Summary Judgement Application The coronavirus pandemic kickstarted the rise of rent arrears and tenant evictions in 2020. This has followed by a cost of living crisis and wider economic downfall nationally. Many landlords have issued possession proceedings to recover possession of their properties. Tenants often raise defences or counterclaims to possession proceedings which substantially delays […]
Terminating a Tenancy After the Death of the Tenant How do you deal with Terminating a Tenancy After the Death of the Tenant? When a tenant dies, the assured shorthold tenancy agreement does not automatically end. The tenancy is transferred temporarily to the Public Trustee if a tenant dies: without a will with a will […]
Repealing the Section 21 Ground for Possession On 15 April 2019, the then-Government announced: “Private landlords will no longer be able to evict tenants from their homes at short notice and without good reason.” This was followed by a consultation process which ran between July and October 2019. The consultation paper proposed the abolition of section 21 […]
How long are possession orders enforceable for? Our experts are often asked, how long are possession orders enforceable for? Under the Limitations Act 1980 (“the Act”), Section 24 provides a period of six years for the enforcement of a possession order from the time that it becomes enforceable. This means that from the date the […]
History of Changes to the Section 21 Notice Along with other unprecedented measures to protect the public, there were ongoing changes to the notice period required to be given when serving a section 21 (“s.21”) notice under the Housing Act 1988. Although the notice periods for section 8 and 21 notices are now back to […]
Housing Benefit Discrimination is Unlawful A ‘no DSS’ policy is when an agent refuses to rent to anyone who gets universal credit or housing benefit. This could include when agents: refuse to let you view an affordable property won’t consider you for a tenancy because you get benefits advertise properties as ‘no DSS’, ‘no benefits’ or ‘working professionals […]
What is a Tenancy Deposit Scheme? Despite having been in force since April 2007, many landlords are still unaware of what a tenancy deposit scheme is. This article covers the basic must knows of what a tenancy deposit is. Overview The Government website is not up to date with its guidance for landlords in relation […]
Recovering Commercial Rent Arrears Government plans to “ring-fence” Covid-rent arrears and introduce a binding arbitration scheme. The current moratorium preventing landlords seeking forfeiture of leases, issuing winding-up petitions or utilising the Commercial Rent Arrears Recovery scheme in relation to Covid-based rent arrears is scheduled to come to an end on 25 March 2022. However, that […]
Boarding Up of Property by Police and Liability The police have a legal obligation under the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (known as “PACE”) code of Practice B, paragraph 6.13(e) to secure property where forced entry has been made and where the property owner or occupier is not on scene. Police may also hold […]
Tenancy Deposit Scheme Breaches – Can There Be Multiple Breaches? Payment of a deposit by an assured shorthold tenant as security for performance of the obligations of the tenancy is the norm. The Housing Act 2004 (“the Act”) brought in the tenancy deposit scheme which required landlord to essentially protect deposits paid by tenants in […]