Court Preparation

Check to see If your residential tenancy attracts stamp duty. If it does you must pay the duty as a tenancy that has not been stamped could be deemed admisable by the court.

When you submit your claim for possession to the court you may experience a slight delay, worse in some courts than others.

The time taken to force a tenant to give up possession will depend at which stage of the proceedings the tenant is motivated to move. The defaulting tenant may decide to move once he receives a court summons. Others will be more difficult, often waiting until a possession order is granted, or at worst, until evicted by the bailiff following execution of the warrant for possession.

Each step may involve a delay and the complete process can generally take between three to five months from start to finish. Since 15th October 2001 allocation of cases can be fast track, multi-track or small claims (if both parties agree). The new rules indicate that the following will be considered in determining allocation: the amount of rent arrears, the importance of the defendant retaining possession and the importance of vacant possession to the claimant. The delays occur as follows

Notice of proceedings (minimum two weeks normally)	14 days
Average time between filing proceedings and hearing date	6 to 8 weeks
Possession order (if granted as an absolute order)	14 days
	Total 3 month

A landlord seeking possession of an assured shorthold tenant under the Housing Act 1988 must tell the tenant that it is his intention to start court proceedings by serving a notice on him. You can use the section 21 route or the section 8 route. A notice issued under section 8 of the Housing Act 1988 must be served in the prescribed form - often referred to as a 'section 8' or ''Form 3" (as described by the regulations).

It is important that the notice is correctly completed and served. If there are technical errors in the notice, the court is entitled to suspend or strike out the claim.

Finally, it is not expensive to issue a section 8 notice and getting the notice out at the earliest opportunity wins time for the landlord. The notice can always be withdrawn should the rent be subsequently forthcoming. If it is withdrawn this should be in writing.

A section 8 notice may be served by post or in person. If there is more than one tenant, the notice must be served on all tenants. The court will calculate from the day of posting and establish as the day on which the notice would normally have arrived. We suggest that a colleague witnesses the sending of the notice. When using postal service, it is recommended that the notice be sent by either registered or recorded delivery and that a minimum of three working days is allowed for the notice to arrive.

Once you have issued the section 8 notice on your tenant, you are required to wait until the notice has expired - this is the date given on the notice. If the tenant has not vacated, or paid up any rent arrears by the date given in the notice, then it will be necessary to start court possession proceedings.

[Home] [About] [Contact Us] [Links]