My Landlord Is Trying to Evict Me

This is a complicated & difficult area but we will try & keep this as clear as possible

To prevent illegal eviction/harassment of people in their home

ONLY COURT APPOINTED BAILIFFS MAY CARRY OUT LEGAL EVICTIONS

"Due process" must be followed

Notice must be given, court application, possession order & Bailiffs warrant

(This does not apply if you share the property with the landlord)

To legally terminate an Assured Shorthold Tenancy Agreement in England or Wales at the end of the fixed term, the landlord must serve a Section 21 Possession Notice on the tenant and must give the tenant a minimum of two months' notice.

If possession is sought by the landlord during the fixed term then it can only be obtained if a breach of contract has been proved and a Section 21 Possession Notice would not be appropriate. A Section 8 Possession Notice should be used instead.

Section 21 is divided into subsections with different rules applying to (a) notice served during the fixed term of a tenancy and (b) notice for possession that is served during a statutory periodic tenancy.

Notice served during fixed term (Housing Act 1988)

Section 21(1)(b)

This notice applies to a fixed term Assured Shorthold Tenancy where Notice for Possession is served during the fixed term. Notice under this subsection can be served on a tenant at any time during the fixed term of the tenancy (but not before the fixed term begins) providing the tenant receives a minimum of two months' notice. This is the case even if the two months' notice ends after the Tenancy Agreement has expired. For example, if Notice Requiring Possession is served on the last day of the Tenancy Agreement, the tenant does not have to give up possession of the property until two months after the date that the notice was served or until the date written in the notice if it is further than two months away. It should be noted that where the tenant is in the initial six months of the tenancy, then the Section 21 Notice cannot expire before the end of that six months.

The notice should be sent by recorded delivery, allowing 3 days for delivery.

Section 8 Notice

The landlord may be able to terminate an Assured Shorthold Tenancy Agreement during the fixed term if the tenant has failed to pay rent or has breached any other terms of the Tenancy Agreement. The landlord must rely on certain grounds set out in Schedule 2 to the Housing Act 1988, which are listed below.

The landlord cannot evict the tenant without obtaining an order for possession issued by a court and before applying to the court for such an order, the landlord must serve a Section 8 Possession Notice on the tenant. The notice states that the landlord intends to seek possession of the property and states the ground or grounds on which possession is sought.

The amount of notice required to be given to the tenant will depend on the ground: if the landlord is relying on ground 2, two months' notice must be given. If the landlord is relying on grounds 8, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 14A, 15 or 17, two weeks' notice must be given. Grounds 2 and 8 are mandatory, which means that if a landlord proves that one of these grounds applies, the court has no choice but to award him possession. The other grounds are discretionary and the court will only award possession if it is reasonable to do so.

• Ground 2 - The property is subject to a mortgage which pre-dates the tenancy and the lendor wishes to exercise its rights over the property, i.e. repossess it. A notice under this ground must be served before the creation of the tenancy.
• Ground 8 - At the date of service of the notice and at the date of the hearing, the tenant has not paid the rent, and either rent is payable weekly or fortnightly and at least eight weeks' rent is unpaid; or rent is payable monthly and at least two months' rent is unpaid; or rent is payable quarterly and at least one quarter's rent is more than three months in arrears.
  • Note: When claiming possession under this ground, it is advisable to cite more than one ground since, if the tenant pays off part of the arrears shortly before the hearing, this ground can no longer be proved and possession proceedings will have to be abandoned. It is, therefore, common practice to cite more than one ground for rent arrears (i.e. grounds 8, 10 & 11), if applicable, and to also wait until at least two months' rent (or eight weeks in the case of a weekly tenancy) is unpaid before issuing the Section 8 Notice.
• Ground 10 - Any amount of rent is in arrears at the date of service of the notice and remains unpaid on the date on which the proceedings for possession are begun.
• Ground 11 - The tenant has repeatedly failed to pay rent.
• Ground 12 - The Tenant has breached any term of the tenancy agreement (other than one relating to the payment of rent).
• Ground 13 - The property has deteriorated due to neglect by the tenant or by someone living with him and the tenant has failed to remove that person.
• Ground 14 - The tenant or someone living with him has caused a nuisance to neighbours, visitors or others in the locality or has been convicted of using the property for immoral or illegal purposes or has been convicted of an indictable offence committed in the locality.
• Ground 14A - The property is occupied by a couple and one of them has left due to violence or threats of violence from the other partner or from a member of that partner's family who was living in the property also. This notice can only be used by a registered social landlord or a charitable housing trust. The tenant who has left must also be sent this notice.
• Ground 15 - The furniture has been ill-treated by the tenant or by someone living with him and the tenant has failed to remove that person.
• Ground 17 - The landlord was induced to grant the tenancy by a false statement made knowingly or recklessly by either the tenant or a person acting at the tenant's instigation.

The Section 8 Possession Notice can be used in England and Wales where one or more of the above grounds are being relied on.