As part of our stage 3 process we can issue a warrant of possession on behalf of the Landlord.

Upon the issue of the warrant of possession the court will allocate a date and will inform both ourselves and the tenant of the eviction date.

Should there be any concerns that the bailiffs will be met with threats of violence upon the tenant’s eviction we should inform the court of this when we confirm the eviction appointment.  The court will then make arrangement s for either a number of bailiffs to attend or for the police to be in attendance.

On the date of the tenant’s eviction the Landlord should attend with a locksmith and meet the bailiff at the appointed time.  Usually the tenant will have vacated, however if the tenant has not left the bailiff  will either ask them to leave the property immediately and take possession or will return later in the day by which time the tenant should have left.

Landlords should be aware that the county court bailiff will not enforce any county court judgment at the same time and therefore further enforcement action will be necessary.

Landlords should also be aware that a tenant can apply for the warrant of possession to be suspended at any time before the eviction date when the court will set the matter down for a hearing.  This will be the case even if possession has been obtained using mandatory ground 8 or via the accelerated possession procedure.

We at Solicitors4landlords will assist the Landlord in opposing any application to suspend a warrant of possession and will also apply to the Court for an order that the tenant pays the landlord’s additional costs.

Should you have any queries in respect of this or any tenant eviction matter please do not hesitate to call us on 01455 553945

All Landlords and their Agents need to be aware of the Landlord & Tenant Act, 1987 and the repercussions upon the tenant eviction process should they fail to comply with section 48.

Firstly Section 48 applies where the premises consist of or include a dwelling, so it applies to all residential landlords.

Section 48(1) of the act provides that a landlord of premises to which this part applies shall by notice furnish the tenant with an address in England and Wales at which notices (including notice of proceedings) may be served on him by the tenants.

Section 48(2) provides that “where a landlord of any such premises fails to comply with Sub Section (1) any rent otherwise due from the tenant to the landlord shall be treated for all purposes as not being due from the tenant at any time before the landlord does comply with the sub section.

This effectively means that until a section 48 notice is served rent is not payable and not lawfully due unless the landlord has given an address for service of notices in accordance with the act.

In the circumstances prior to service of either a sectio 8 or a section 21 notice it is imperative to check and see whether either a section 48 notice has been served or whether this is incorporated in the tenancy agreement.  Many tenancy agreements do contain this information but not all, and we have also seen cases where although it is mentioned the address has not been inserted.

Should a section 8 notice be served and  court proceedings issued and no section 48 notice served the rent would not be lawfully due and therefore the tenant could apply to have the claim struck out on this basis.  Unfortunately the landlord would not be able to serve a corrective section 48 notice.  The only solution would be to discontinue the existing court proceedings and possibly face costs penalties, and the serve a section 48 notice and a fresh section 8 notice and then issue fresh possession proceedings.

Landlords and Agents should also be aware that section 47 of LTA 1o87 requires the landlord’s name and address to be given on all demands for rent or any other sums payable under the tenancy.  Howevwer this will not satisfy the requirements of section 48.

Section 48 notices do not have to be served personally on the tenant delivery by post should be sufficient to meet the requirements that the landlord furnishes the tenant with the information by notice.

We at Solicitors4Landlords always check that a section 48 notice has been given and should it have not then we serve a section 48 notice prior to the section 8/21 at no additional cost.

If so, the TDS (mydeposit.co.uk) has recently clarified its position and we would add that the DPS also require the following:-

If the final tenant eviction court order contains a judgment and clearly sets out what the judgment is for i.e. rent arrears of damages to property and also directs the TDS to make payment from the deposit they will release the deposit as long as no schedule of repayment has been agreed with the tenant.

They have also indicated that should the eviction court order not contain a specific direction for the TDS to release the deposit they will still consider releasing the deposit if the Court order is a final order, and no schedule of repayment has been agreed and the tenancy agreement permits the deposit to be used for the purposes of the judgment in a court order.

However should there be any dispute in respect of the tenancy deposit then they will not release the deposit until the matter has been resolved by either them or the Courts.

Should you have obtained a final tenant eviction court order without a direction that the deposit be released by the TDS  and your tenancy agreement does not contain the clause mentioned above then you must either further apply to the Court for a direction that the deposit be released by the TDS or enforce the judgment you have obtained by way of a third party debt order.

As part of the service we offer to Solicitors4Landlords Ltd we always request at the final possession hearing that the tenancy deposit be released to the Landlord.  Should you have any further questions or problems in respect of tenant eviction please call us on 01455 553945 or 07746 438 474

Remainder to all Landlords that since the 6th April, 22012 should you take a rent deposit from your tenant you must do the following or face difficulties should you wish to issue tenant eviction proceedings:-

a. Pay the deposit into a prescribed scheme within 30 days of payment.

b Comply with the initial requirerments of the scheme you are using within 30 days of payment.  Please refer to the terms and conditions of the scheme.

c. Give the tenant the prescribed information relating to the deposit within 30 days of receiving the deposit.

There are two prescribed schemes.

a. The custodial scheme, where a Landlord pays the money into the scheme – for more information contact The Deposit Protection Service.  This service is free to Landlords.

b. An insurabce scheme, where the Landlord retains the depsoit until the end of the tenancy – for more information contact Tenancy Deposit Solutions (My/deposit).  This service charges a fee for each rent deposit.

The consequences of not protecting the rent deposit are:-

a. Any section 21 eviction notice will be invalid.

b. The tenant can apply to the court for an award of between one to three times the rent deposit plus the return of the deposit and

c. The tenant could file a counterclaim to any tenant eviction proceedings issued for rent arrears and effectively wipe out the arrears of rent.

What can a Landlord do if he has failed to pay the deposit into a Scheme:-

a.Return the deposit to the tenant as soon as possible or

b. Pay the deposit into a prescribed scheme immediately.  Although the Court of Appeal case of Tiensia will no longer assist a Landlord who has not protected the deposit, paying the deposit into a scheme will hopefully assist in persuading the Court that the penalty should be reduced to only one times the rent deposit should the tenant make a claim.

Should you have any further questions, please contact us on 01455 553945 or 07746 438 474 and speak to a tenant eviction solicitor who will be able to assist you with any tenant eviction problems you may have.