Your rights as a landlord when ending a tenancy

As a landlord, you’d hope to never need to serve notice to end a tenancy. This can be a tough time for both landlords and tenants. Serving notice to any tenant can make conscientious landlords anxious. Regardless of the circumstance leading to the point of a notice being served, many landlords express concern over potential high costs involved in the situation.

Whilst it may not be pleasant, sometimes serving notice to terminate a tenancy is necessary. Don’t worry. At Three Sixty Living, we are experienced in bringing tenancies to an end and can help make the process easier for you. You probably already know that there are lots of protections in place for tenants, but what about landlords?

From various conversations we’ve had with landlords facing this situation, we understand that many have uncertainties and gaps in understanding the processes and procedures. After all, ending a tenancy isn’t a common occurrence for the majority of landlords.

In this blog post, we’ll clarify and provider better understanding of the process of ending a tenancy early. Before we delve further, it’s vital for you to remember that property possession can only happen in two ways:

1. The tenant willingly ends the tenancy.
2. A judge grants a court order for possession.

Trying to gain access through other means could result in fines or jail time under the Protection of Eviction Act 1977. This includes actions like changing locks or interfering with the tenant’s peaceful enjoyment of the property. Breaking this law could lead to maximum two-year prison sentence.

The first step to regain possession of the property occurs when a tenant doesn’t want to end the tenancy and you are left no choice but to serve notice. The notice, under Section 21 or Section 8, asks the tenant to leave by a specific date. It’s clear that if they don’t leave by then, you can apply for possession in County Court. You’ll need to serve notice before applying for possession, however. In our experience, most tenants leave their tenancy on or before the notice date.

If the tenants do not move out by the notice date, the tenancy still continues and the tenant remains responsible for all rent and utilities until the landlord regains possession. After the notice expires, you can apply for possession in County Court. Your letting agent should be able to support you through this application or can recommend an eviction expert. the application fee, at the time of writing, is currently £355, payable to County Court.

Your outgoing tenant may tell you they have received advice to stay in the property until they’re in receipt of a possession order. This is perfectly legitimate advice and the tenant does have the right to stay in the property until a possession order is granted.

After applying for possession under the accelerated Section 21 process, the County Court will respond with either a copy of the possession order or a date to present your claim to the judge. The timing depends on the workload of the court but possession orders are often dated around eight weeks after applying. If there’s a hearing, a judge usually grants possession a couple of weeks later.

If your tenant doesn’t move out by the possession order date, you’ll need to request a court bailiff to enforce the order. The bailiff gives two weeks’ notice and the fee, at the time of writing, is currently £130.

We understand that asking someone to leave their home isn’t pleasant, but we’re here to provide information and assistance—contact us today!