Landlords face an uncertain landscape with the continued pressure from the economic woes facing all sections of society. Tenants may struggle to keep to their rent payment terms, lack of refinance opportunities and a complicated range of options for landlords to take legal action when things go wrong.
There are various legal remedies available to landlords to protect themselves, according to a leading landlord and tenant specialist Louise Hebborn at North West law firm Stephensons Solicitors LLP.
Louise, an associate solicitor at Stephensons said: “The latest figures suggest that in October, unpaid rent totalled £287 million, an increase from the £243 million unpaid in the previous month.
“Against a backdrop of increasing job losses, rising bills and other strains on peoples’ budgets, rent arrears are becoming more of an issue for landlords. Many landlords may feel there is nothing they can do but there are legal options which can be put in place to recover the rent, and failing that, lawfully evict a tenant.
“In most cases, we can offer landlords fixed fees for rent arrears. We have a dedicated team of legal specialists who can provide a one stop shop for landlords’ needs, including fixed price rent recovery, which provides clarity and certainty over legal costs.”
If the tenant fails to maintain their rental payments, eviction may be the next step.
Louise adds: “Many landlords still think that because they are the ‘owners’ of the property they can seek to remove tenants in their own chosen way, without realising that there are set procedures that have to be followed. Many Landlords come to me for advice when they find out that things are going wrong with their possession cases, often just because they got the process wrong.”
Landlords are only entitled to bring court proceedings to evict tenants if they have served the proper possession notice first and waited until the notice period has expired. There are two types of notice: section 21 and section 8 which are set out in the respective sections of the Housing Act 1988.
These notices are particular to the type of tenancy and details relating to it. Once the notice has been served on the tenant, the landlord must wait until the notice has expired. Should the tenant not have vacated the property, or otherwise rectified any applicable default, the landlord should apply to court for an order claiming possession. The key part of this process is getting all of the details absolutely right in the documents. There is nothing worse than losing a claim on a technical breach of the law.
Stephensons’ residential landlord specialists are able to offer fixed fees for each stage of the eviction process and can offer a free initial consultation. This will involve reviewing all documentation and providing advice on the best route to take in the eviction process.