Evicting Tenants in the United Kingdom

Housing law in the United Kingdom attempts to strike a balance between allowing property owners to profit from their properties and protecting tenants from being made homeless. Landlords feel that the law favours tenants because of a long and complicated tenant eviction process. It can take up to 14 weeks to remove a stubborn tenant from residential property.

It is common knowledge that there are two main routes for landlords to obtain possession of their property in England and Wales. The first one is by using a section 21 notice. The second route is by using a Section 8 notice. However, landlords are sometimes not aware of two important facts about these legal proceedings.

Firstly, to be successfully in obtaining a possession order for property a valid notice is the starting point. The notice will be scrutinised by the District Judge and the tenant's legal representatives who are typically specialist housing lawyers. Notices are given away freely by many organisations and appear simple to complete. However, this is not the case. A classic example is that many people believe that simply giving tenants 2 months of notice is sufficient when in reality it is the first of a number of rules to successfully draft and serve a valid notice. My experience is that a high proportion of letting agents and landlords get notices wrong as they are not aware of the complete statutory rules upon which notice selection and preparation are based. This is a fact. It is a fact that costs landlords months of delay and extra expense.

Specialist eviction solicitors get notices right in all situations. They know which notice to serve, what the exact notice expiry date should be, and how service should be executed according to the tenancy agreement.

Secondly, landlords should be aware that there are many opportunities for tenants to defend themselves at no cost through the citizen’s advice bureau or their local council. When a defence is filed the legal costs to the landlord escalate as additional hearing dates are set. Tenants often benefit from free (legal aid) solicitors while landlords do not. Therefore, it is essential that the landlord obtains professional advice from a property solicitor at the outset so that the landlord does not get involved in a costly defended case that could have easily been avoided.

Bartletts Solicitors Limited offers sound advice on evicting tenants. Our tenant eviction UK service is simple to use and charged on a fixed fee basis. Our company is fully regulated and employs qualified landlord and tenant solicitors.