The Legal Aspect

Stage 1 Drafting and serving the notice

We usually serve notices under the Housing Act 1988 and there are three types of notices which are as follows:-

1. A Section 21 Notice is a two month notice seeking possession whereby a landlord can receive his/her property back without any given reason.
2. A Section 8 can be either an immediate, 2 week or 2 month Notice depending on your circumstances. This notice is used for rent arrears and any other breach of tenancy. In the most common case of rent arrears the tenant is required to leave after two weeks
3. A Notice to Quit is a four week Notice which can be used for tenancies which began before February 1989, licences and houses for Asylum seekers

Stage 2 Court Proceedings

If you need to issue Court proceedings a Claim Form is completed and lodged with the relevant County Court. Your tenancy agreement(s), Notice Seeking Possession and in some cases rent schedule is attached to the Claim Form. Under Section 8 and Notice to Quit proceedings the court will set a hearing date which you are expected to attend. Under the Section 21 procedure the court will issue the case and thereafter grant an order for possession without the need to attend Court. The Court will always give the tenants the opportunity to defend the case however, if the paperwork is correct and your information is not misleading the Court will grant your Order.

Stage 3 Bailiff Appointment

If you have a very difficult tenant who chooses to ignore the Court Order you will need to apply for an appointment with the Bailiff.