Case study: eviction of a late-paying tenant

Our client was a concerned landlord whose tenant was continually paying rent late and had arrears of two months.

Our property litigation team served two notices seeking possession; one being a section 8 notice due to the rent arrears and the other, a section 21 notice seeking possession on a no-fault basis.

Following the expiry of the notice, we issued possession proceedings. Having served both notices, were we able to rely on the notices in the alternative, providing our client with the best chance of seeking possession.

By the time of the possession hearing, the tenant had reduced the rent arrears to below two months. We were therefore unable to rely on section 8 as a mandatory ground for possession. We were, however, able to secure a possession order due to the section 21 notice. Additionally, we obtained a separate judgement for the arrears at the time of the hearing.

The tenant did not leave as per the possession order. We therefore instructed court bailiffs to evict them. Our debt recovery team also assisted our client in enforcing the cost judgement by way of an ‘attachment of earnings order’. This meant the previous tenant repaid the rent arrears direct from their wages; the deductions are made by the employer straight from the wages to the Court.

Contact our property litigation solicitors

If you’re a landlord seeking advice about late or non-paying tenants, get in touch with our specialist property litigation solicitors in Bristol and South Gloucestershire by calling 0117 325 2929 or complete our online enquiry form.