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Section 8 Notice To Quit Form- Eviction Notice

The information in this post applies to residential tenancies in England and Wales.

What is a Section 8?
Download a Section 8 Notice
Before serving notice
Section 8 Vs Section 21
Breach of agreement by tenant
How to serve a Section 8 Notice
Service of the Notice
The Grounds For Eviction
Once the Tenant receives the Notice
Does serving a Section 8 Guarantee A Possession Order?
Free legal advice

What is a Section 8?

A “section 8 notice”, also known as an ‘Eviction Notice’, is used to terminate an Assured Shorthold Tenancy Agreement during the fixed period when a tenant has breached the agreement (e.g fallen into rent arrears).

A landlord cannot legally evict their tenant without obtaining an order for possession from a court first. Before applying to the court for this order, the landlord must serve a “Section 8 notice to quit” form on the tenant. The notice states that the landlord intends to seek possession of the property and states the ground(s) on which possession is sought.

Before serving notice

Before serving a section 8 notice, I would recommend reading through the various methods available on how to terminate a tenancy agreement– there are several options available, and there might be a more suitable option for you. Section 8’s can often be one of the most aggressive and complicated approaches.

Section 8 Vs Section 21

Many landlords get confused between a Section 8 and Section 21 notice, and it’s understandable why. While you can serve both notices to one tenant at the same time, it’s important to understand the differences.

Essentially, a Section 8 is served when a landlord has grounds for eviction (e.g. rent arrears), consequently the landlord wishes to terminate the tenancy during the fixed term. A Section 21 is served to give ‘notice of possession’ to the tenant, which is when the landlord wants the property back at the end of the tenancy, which importantly means, it isn’t an eviction. Here is more information about a Section 21, notice of possession, you may always want to read more details on the difference between a Section 21 and a Section 8 notice.

It’s important to note that it might be more effective to serve a Section 21 in cases where the fixed term of a tenancy is coming to an end and there are grounds for eviction. The reason being is that a landlord is given possession by default when correctly serving a section 21- the tenant/Court cannot dispute it. Whereas if a Section 8 is served, and the tenant disputes the grounds for eviction, it could go either way, depending on if it goes to court and what evidence is given. Again, for more information on this, refer to the differences between a Section 21 and a Section 8 notice article.

Breach of agreement by tenant

The most common type of breach during the term of the tenancy is for non-payment of rent. However, any breaches of the terms of the tenancy agreement justify possession proceedings (e.g. damage to the property).

In order for the section 8 to be valid, the landlord must specify which grounds set out in Schedule 2 of the Housing Act 1988, the tenant has breached.

How to serve a Section 8 Notice

To start proceedings, you must first inform the tenant, using the section 8 notice, that you wish to seek possession. The Notice of Seeking Possession is issued under section 8 of the Housing Act 1988 and must be served in the prescribed form – ‘section 8’. The notice could be included with a final rent reminder letter.

Any errors made when issuing the section 8 notice (which is extremely common) is likely to delay the landlord gaining possession. That’s why it is always advised to seek legal advice before issuing a section 8.

Service of the Notice

The notice can be served by post or in person. If there is more than one tenant, the notice must be served on all tenants.

The courts will recognise the day of postal service as the day on which the letter would normally have arrived.

It is recommended that a colleague witnesses the sending of the notice. When using postal service, it is recommended that the notice be sent by recorded delivery for proof of delivery, and that a minimum of three working days is allowed for the notice to arrive.

The Grounds For Eviction

The ground(s) you wish to use to evict your tenant will need to be stated in the section 8 form. You can use more than one ground for possession if necessary. For example, grounds 8, 10 and/or 11 can be used for rent arrears. The notice period required to be given to the tenant will vary depending on which ground(s) are being used.

These Grounds are contained in Schedule 2 HA 1988. The grounds fall into 2 categories:

Grounds 1-8 (Mandatory) – the court must make the possession Order
Grounds 9-17 (Discretionary) – the court will make the Order only if it is reasonable to do so.

