The Eviction Process for Tenants

When selling a property with a tenant, you can either transfer the tenant to the new landlord or you can evict them and sell the property with vacant possession.

Although some landlords might like to buy the property with a tenant so as not to lose any rental income, others want a fresh start with vacant property which they'll fill with their own tenant.

These are the 3 steps to evict a tenant and if you need help then please get in contact as our solicitors can handle the conveyancing for the sale and the eviction of the tenant.

1

Evicting a tenant under Section 21 eviction notice

You must give your tenant at least two months' notice under Section 21 of the Housing Act 1988 if you want to evict them - this is known as a Section 21 notice.

The notice can only be served by a landlord earlier than any fixed term if the tenancy agreement makes provision for it.

There isn't a prescribed format for the serving of the notice, however it must be:

• In writing; and
• Specify the date of required possession (which cannot be less than 2 months or earlier than the end of the fixed term).

If the fixed term has expired, or the tenancy was periodic, the date specified must be the last day of the rental period.

It's very easy to get the date wrong in this situation, so be careful because if the date is wrong, then you won't succeed in possession.

For example, if the fixed term ends on the 31st of December, then this is the date included on the section 21 notice and the date of possession is the 28th of February.

2

Possession Order

If the tenant does not move out 2 months after serving the section 21 notice, you'll have to go to court to seek a possession order (the court can't make a possession order in the first six months of the tenancy).

For an assured shorthold tenancy you need to have grounds for eviction and to have served the proper notice on the tenant before possession proceedings can start.

There are several mandatory grounds for possession, however, the most common two are:

Shorthold tenancy

If the tenancy is an assured shorthold tenancy, you are entitled to a possession order after the fixed term has expired, provided the proper Section 21 notice has been served.

Rent arrears

If there are serious rent arrears at the time of service of the notice (Section 8 notice), and at the time of the court hearing, the tenant is in arrears of rent of more than eight weeks. A Section 8 notice requires possession because of rent arrears.

3

Accelerated Possession Procedure

You can also opt for an accelerated possession procedure which is a faster way to gain possession as there is no court hearing, however, you have to pay a fee before the action can commence.

To start the process for accelerated possession you'll need to contact the County Court in the area where your property is situated, then fill in a Form N5B claim for possession (accelerate procedure), obtainable from HM Courts service.

Once the form is received at court, they'll post the papers to the tenant, along with a form of reply allowing them to object within 14 days if they wish to.

If you are successful then the court issues an order for possession (normally enforceable 14 days after the order was made) and an order that the tenant pay the court fee.

From the issue of proceedings to receipt of the order for possession, these proceedings normally take between 6 and 10 weeks assuming nothing goes wrong.

Important: serving the notice on the tenant

Making sure the tenant receives the section 21 notice is an important part of the eviction process.

Sometimes a tenant won't answer the door so they can't have notice served to them. You can deal with this by taking a witness with you whilst you post the section 21 notice through the letterbox before 5 pm. If you do this, the notice is deemed to have been served on the following day.