Whether you are a landlord, managing/letting agents or tenants, our solicitors can advise you on your rights in the event of a dispute and support you in taking appropriate legal action.
The law relating to the relationship between landlord and tenants, their rights and obligations is constantly changing. Our experienced landlord and tenant dispute solicitors can provide sensible and pragmatic advice, assist with negotiation or mediation, and support you through a claim or defence in Court.
As a landlord, you may feel that your property and your livelihood is at risk. As a tenant, you might feel that your home is under threat or is not up to standard.
We advise on a wide range of landlord and tenant disputes, including:
If you are a landlord, our solicitors can help enforce the terms of your lease, take effective action against tenants who are in breach of the terms of their tenancy and can assist you in recovering unpaid rent. You cannot remove a tenant from residential accommodation without first obtaining a court order for possession. The process is complicated – we can advise on what you can do, how you can do it and the quickest and most cost-effective route.
If you are a tenant, our solicitors can make sure your landlord carries out their obligations, including any necessary repairs to the property. If the landlord refuses, we can take action. If you are being evicted and a landlord makes any mistakes or omissions in either the service of the Section 21 notice or the application to court, the judge is likely to dismiss the application, which may mean that they have to ask for a hearing or start the process all over again.
We endeavour to resolve disputes through negotiation or mediation, resorting to Court action as a last resort, always pursuing the most appropriate method based on the context of the matter.
Section 21 “no-fault” evictions are set to be abolished in England by the Renters’ Rights Bill, with the abolition expected to come into effect in spring 2026, although the specific date is not yet confirmed. This reform, which will apply to all tenancies, will require landlords to have a valid reason, a “ground,” under the Section 8 notice to evict a tenant.
If a tenant refuses to leave, landlords will have to apply to the courts for a possession order, as there will be no “accelerated possession order” option. The expanded Section 8 will likely include legitimate landlord reasons for ending a tenancy, such as wanting to sell the property or move into it.
It is advisable to get a legal advice from a landlord and tenant solicitor on the strict procedure that needs to be followed to ensure the notice and any court claim is valid.
A landlord can issue a Section 21 notice if their tenant has an assured shorthold tenancy, provided that it is not within the first four months of the tenancy or before a fixed term has ended. A landlord cannot serve a Section 21 notice to seek possession after the tenant has complained about the state of repair of the property – this is called a ‘retaliatory eviction’.
For a Section 21 notice to be valid, the landlord must have fulfilled various criteria during the tenancy including:
If after the 2 months the Section 21 notice expires and the tenant has not left the property, the next step is for the landlord to apply to the court for possession. At this point the landlord has a choice of two routes:
As in this scenario, as we are looking at a no-fault possession, we will continue down the accelerated possession route which is normally much quicker as it does not require a court hearing.
To make a claim for possession using the accelerated route, a landlord must:
When the court gets the claim, the court will:
The tenant will have 14 days, from the date of service, to send a defence to the court. After the 14 days, the court will send the landlord either:
The landlord will have 3 months to fill in the form to ask the court to make a possession order. If they do not return the form to the court within 3 months, their claim will be put on hold.
The tenant will have 14 days, from the date of service, to send a defence to the court. The court can also accept a defence if the tenant files it with the court after 14 days but before a landlord asks the court for a possession order. In a defence, a tenant may put forward legal reasons why a possession order should not be made, a counterclaim, or ask for extra time to vacate due to ‘exceptional hardship’. Exceptional hardship is not defined in law.
If the tenant applies to postpone possession because of exceptional hardship and the court accepts this, the court may give the tenant up to 6 weeks to leave the property (instead of the usual 14 days).
If the tenant has serious grounds for defence, the judge is likely to set a court hearing, after which he will decide on whether to award the possession order.
If the tenant does not file a defence within 14 days, the landlord can make a written request for a possession order. Often a N206A Form will be included with the notice of issue from the courts which the landlord can complete and return to the court to request a possession order and ask the tenant to pay their costs. A judge will then consider the evidence in the landlord’s application.
The judge must make an outright order if they are satisfied that the landlord has followed the correct procedure and is entitled to possession. A court hearing is not usually required, and the tenant must leave the property by a specified date (usually within 14 days from the date of the possession order).
If a possession order is granted by the court, but the tenant does not leave by the date specified in the order, the landlord can apply to the court for a warrant or writ of possession using a N325 Form along with bailiff risk assessment questionnaire. Cost £130.
Once this is processed, a county court bailiff or High Court Enforcement Officer (HCEO) will enforce the warrant or writ and carry out the eviction. The bailiff or HCEO must usually provide at least 14 days’ notice of the eviction date. The tenant can apply to court to temporarily stay a warrant of possession before the eviction is due to take place. The court can only stay the date for up to six weeks from the date of the original possession order. The tenant must show that they would experience exceptional hardship if the eviction is not delayed.
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