Coronavirus update

Due to COVID-19, notice periods have changed in order to help protect tenants during these difficult times. For more details, please visit my blog post which covers Tenant Eviction & Repossession during COVID-19.

Ground	Description	Notice Period Required (minimum)
1	Landlord(s) requires the property back for personal use in either of the following cases: The landlord must have lived the property at some point in the past before the tenant moved in, full-time, intermittent or temporary. Or, the landlord wants it for themselves, their spouse or civil partner’s sole or principal home. It’s important to note that this ground can only be used if the landlord gave notice at the start of the tenancy that they will be using this ground to regain possession. The court has to look at all the circumstances, including hardship to the tenant or Landlord before deciding whether to make an order.	2 months
2	The property is subject to a mortgage which pre-dates the tenancy and the lendor wishes to exercise its rights over the property, i.e. repossess it. A notice under this ground must be served before the creation of the tenancy.	2 months
3	The tenancy is for a fixed period of not more than eight months and the property is occupied as a holiday let and at least twelve months before the tenancy started it had been used as a holiday let. Written notice must be given either before or at the time the tenancy begins that possession might be required under this ground.	2 weeks
4	The tenancy is for a fixed period of not more than twelve months and has been let by an educational establishment/institution (e.g. university, colleges etc.) and possession is required. Written notice must be given on or before the tenancy begins that possession might be required on this ground.	2 weeks
5	The property is used as a home for a Minister of Religion and is needed for another Minister of Religion. Written notice must have been given at the time or before the tenancy begins that possession might be required under this ground.	2 months
6	The Landlord intends to demolish or reconstruct the whole or part of the property or carry out major works to all or part of it and the works cannot be carried out if the tenant is there (e.g. because the tenant will not agree to give access or agree to be restricted to living in part of the property whilst works are carried out on the other part). The Landlord must pay the tenants reasonable removal expenses if the possession is granted under this ground.	2 months
7	Where the previous tenant has died and the new tenant is not entitled to “succeed” to the tenancy and the tenancy is a periodic tenancy which has passed to the new tenant on death or under a Will. The Landlord must bring proceedings within twelve months of the death of the tenant or twelve months of the date the Landlord became aware of the tenant’s death.	2 months
7A	In order for possession to be ordered by the court, any one or more of the following five conditions contained within 7A must be met. Condition 1 was committed in, or in the locality of, the dwelling-house, or was committed elsewhere against a person with a right (of whatever description) to reside in, or occupy housing accommodation in the locality of, the dwelling-house, or was committed elsewhere against the landlord of the dwelling-house, or a person employed (whether or not by the landlord) in connection with the exercise of the landlord’s housing management functions, and directly or indirectly related to or affected those functions. Condition 2 A court has found in relevant proceedings that the tenant, or a person residing in or visiting the dwelling-house, has breached a provision of an injunction under section 1 of the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 and: the breach occurred in, or in the locality of, the dwelling-house, or the breach occurred elsewhere and the provision breached was a provision intended to prevent – conduct that is capable of causing nuisance or annoyance to a person with a right (of whatever description) to reside in, or occupy housing accommodation in the locality of, the dwelling-house, or conduct that is capable of causing nuisance or annoyance to the landlord of the dwelling-house, or a person employed (whether or not by the landlord) in connection with the exercise of the landlord’s housing management functions, and that is directly or indirectly related to or affects those functions. Condition 3 The tenant, or a person residing in or visiting the dwelling-house, has been convicted of an offence under section 30 consisting of a breach of a provision of a criminal behaviour order prohibiting a person