Landlord Help & Legal Advice Line

Members have direct access to practising housing lawyers, who are experts in housing law.

Our consultants manage the BLA landlord advice line with a wealth of experience dealing with bad tenants.

Recent research has shown that our members find our Landlord Advice Line is one of their most valued benefits of being a member of the BLA. The advice line is FREE to all members of the BLA.

A small private landlord may not have the same experience as a large corporate member, requiring access to free legal advice when needed.

With COVID-19 and a raft of recent emergency legislation that the government has passed that directly affects members. Legal advice for landlords when you need it on any legal issue is crucial.

The law relating to the Letting industry can be complex, and many landlords feel overwhelmed by compliance rules and regulations.

Our landlord advice team can help relieve the stress of being a landlord and ensure you are fully compliant.

Landlord Advice line, top 16 FAQ:

What is the correct process for evicting a difficult tenant?

The first one needs to determine what type of tenancy you have. Once it is established what type of tenancy you have, you will need to serve the correct notice, which needs to be valid.

Caution: just because you may have given an assured shorthold tenancy to your tenant, this does not necessarily mean the tenancy in law is an assured shorthold tenancy.

For example, if your tenant is a limited company, the tenancy cannot be an assured shorthold tenancy. One must determine what tenancy is in place to serve the correct notice.

If a valid eviction notice has been served, for example, section 8, 21 or notice to Quit, upon expiry of the eviction notice, you can go to court if the tenant has failed to vacate the let property.

(a) Section 8 & 21 eviction notices are usually for Assured Shorthold Tenancy

(b) Section 8 notice can also be used for Assured tenancy

(c) Notice Quit is usually for common law tenancy, Company let or license an agreement

Seek expert advice before serving any notices on the tenant, and ensure you fully comply with your legal obligations. If you have failed to comply with your legal obligations, then your notice may be deemed invalid.

Evict a tenant using the accelerated possession? 

The accelerated route is possession under section 21. You cannot claim rent arrears under this route. The accelerated route is no longer accelerated in some cases, it may take longer than your standard fixed date route.

Can I evict a tenant myself?

No, you must obtain a possession order through the court. It is unlawful to evict a tenant without a court order, and you must follow the proper legal process.

Unlawful eviction carries a heavy penalty with the possibility of a prison sentence, too. Any member acting unlawfully in evicting a tenant will have their BLA membership revoked.

How to evict a tenant without going to court UK?

If the tenant is not giving up vacant possession of the let property. Seek advice from our Landlord Advice Line, who will be able to assess your situation and advise you accordingly.

Tenant eviction service?

Landlord Advice UK is the BLA service provider. Landlord Advice UK is one of the UK’s leading tenant eviction companies, so we suggest you contact them.

Section 21 eviction notice?

You can download a section 21 notice from the download page, or alternatively, you can instruct Landlord Advice UK. Landlord Advice UK can act promptly, they will offer you, as a BLA member a preferential service.

How do you evict a tenant without a tenancy agreement? 

Provided the tenancy commenced after the 28th of February 1997, the process is simple. If the tenancy commenced before the 28th of February 1997 and your claim is in rent arrears, it should still be a simple process. If you have lost your tenancy, and the tenancy commenced before the 28th of February 1997, and you wish to seek possession under section 21, seek advice from our Landlord Advice Line before you proceed.

How long does the eviction process take?

Due to COVID-19 under the Coronavirus Act 2020, all possession claims save for trespass have been suspended. Currently, we do not know if the eviction ban will be extended again. We will have to wait and see how efficient the courts will be in dealing with possession claims once the ban is lifted.

If the matter is not defended and the eviction notice has expired, the average time of possession is between 5 to 7 weeks. Once the court has granted a possession order, the standard possession order will give the tenant 14 days to vacate the property. Fourteen days is in addition to the 5 to 7 weeks, as stated above.

To avoid doubt, from the time your claim is issued in court, if undefended, you should obtain a possession order within 5 to 7 weeks.

If the tenant fails to vacate the property upon the possession order expiring, you must instruct a county court bailiff to evict the tenant. This can take from 5 weeks to 10 weeks. The London county courts are very busy and likely take the longest.

You can seek leave for high court enforcement, this must be done before you issue your claim, this should be pleaded in your possession claim. Speak to the Landlord Advice Line for further advice on this. We strongly advise you not to attempt to issue a possession claim unless you are legally trained.

Tenancy deposit protection issue?

Please get in touch with the deposit scheme you are using; each scheme varies in how it handles disputes.

If a student tenant wants to swap with another student, what do I do?

Contact our Landlord Advice Line if you are a member for advice on this. If not, contact the Citizen Advice Bureau.

Question on creating a new tenancy?

When creating a tenancy, you must first determine what tenancy should be in place. Please email our landlord advice line if you are a member of the BLA.

Selective licensing exemptions?

Read – The Selective Licensing of Houses (Specified Exemptions) (England) Order 2006

Selective licensing fees?

Our landlord advice line cannot help on this, contact the relevant the Local authority

HMO regulations 2018 room size?

Minimum space requirements. Here is the text from the Government’s guidance: “Rooms used for sleeping by 1 person over 10 will have to be no smaller than 6.51 square metres, and those slept in by 2 people over 10 will have to be no smaller than 10.22 square metres. 16 Mar 2018

Landlord Licensing what is it? 

You have the three types of landlord licensing;

Please note our Landlord Advice Line cannot advise on:-

Planning or Building regulation issue’s

Housing benefit issue’s

Universal Credit

Tenants Rights

Eviction cost

Any Deposit issues- save for your legal obligation under the HA to protect a deposit

How to complete court documents

Advice or issues regarding long leasehold properties or problems with leasehold management companies

Our Landlord Advice Line can sometimes get very busy if in the rare chance you cannot get through please try again or email us.

You can email our landlord legal Advice Line with your query, but please note you must state the full name of the member holding the BLA membership.

Members dedicated Landlord Advice Line: 01293 855700 Monday to Friday 9 am to 5 pm.
Not a member? Click here to Join the British Landlords Association

Date: 10th of June 2023

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Disclaimer:

This post is for general use only and is not intended to offer legal, tax, or investment advice; it may be out of date, incorrect, or maybe a guest post. You are required to seek legal advice from a solicitor before acting on anything written hereinabove.