by Bridget Webber

Created on: July 26, 2011   Last Updated: July 29, 2011

If you want to know how to evict a tenant who is not paying rent under English law the chances are that you are feeling angry and frustrated. They have broken their agreement with you, whether this is a verbal one, or better still, a written one, and you need to get them out and replace them with tenants who will pay rent.

Agreement

Hopefully you will have an AST, or

Shorthold Tenancy Agreement, which you both have signed. In this agreement you will have ascertained that the tenancy is periodic, or that when a fixed term finishes the tenancy ends. To get the tenant to leave your property you wouldn’t need any grounds to base your decision on. This is referred to as a section 21 notice. However, as the tenant in question hasn’t been paying rent, you have grounds for repossession according to the Housing Act (1988).

Grounds for repossession

The Housing Act states that you may repossess your property from a tenant because of one or more of seventeen different reasons, including non-payment of rent.

Serving a tenant with an official notice

Presuming the tenant isn’t about to leave of their own accord, you’ll need to serve them with an official notice. The main two used in such situations are section 8 and section 21 notices, and it’s sensible to serve both, which will be explained later on. It’s possible to do this yourself; however, it isn’t advisable. If a tenant refuses to leave after being served a notice the next step is to take them to court. However, if the notice you served wasn’t written correctly in a specific manner, the court may throw your case out, which is why it’s best to ask a legal profession to serve a notice on your behalf.

Taking a tenant to court

If the tenant doesn’t leave the property you’ll need to take them to court to get your property back. This can be achieved by asking your solicitor to contact the courts and file your case with them. This step can be slow; as it takes up to twelve weeks before a court date will come through.

The court hearing

The majority of tenants will leave your property before a court case arrives. However if yours is still in place, they have an opportunity to defend themselves, either in person or in writing. If they do the judge may adjourn the court case for up to six more weeks before another hearing of your case. You’ll also need to counter their defence, and fund this yourself.

What happens next

If the tenant pays the entire sum

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