from doing anything described in the order, and the offence involved: a breach that occurred in, or in the locality of, the dwelling-house, or a breach that occurred elsewhere of a provision intended to prevent: behaviour that causes or is likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress to a person with a right (of whatever description) to reside in, or occupy housing accommodation in the locality of, the dwelling-house, or behaviour that causes or is likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress to the landlord of the dwelling-house, or a person employed (whether or not by the landlord) in connection with the exercise of the landlord’s housing management functions, and that is directly or indirectly related to or affects those functions. Condition 4 The dwelling-house is or has been subject to a closure order under section 80, and access to the dwelling-house has been prohibited (under the closure order or under a closure notice issued under section 76 of that Act) for a continuous period of more than 48 hours. Condition 5 The tenant, or a person residing in or visiting the dwelling-house, has been convicted of an offence under; section 80(4) of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 (breach of abatement notice in relation to statutory nuisance), or section 82(8) of that Act (breach of court order to abate statutory nuisance etc.), and the nuisance concerned was noise emitted from the dwelling-house which was a statutory nuisance for the purposes of Part 3 of that Act by virtue of section 79(1)(g) of that Act (noise emitted from premises so as to be prejudicial to health or a nuisance).	2 months
8	At the date of service of the notice and at the date of the hearing, the tenant has not paid the rent, and either rent is payable weekly or fortnightly and at least eight weeks’ rent is unpaid; or rent is payable monthly and at least two months’ rent is unpaid; or rent is payable quarterly and at least one quarter’s rent is more than three months in arrears. Note: When claiming possession under this ground, it is advisable to cite more than one ground since, if the tenant pays off part of the arrears shortly before the hearing, this ground can no longer be proved and possession proceedings will have to be abandoned. It is, therefore, common practice to cite more than one ground for rent arrears (i.e. grounds 8, 10 & 11), if applicable, and to also wait until at least two months’ rent (or eight weeks in the case of a weekly tenancy) is unpaid before issuing the Section 8 Notice.	2 weeks
9	That there will be suitable alternative accommodation available for the tenant if a Possession Order is made. The Landlord must pay the tenant’s reasonable removal expenses if a Possession Order is made. A tenant can oppose a Possession Order on this ground if the alternative accommodation is not suitable.	2 months
10	Any amount of rent is in arrears at the date of service of the notice and remains unpaid on the date on which the proceedings for possession are begun.	2 weeks
11	The tenant has repeatedly failed to pay rent.	2 weeks
12	The Tenant has breached any term of the tenancy agreement (other than one relating to the payment of rent).	2 weeks
13	The property has deteriorated due to neglect by the tenant or by someone living with him and the tenant has failed to remove that person.	2 weeks
14	The tenant or someone living with him has caused a nuisance to neighbours, visitors or others in the locality or has been convicted of using the property for immoral or illegal purposes or has been convicted of an indictable offence committed in the locality.	2 weeks
14A	This ground is only open to registered social landlords or charitable housing trusts and can not be used by private landlords. The property is occupied by a couple and one of them has left due to violence or threats of violence from the other partner or from a member of that partner’s family who was living in the property also. This notice can only be used by a registered social landlord or a charitable housing trust. The tenant who has left must also be sent this notice.	2 weeks
15	The furniture has been ill-treated by the tenant or by someone living with him and the tenant has failed to remove that person.	2 weeks
16	This ground covers cases where the tenant was an employee of the landlord and has since left his employ. This case is rarely used as most resident employees are licensees and therefore not covered by the housing acts.	2 months
17	The landlord was induced to grant the tenancy by a false statement made knowingly or recklessly by either the tenant or a person acting at the tenant’s instigation.	2 weeks

