How do I evict a residential tenant? Disputes (personal)

There are two pieces of legislation in particular that cover evictions of residential tenants these are section 8 and section 21 of the Housing Act 1988.

Under Section 8 proceedings, the landlord must usually have proof that either there are rental arrears or that the tenancy agreement has been breached. The breach can be, for example, keeping pets at a property where the landlord has explicitly stated in the agreement that this is not allowed. There might be undocumented individuals living at the property or even illegal activity taking place there.

In these circumstances, you must obtain a possession order from the court. In your application, you should state the grounds under which you are applying, such as:

• Rental arrears
• Tenancy breach
• Anti-social behaviour at the property
• Damage to property
• False information was given by the tenant on the lease
• Property being repossessed by the mortgage provider

You can use a section 21 notice to evict tenants after a fixed term tenancy ends or during a tenancy with no fixed end date.

Under section 21 proceedings, the first thing a landlord must do is check they have fulfilled their statutory obligations:

• Protect the tenant’s deposit in a government scheme and provide the tenant with the prescribed information relating to the deposit (within 30 days)
• Provide EPC, Gas Safety certificate and the current version of the ‘How to Rent’ booklet
• Not having received an improvement notice or hazard awareness under the Deregulation Act 2015

It is also essential that you have a signed tenancy agreement and that the tenant has no more than two months remaining before the expiry of the initial term of the tenancy.

In terms of how much notice you should give tenants, under section 8, you are required to give between two weeks and two months’ notice depending on which part of the tenancy agreement has been breached. Under section 21, you should give at least two months’ notice.

If the tenant doesn’t leave the property within the timescales given, it will be necessary to commence possession proceedings to obtain an order for possession, which can then be enforced either in the county court or by transfer up to the high court.  Please note, it is important that you complete all paperwork (the original notice seeking possession and the papers to issue court proceedings) carefully and accurately.

If you have any more questions regarding tenancy, please contact us today.