally enforceable 14 days after the order was made.
From the issue of proceedings to receipt of the order for possession, these proceedings normally take between six and ten weeks assuming nothing goes wrong. For further reference, check How to choose the best tenants
Professional tenant eviction service and notice servers
Sometimes a tenant will not answer the door so can’t have notice served on them. You can deal with this by taking a witness and put the notice through the letterbox before 5 pm. When you follow these steps, it counts as serving notice on the following day.
You can always choose a professional service over doing it yourself. By using this service you will receive a certificate and the fees for this type of service is fairly reasonable. For further reference, check How to attract the best tenants
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