Removing a tenant from a property: Section 8 Notices – a Landlord’s best friend
When asked how they can remove their tenant from the property many landlords wrongly assume that the only way is by serving a Notice pursuant to Section 21 of the Housing Act 1988, more commonly referred to as a “2 month notice”. A Section 21 Notice is the main option when the Tenant is complying with the Tenancy Agreement but is not so useful when the tenant has stopped paying rent.
The problem with the Section 21 notice is that you have to wait at least 2 months before it takes effect. Add to this the fact that possession proceedings can often take 2 – 3 months to go through the County Court and you the landlord have potential rent arrears of 5 months. In the current climate of financial uncertainty, and the much publicised “credit crunch”, such a considerable amount of arrears is unacceptable, especially when the landlord has their own obligations to their mortgage provider.
Using a Section 8 Notice
A landlord can serve a Section 8 Notice at any time during the tenancy period - even on the day after the tenancy begins. The notice informs the tenant that there has been a breach of the tenancy and sets out one or more of the statutory grounds upon which the landlord is entitled to seek possession of the property. If the tenant fails to remedy the breach, the landlord can commence possession proceedings without further delay.
The most commonly used ground is ground 8 which relates to tenant rent arrears. If your Section 8 notice is based upon rent arrears, you only have to wait 14 days before you can issue possession proceedings. Therein lays the obvious benefit over the Section 21 Notice which requires you as landlord to wait at least 2 months and often longer before you can start possession proceedings.
Other benefits of using a Section 8 Notice
Many landlords who already use Section 8 Notices often wrongly assume that they have to wait until there is 2 months worth of arrears before serving a Section 8 Notice. This is not the case. Ground 10 and 11 of Schedule 2 of the Housing Act 1988 allow the landlord to serve a Notice if there is any arrears (Ground 10) or even if there are no arrears but there have historically been persistent arrears (Ground 11).
Acting expediently is crucial so it is often beneficial to serve the notice as soon as there are any arrears. Grounds 10 and 11 allow you to do that. It also shows the tenant that you will not tolerate rent arrears at all!
Multipurpose Notice
A Section 8 Notice can also be used to bring a tenancy to an end for breaches other than rent arrears.
For example, Ground 14 allows you to bring the tenancy to an end if it can be shown that the tenant or someone living or visiting the tenant has been found guilty of conduct which is likely to cause nuisance or annoyance to neighbours. Ground 15 allows you to bring a tenancy to an end if the furniture in the property has been allowed to deteriorate or been poorly treated by the tenant. The point is that you do not have to have rent arrears to bring the tenancy to an end early.
There are many other grounds which you can use and the Landlord and Tenant team at colemans-ctts can advise you upon.
Next time your tenant gives you any indication that rent will not be paid, or your tenant breaches the tenancy terms, contact our head of Landlord and Tenant, Russell Dean on 0208 296 6702 or Russell.Dean@colemans-ctts.co.uk and he will advise you through the process. Our Debt Recovery team can also offer landlords specialist advice on rent arrears and other debt related matters.
Colemans-ctts solicitors have offices in Manchester, Kingston and Walsall and can offer legal guidance in a wide range of areas. Email enquiries@colemans-ctts.co.uk to find out how we can help.