Landlord Action and the Property Redress Scheme, both part of the Hamilton Fraser group, have teamed up to help buy-to-let landlords regain possession of their properties.
They are offering landlords who start eviction proceedings, through Landlord Action, to simultaneously undertake mediation through the Property Redress Scheme. The idea is to help landlords and tenants during the evictions backlog, with possessions and rent arrears, without the need to go to court.
Given that notice periods are currently six months for Section 21 and most Section 8 notices, the aim of the new partnership is to help landlords regain possession of their properties quicker.
Through the Property Redress Scheme’s mediation service, the landlord and tenant can come to an amicable resolution over rent and repossession. They can then choose if they want to formalise the agreement in a legally binding document, which will set out what happens if either party breaks the agreement.
The partnership will also help cases that continue to court.
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) recently announced that the Pre-Action Protocol that applies to social landlords is likely to be extended to landlords in the private rented sector. The Protocol requires a landlord to make reasonable attempts to resolve issues with the tenant before a case can be heard in court.
The Property Redress Scheme’s mediation service provides landlords with reports that can be used in court to show they have tried to resolve issues with their tenants.
“This is a unique and innovative offering,” said founder of Landlord Action, Paul Shamplina. “When the courts reopen next week, there is going to be a huge backlog of cases for the courts to deal with. This means most landlords will have to wait longer to get their properties back, on top of the new six-month notice periods. I think most landlords will be waiting between a year and 18 months to get possession through the courts.”
“That is why we have teamed up with the Property Redress Scheme. Through our partnership we can offer landlords an expert eviction process and the chance to get their property back sooner than current court process allows.”
Shamplina added: “Since the Property Redress Scheme launched its mediation service back in April it has settled 45% of the cases it has been instructed to mediate on. I’m confident that Landlord Action and the Property Redress Scheme will help thousands of landlords get their property back.”
