A radical shake-up of the ‘archaic’ county court eviction process is needed to help landlords and agents get rid of problem tenants, according to a lettings industry specialist.
Sim Sekhon, director of Legal 4 Landlords, is calling on both HM Court Service (HMCS) and the Government to reform the way tenant evictions are handled.
Sekhon said: “There is no consistency in the eviction process and it is archaically slow. It can take up to three months to gain a court eviction order.
“Judges seem to review cases on a random basis and opinions differ from judge to judge. There is confusion amongst judges and magistrates on the terms in which eviction notices can be granted.”
David Absalom, a property expert with the Residential Landlords Association and who provides advice and training to landlords and agents, supports the call for change.
He said: “Some judges are poorly trained in eviction notices. Others are even playing the system. For example, when a tenant asks for extra time, the judge sets a hearing for six weeks’ time – giving the troublesome tenant longer time in the property at the expense of the landlord.
“Even if the judge is in the wrong, landlords find it difficult to fight their case in court. Who is going to argue with a judge even if he is spouting erroneous law?”
Under the Housing Act 1988, a landlord who has a shorthold tenancy agreement has a legal right to get their property back at the end of the tenancy using a section 21 notice. A section 8 notice is used where a tenant has broken part of their tenancy agreement. The most common reason is non-payment of rent, but there are 17 grounds for which a section 8 notice can be used.
The court will require that the landlord is able to show adequate evidence of the breach before it will award possession and /or a money judgment.
Legal 4 Landlords accused some judges of having ‘an ill informed view’ that the landlord or agent cannot enforce a section 8 notice until the section 21 has expired.
Sekhon said: “Around 5% of tenants we evict leave the property damaged and full of rubbish. We’ve entered properties with human excrement smeared over the walls, rooms littered with used needles and in one case a tenant had removed all the floorboards in the upstairs of the property and laid the carpet back down so the landlord fell through the floor, sustaining serious injuries.
“Speeding up the eviction process would limit the danger to both landlords and people in neighbouring properties.”
This is not just a problem for private landlords – social housing landlords are also suffering from the slow court eviction process.
Irwell Valley, a housing association in Manchester, announced it took two months to gain a magistrates’ eviction order for a problem tenant, by which time the house had been vandalised and stripped of anything of value.
Irwell Valley has also called on the Government to speed up the process and provide more powers to landlords to evict problem tenants.
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Comments
I had one house which I lost because I had one tenant who wouldn't pay rent. The section 8, ensuing court procedures and then them refusing to leave, the extra cost and time of bailif intervention took too long. Consequently the house I had purchased for the sole investment for funding my mother in a home for altzeimers was lost. Yet again the good old British Justice system! Thanks for nothing.
The section 8 notice process is - wait until tenant is more than 2 months in arrears on the day the rent is due (ie could be 2 months and 29 days if a small part payment has been made). Give 2 weeks written notice (must be exact correct wording - tenant usually never pays any more rent after notice received). Apply online for court date (must be exact correct wording). Wait 6 to 8 weeks for court date - could be longer over christmas period). Go to court and, if successful, judge gives tenant 2 to 4 weeks to vacate (surprise surprise - they don't vacate). Wait out the 2 to 4 weeks notice then apply to court for Bailiff. Bailiff gives a date of 3 to 6 weeks later depending on work load. Assume bailiff evicts successfully on the appointed day (many reasons why this can fail) - total rent lost = 6 to 7 months assuming all goes well - be prepared for a year if anything goes wrong and you have to repeat any part of the process. Conclusion - take no risks when accepting new tenants.
I've had tenants from Hell and had to take them to Court to get them out, they owed me over £2000 pounds and even then I had to get the Baillifs. They house was left with dog muck all over the capets and the house full of rubbish and filthy. It cost me over £1000 to get them out and I agree there should be a quicker way to evict problem tenants.