Hi All,
I Have been a landlord for over 30 years and have never taken a tenant to court before. Unfortunately it has been necessary recently (five weeks ago) to serve a section 21 and a section 8 notice on a tenant for persistent late payment of rent and serious rent arrears - I believe the notices, which are due to expire on 9/9, have been served correctly, but I haven’t got a clue what to do next if the tenant does not vacate on the date the notice expires …
Nor do I understand anything re: the court process.
I am aware that I can act on section 8 now (after 2 weeks - on mandatory grounds) but if I wait to see if she vacates and she doesnt, would the notices be judged together or separately and which would take priority ? I understand that, ultimately, the tenant may pay all but 2 months rent, at the hearing, to avoid eviction but if I stated that I want her to leave, will the judge use the section 21 notice to order a no fault eviction to which I understand there is (currently) no defense ? Also if she didnt reduce her rent arrears (in court) will the section 8 judgement allow me to recover my rent losses from her and is there any other documentation needed in this regard?
Thank you in advance for any help, your time and kind attention
You would only normally pursue one of the notices to court if the tenant doesnt leave. I would suggest the s21 if you are confident of its validity.
I would recommend you join the NRLA as the have a number of helpful documents and a helpline to steer you through the process of completing the court forms etc.