Belvoir predicts rental increases for second half of 2019

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The Belvoir Q4 rental index, prepared and analysed by TV property expert Kate Faulkner, shows significant regional variations in rents, and a slight average decrease of -1.25%. However, Belvoir is predicting that rents are likely to increase at a faster rate in the second half of the year.

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Client Money Protection compulsory as of today

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As of 1st April 2019 all PRS letting agents are required to carry Client Money Protection (CMP) which safeguards Landlords and tenants against an agent going into liquidation or absconding with rental payments, deposit or other client funds.

A fine of £30,000 can now be imposed upon any agent not found to be a member of a government approved CMP scheme.

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Am I in HMO territory?

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I have a two bedroom flat in a large purpose built block in the city centre. Two beds, lounge, kitchen, family bathroom and en-suite to main bedroom. Basically it is a standard two bed residential apartment all on one floor.

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Calling for a new tax regime that includes incentives

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If HM Government (HMG) wishes to halt the mass exodus by Private Sector Landlords then it must Organise the Tax System in a more Businesslike Fashion. The first thing it needs to do is to restore Tax Relief on BTL Mortgage Payments to the Headline Rate.

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Do you know how to evict a troublesome tenant?

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Possession Claims:

Although article this is published today, 1st April, tenant eviction is no juke!

Eviction should be the last thing on a landlord’s mind, but
sometimes there’s no choice. It’s a last resort, but better done early than too
late when your tenant has run-up massive rent arrears.

When all else fails and perhaps communications have broken
down, the tenant has refused to accept all offers of help, such as
re-scheduling payments and seeking debt advice, then as clean a break as
possible is what’s needed.

There are three vital steps to achieve this, and you must:

1 – have taken the right steps when you set-up the tenancy
in the first place; complying with all the statutory requirements, and of these
there are many, and keeping copies of all important documents, tenancy
application, inventory report signed by the tenant, and the tenancy agreement
etc.

2 – serve a valid eviction notice

3 – understand and comply with court procedure, following the guidance in the CPR 55.

This is not “rocket science�, it just requires a bit of due
diligence and some careful reading of the rules; a few hours work will do it if
you want to handle your possession claim yourself as a LIG – litigant in person,
but you might consider an eviction specialist of a solicitor.  

Serving Notice:

All the relevant notices are now available free online, so there’s no need to go paying for them; what’s more if you get these from the government website you know they are up-to-date, which is very important.

Be aware of the minimum notice period and make sure this is
exceeded before commencing court proceedings, otherwise the tenant could claim
they had insufficient notice. Secondly, deliver by hand if possible and have a
reliable witness with you. Delivering through the letter box is acceptable,
with a witness, but failing that send the notice by first class post and get
proof of postage from the post office.

Section 21 or Section
8?

Section 21 is always the preferable way to go, it’s simpler,
quicker and the outcome is more certain. There’s no need to prove breach of
contract as with section 8, where the landlord must show in court how one (or
more) of the 17 grounds allowing possession has been transgressed.

With section 21, using the accelerated possession route (as
opposed to the standard route), there’s usually no need for a court hearing –
the judge will assess the claim on the paperwork alone, but this must be complete and without errors.

The disadvantage with section 21 is its long notice period
(2 months), and if you have trouble such as arrears early on in your tenancy
section 8 with just 2 weeks’ notice may be the best choice.

The thing to bear in mind with section 8; if you don’t stick
to and meet the mandatory grounds (as opposed to discretionary grounds) requirements
(arrears must be at least 2 months for example) the tenant may bring a valid
defence or even a counter claim, which you are them obliged to defend yourself
– this can get very expensive in legal
costs.

With the assured shorthold tenancy (AST) the section 21 “no
fault� possession notice you are serving a “notice requiring possession� and
you don’t need to give any reason for claiming possession. For example, it may
be rent arrears, anti-social behaviour, damage to your property, or it may simply
be that you want to sell the property.

In the case of section 8 you are serving a “notice to quit� which means you are seeking possession because your tenant has breached one or more of the grounds for possession listed in schedule 2 of the Housing Act 1988 as amended. You need to specify the exact grounds on which you base your claim in the exact wording from the Act.

