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With the courts dealing with the huge backlog of possession cases which have built up during the Covid-19 evictions ban, taking specialist legal advice and starting notice procedures as soon as possible is key when it comes to regaining possession of your residential property and recovering debts.
Since March 2020, under Covid-19 legislation, landlords have been required to give all renters three months’ notice (instead of 14 days) if they intend to seek possession – in other words, serve notice they want to end the tenancy.
This extended notice period will apply till at least 30 September 2020 and may be extended again.
However, landlords can get the ball rolling now by issuing possession proceedings or serving the necessary notices to terminate a tenancy.
This is important as the courts are likely to deal with the accumulation of claims on a ‘first come, first served’ basis.
Landlords can terminate an Assured Shorthold Tenancy (AST) by giving the tenant notice to leave the property by properly serving either a Section 8 or a Section 21 notice.
You use this notice when a tenant has broken the terms of their tenancy.
You must specify on the notice which terms of the AST tenancy have been broken – the most common reason is rent arrears.
You can then apply to the court for a possession order if your tenants don’t leave by the specified date.
If you gave your tenants notice before 26 March 2020, the notice period stands at between two weeks’ and two months’, depending on which terms were broken.
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If you gave your tenant notice on or after the 26 March 2020, the notice period must be at least three months. This is because of emergency law changes due to coronavirus.
Potentially a more flexible tool, this enables you to give a tenant notice without relying on any of the usual grounds for possession.
But to use it, you must make sure you have fulfilled certain criteria as a landlord before the tenant moved into your property, including:
With a Section 21 notice, it’s normally two months but longer if you have a ‘contractual’ periodic tenancy.
When a tenant who can’t pay the rent moves out, many landlords think that they have no choice but to accept the tenancy is over. In fact, this isn’t the case.
If a tenant hands back the keys, make it clear that you are not agreeing to end the tenancy but are merely accepting the keys to keep the property secure
There is no obligation on landlords to mitigate their losses if a tenant moves out mid-term. You are within your rights to leave the property empty and bring a claim for unpaid rent against the tenants – and their guarantors – either after the fixed term has come to an end or after they have successfully re-let the property, or at any time before then.
For further advice, please contact Richard Darbinian, James Murray or James Taylor who are all highly experienced lawyers in Wards Solicitors’ acclaimed Property Disputes Team.
Or click here to see all our Residential Property Disputes lawyers.
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Our specialist dispute resolution lawyers have years of experience in all types of property dispute, advising home owners, landlords and tenants.
We’re known and respected for our straightforward, pragmatic approach and we’ll talk you through your options, working with you to find practical, cost-effective solutions.
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