Any recommendations for the legal work required for an eviction under the new rules? I don’t believe a section 21 issued before May 1 will do the job because the tenant is only a couple of months into a six month AST. The reasons for eviction are difficult but valid.
The reasons for eviction must be exactly those corresponding to one of the s8 grounds. There is nothing 'difficult ’ about any of the reasons. The main difficultly you may have is providing the evidence needed to persuade a judge.
There is a description of the various grounds at the following links
Grounds for possession: guidance for landlords and letting agents - GOV.UK Grounds for possession: guidance for landlords and letting agents - GOV.UK
Good luck
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Thank you. None of the above is the circumstance. The tenant has been sectioned and has spent the last four months on a mental health ward. Meanwhile the flat hax been left in a fearful mess. The tenant has paid the rent.
@Theodore1 tenant leaving the place in a mess or tenant being in hospital are not of themselves grounds for eviction under RRA. Doubt a judge will have much sympathy as rent being paid. Appreciate there may be other reasons you want property back.
However you could consider
Ground 13 - deterioration of property
You will be able to try and evict your tenant if they have allowed the condition of the property to get worse.
Ground 13 notice period
You will need to give 2 weeks’ notice before you will be able to apply to the court for a possession order to evict your tenant.
Or possibly
Ground 12 - breach of tenancy
If your tenant has broken one or more terms in the tenancy agreement that is not related to paying rent, you will be able to try and evict them using this ground.
Ground 12 notice period
You will need to give 2 weeks’ notice before you will be able to apply to the court for a possession order to evict your tenant.
(For example you might have clauses requiring the property to be continuously occupied with no absences of more than 30days, not least because of insurance or clauses about keeping clean)
Good luck
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This does not sound like a fair eviction to me. The man’s in hospital, he’s ill, leave him be.
If when he is out, the flat is not being looked after, deal with it then.
As he’s unwell, and your flat is in a mess, maybe you could offer to help and go round and do some cleaning. Help him get the flat sorted for when he’s well and comes home.
It would be right to consider the non occupancy, and the implications for your insurance. You should speak to your insurer.
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I agree with Karl. The last thing this guy needs is to lose possibly the only safe place he can go if he’s discharged. If he’s paying rent, I don’t see why eviction is justified.
Could you describe what you mean by “fearful mess”? As long as the property is being heated and you are able to get access for maintenance and legal requirements such as gas safety, the fact that it’s unoccupied isn’t necessarily grounds for eviction.
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as above … We should be grateful we are not afflicted with a mental illness.. Not grounds to evict, rent has been paid
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Thankfully it’s Landlords with attitudes like you are displaying that are likely to exit the market because of the new changes. Who cares if it’s ‘a mess’ right now, as the tenant has actually been able to get into a hospital they are seriously unwell and need help and support.
Do you have any emergency contact details for their family? You could check with them and say you want to dispose of any fresh food in the place that’s gone off etc (if that’s not done) and you can just do any ‘tidying up’ of the exterior of the property that’s needed out of respect for your own neighbours, if any is required.
As to the stuff inside the place, don’t worry about it unless there’s a hazard.
David,
Many thanks for your advice and the links.
Extended absence is a condition of the lease (beyond 28 days is the stipulation) that is being contravened and there is an issue about the consequences that causes quite troubling consequences for the neighbours.
Although the tenant does not want to contemplate things with an open mind it would be better for them if they were in a different living environment.
You wont be able to get possession using the grounds you mention. Frankly, even if you had mandatory grounds, such as qualifying rent arrears, it would be easy for the tenant to get a Mental Health Breathing Space, which would mean you couldn’t evict.
You should contact a good landlord and tenant solicitor for an initial legal opinion, but I wouldnt waste money beyond that in your shoes.
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Could you help us understand why an unoccupied property causes quite troubling consequences for the neighbours?
It would also help us if you could respond to my earliler request to help describe what the “fearful mess” is.
If there legitimate reasons behind these two descriptions you’ve used, then that would help us answer your initial query.
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David,
Thank you. I understand there will be difficulties. In twenty odd years of developing and owning eight flats I have not had to engage a lawyer for an eviction of any stripe. This is why I asked for a recommendation to a lawyer…
guess not then… 
Hi, Theodore.
We rented to a mentally ill person and narrowly avoided repair that would cost us tens of thousands, what saved us was the fact that we do quarterly check-ups. Other LL rented to mentally ill people in two of the blocks where we own rental properties. In one case our (lovely) TT said that if it’s not solved, they would have to leave. The guy was shouting and vocalising loudly and banging something against the wall all the time.
In the second case we were lucky because our T was hardly at home, but a few other LL lost their long-term good TT. And it was a total nightmare and a cost a small fortune to evict these TT. Both of LL sold their properties afterwards. We are the only ones standing, LOL.
Just thought I’d say I am really sorry about all you’re going through. Sorry that it affects the neighbours, too. That’s a big one.
Sorry I can’t give any practical advice, just a moral support. Hope you’ll sort it out.
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Why do you want to evict him if he’s paying the rent?
Being a landlord is a big enough hassle without creating extra work and expense.
The flat won’t get any cleaner whether you evict him or not.
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Sound advice, take it Theodore.
Such as?
Make arrangements to inspect the property monthly for insurance purposes, which I believe is the usual criteria for an unoccupied property. If there is any additional premium required you could, if you really need to, consider addressing that expense with the tenant when he’s better.
As others have noted, I think you need to be a bit more considerate of his circumstances unless there are other issues regarding his behavior. Such as I am evicting a tenant, who ‘claims’ to have mental issues, but is in fact carrying out illegal activities with visits from undesirable acquaintances leaving threatening notes outside the property, regular police visits including smashing down the door, plus his Father (guarantor 
) is paying all the rent and the court expenses to have him removed, whilst he rides around in a brand new car…
Suffice to say his Father has had enough and he does not fit into our demographic of a decent tenant.
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Chris,
Thank you for your thoughts. There is a bit more to it than the issues of cleanliness. The flat is not physically suitable for someone who had become so mentally unstable, there’s a balcony with a drop onto concrete for example. How the tenant lives impinges on the neighbours with regards to health (vermin) and financially through the waste of energy (the heating and hot water are communal).
All that apart I asked for a recommendation to a lawyer who would present a case to a judge who is supposed to be qualified to consider such things.
I still think a judge is very unlikely to make the tenant homeless because of the issues you mention, but I suggest you get an initial opinion from a firm such as Anthony Gold or Spector, Constant and Williams.
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It’s commendable that you are concerned about safety of your tenant and whether property is suitable (concrete below balcony) and if the way they live is encouraging vermin (I know of a hoarder whose mess caused similar problems in their flat) I think that’s not acceptable in terms of clauses about keeping a property clean.
In terms of behaviours affecting the neighbours I think you’ll need some written statements from them.
All that being said, suppose you give 4 months notice and a couple of months later a judge hears the case. Either the tenant will still be in hospital in which case none of the issues you cite will be current, or they will have been released and will likely claim the issues won’t recur and a judge will quite likely give them the chance to show that.
So in the meantime I understand you wanting to explore options but I tend to agree with others here that you may be better off cleaning the place, getting inspection visits scheduled monthly and tell your insurance it’s empty for now. Then if tenant moves back in and problems recurr you would have a sounder basis for eviction
Good luck