You cannot force your tenant out of the property until you
have obtained a possession order from the court, and even then, if the tenant
refuses to move, the court bailiff must evict – you cannot do this yourself. The
whole process can take many months (9 months being the average for section 21)

Serving a Valid
Section 21 Notice

Under recent legislation the serving of a valid section 21
notice has become much more complicated due to the statutory requirements under
various Acts, which must be complied
with. In the case of section 8 this process is less onerous.

Make sure you give the right amount of notice – 2 months
minimum which cannot be served within the first 4 months of a new AST (not
renewed) and the notice lasts for 6 months maximum.

If a guarantor is in place, make sure you keep them informed
of every step in the process by sending them documented copies.

These are the key requirements which must be complied with before
you can serve a valid section 21 notice:

• Make sure your deposit (when applicable) has
  been protected with one of the approved schemes and within the 30 days allowed,
  after receiving it
• Make sure you served the tenant (and whoever
  gave the deposit) the necessary statutory information about the scheme
• Make sure you served on your tenant a current
  Gas Safety Certificate (when applicable) before
  the tenancy commenced – this cannot be remedied later as the law currently stands.
• You will soon be required to provide an
  Electrical Safety Certificate
• Make sure you gave your tenant a current Energy
  Performance Certificate (EPC) and you will soon be required to show that your property
  complies with MEES, a minimum of EPC rating E.
• Make sure you gave your tenant a government
  provided “How to Rent� guide, the version of which was current at the time of
  the start of the tenancy.
• The Right-to-Rent checks, copies of passports or
  other documents showing the tenant/s have a current right to rent.
• If you are in a Landlord Licensing Scheme
  location, or you are dealing with an HMO tenant here, make sure you have the
  correct documentation to show you have the correct authority.
• If you have received any notification from your tenant
  that there are repairs or safety issues that need attending to, make sure you
  have responded to these and there is no improvement order in place.

These are the key statutory requirements but you should also
keep copies of other keep documents, some of which will be required when you
apply to the court:

• The tenancy application form
• The detailed inventory report, ideally produced
  by an independent inventory clerk.
• The tenancy agreement

Judges are unforgiving of errors and omissions in
documentation. If the tenant defends the claim for possession, in which case a
court hearing will be necessary, you will have to attend court. The secret to success
in any court claim is to make the judge’s job as easy as possible so that he or
she can make sense of the documentation easily – keep it clear, concise, and
organised.

If you failed to carry out any of the above steps at the
start of the tenancy, some (but not all) of the steps can be remedied before you service the section 21
notice. For example, a deposit can be returned to the tenant if it was not
protected, but you would still be liable to a fine.

If you failed to fulfil the requirements for a section 21
claim, you will have no choice but to use section 8, but only if you are
confident there has be a breach of one or more of the grounds for possession.

Applying to the court

Once the minimum notice period has expired (2 months for
section 21, and usually 2 weeks for section 8) you can apply to the court for a
possession order using the appropriate court forms which are available online –
see links below.

Defending Possession Counterclaims

Your tenant may challenge your claim for possession, for
which a court hearing will be set. There are limited grounds for this with
section 21, usually on a technical omission, but it’s a lot different with
section 8. If at the initial hearing the section 8 case cannot be resolved
quickly, a further trial hearing will be set, often months away. The judge may
also request inspections and expert reports for dilapidations defences, so this
is when things get drawn out and expensive.

Avoiding claims for
possession

Possession claims can be complicated and of uncertain of outcome
and cost. Landlords should not enter into this process lightly and should do
all they can to avoid it. Talk to your tenants and try to reach an amicable
solution if at all possible.

If you are unable to reach an agreement, and you believe that you have strong grounds for eviction, and you can meet all of the above, you might give it a try. If you don’t feel confident to do it yourself, then consider an eviction specialist such as www.Landlordaction.co.uk, or contact a solicitor with property expertise – https://www.landlordzone.co.uk/suppliers-directory/solicitors-legal

Evicting Tenants (England and Wales) here

Form N5B England: Claim possession of a property located wholly in England (accelerated procedure) here

Form N5: Make a claim for possession of property (section 8 and standard route section 21) here

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