Once the Tenant receives the Notice

Once you have issued the section 8 notice on your tenant, you are required to wait until the notice has expired – this is the date you give on the notice. Approximately 80% of tenants leave after being served notice.

If the tenant has not vacated, or paid up any rent arrears by this point, then it will be necessary to start court possession proceedings. This is done by obtaining the appropriate forms from your local court (forms N5andN119) and payment of the appropriate court fee.

In most cases, once a tenant receives the 8 notice, they vacate the property, to avoid any court hearings. However, if this is not the case, the landlord should apply for a possession order from a court.

Here’s more information on Evicting Tenants.

Does serving a Section 8 Guarantee A Possession Order?

Serving a section 8 notice does not guarantee that the court will grant a possession order for the tenant to vacate. It depends on which grounds are relied upon as well as the strength of the landlord’s argument.

However, Grounds 2 and 8 of a section 8 notice are mandatory, meaning that if a landlord is evicting a tenant that has breached either of those grounds and can prove to the court that the tenant is guilty, then the court MUST be in the favour of the landlord and issue the landlord with a possession order.

Grounds 8, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 14A, 15 and 17 are discretionary grounds, meaning that the court will not necessarily side with the landlord even if he/she can prove that one of the grounds applies. If this is the case, it is at the court’s discretion to determine whether to grant a landlord a possession order. The court will look at the facts and evidence and then make a decision.

If a court is satisfied that a landlord is entitled to possession on one of the grounds, then the court will grant a possession order to take effect within 14 days. In some cases, the court may extend this to six weeks if it will cause the tenant to experience exceptional hardship.

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143 Join the Conversation...

Showing 93 - 143 comments (out of 143)

cardifflandlord 21st July, 2012 @ 11:11

Even though you have not signed a contract an AST is assured and assumed by the fact you have been paying and your LL has been receiving rent. As you are now in an implied periodic tenancy and as such the LL has to give you 2 months notice whilst you only have to give one months notice.

eastern clove 21st July, 2012 @ 18:33

Hi cardifflandlord,

Many thanks again, does the notice need to be in writing. As she did tell me to move verbally in Feb 2012, claiming that she is selling the house to her daughter and wants me to leave by 1st April, but in May she brought 3 people, to show around the house and they were discussing the rent.

and also couple of months ago when I complained about the leaking roof and pointed out that the builders have never fixed it despite coming to repair it on four separate occasions, she wrote to me in response about the roof, but the last sentence in that letter stated, I hope the last few weeks are a happy memory for you in our house. Aside from that I never received a formal notice to vacated the house.

Also does it matter that I have been paying rent to her daughter and then husband, she pays the water rate and council tax direct as they are both on her name and inclusive in the rent I pay, she does not live in the same house nor is she registered to vote here.

Thanks,

cardifflandlord 21st July, 2012 @ 21:48

Must be in writing and a correctly drawn up and dated form.

Don't take any crap from them!

eastern clove 21st July, 2012 @ 23:08

Thank you very much, now I can ask her to fix the hot water without worrying that she will ask me to leave the house & hopefully I'll find a suitable accommodation soon.

Thanks again

cardifflandlord 22nd July, 2012 @ 16:46

Even IF she sends you a correctly completed section 21 notice (which is highly unlikely given the fact they have been so unprofessional unto now) you still do not have to leave. If you decide to stay they must then obtain a court order giving them possession (which is when the correctly dated notice will come into action) and then must obtain a court appointed bailiffs order to actually get you out of the property which is likely to take at least 4 months so plenty of time for you to find something!

They cannot just simply ask, insist or demand that you leave "just because they told you to"!

If they start hassling you tell them that you are going to take legal action against them for breach of quiet enjoyment, intimidation and harassment - if they are intelligent (again unlikely given their current actions) they will back off. You will have at least two months from the date of the correctly dated form.

Good luck

cardifflandlord 23rd July, 2012 @ 08:37

Clove, after the 6th April 2007 your Landlord was required by law to deposit your security bond into an approved deposit protection scheme. If he did not he has broken the law. You should have received from the deposit company confirmation that this has been done.

You really need to speak to your local councils private rented sector team about your case to let them know what is happening.

Eastern Clove 23rd July, 2012 @ 21:24

Hello,

Thank you for your for your advice and continued support. When I moved in the house I did not pay deposit, just a month advance, which means I never have outstanding rent especially as I never missed a payment to date.

The house is extremely in poor state and whenever I a major jobs needs doing the LL takes shorts cuts and delays and instructs builders to do the absolute minimum. For example the roof to my bedroom has been leaking for 3 years, so whenever we had very heavy rain it leaks and I report it and eventually the builders would attend to only to return again following another leak. After the 3 times they told me the LL was fully informed of the problem but does not want to pay for the job.

On the fourth occasion I told the LL unless the roof is fixed I will have to take alternative actions including getting my own builders sending the bill and deducting from the rent due. Within 48 hours the builders completed the job.

The house has lots of other problems and had I known its visible to report it to the Council I would have done so long ago. The stairs broken 2 years ago and are only held by a blank of wood, the toilet seat "dances" when in use and the hot water boiler (very old one) broke down and was fixed in March, but is broken broken again and I am about to ask to fix it, though I am very apprehensive about it, when I reported a broken heater in April she told me she does not want to spend money fixing it.

Couple of years ago she gave 90% of my garden to her daughter next door, so when I am in my kitchen or back-room upstairs it feels I am overlooked.

Armin 24th July, 2012 @ 07:59

Clove,

Why would you want to stay in a place like this? Unless the rent is way below market, you should find a new home.

100

Eastern Clove 25th July, 2012 @ 06:30

Hi Armin

The only reason I am still living here is the rent is affordable and to be honest the LL never asked me for rent rise. I am looking to move and was originally planning to do so by next spring, but I am actively looking and hopefully will get a place soon.

Thanks

101

J London 13th August, 2012 @ 14:59

@ Armin:

The point - whatever her reasons for wanting to stay - is that she has rights and, accordingly, should be allowed to remain in, and enjoy peaceful occupation of, her home.

102

EmailWebsite 18th August, 2012 @ 21:11

Thank you for some other wonderful article. The place else could anyone get that kind of information in such a perfect approach of writing? I've a presentation subsequent week, and I am at the search for such info.

103

parvat 6th March, 2013 @ 12:28

hi can anyone help me please
my wife and i move to a property without a rental agreement.
my LL and we were agreed to pay £400 pcm although he was asking for £100 per week.we agreed for £400 and gave him £400 deposit plus £400 rent in advance. After 13 month now he is asking for £100 per week. As we dont have a rental agreement is there anything we can do and we herd now that he never returned anyone's deposit, so I m worried about loosing my deposit. Is there any way to deal with this legally.

104

newtothis 24th May, 2013 @ 23:34

Hi
Under section 8
Can a landlord sue for arrears that are outside of the tenancy agreement.. I.e ones that accumulate after the tenancy expires?

105

Kristina Kirby 30th May, 2013 @ 17:08

About 5 years ago i made a down payment and am buying a house on land contract.I am letting my grandma live in a trailor on that land. Months ago her son moved into the trailor with her without my permission. I do not charge her nothing. The catch is the one living their is the one i am buying the house from. Is it legal for him to do this

106

C4722 21st August, 2013 @ 20:43

I recently moved into a private rented house 6 weeks ago, under a 6 month tennency agreement and the landlord has just informed me they are going to sell the house and have given me 2 months to leave, with nowhere to go. Do I have any legal options?

107

sprog 25th August, 2013 @ 13:05

We have been renting fora year, tenancy agreement ends sept 10th. The agreement says nothing about Pets. We have 2 dogs and were given verbal permission from landlord. He is now saying he didn't give permission and is telling us we have to be out sept. 10th because of the dogs. I only have proof of permission for 1 dog.
Also, the house was disgusting when we moved in. We recarpeted the whole house, put in brand new appliances and redecorated. We have all the receipts.
What can we do?

108

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109

Liam Bland 23rd October, 2013 @ 09:22

I think the above comment about wanting to serve an order 8, when you havent even followed the correct procedure yourself with regards to deposit is bit of a joke! (hypercritical or what?)

I do renting and have made sure ive had my rent every single month regardless, im a good tenant if you like! If you dont know the correct procedures and law when renting your own property, im sorry but its you own silly fault when it goes wrong!!

110

ROBERT 6th November, 2013 @ 13:18

Talking about section 8 (not about saving marriages)I will add that a 'section 8 notice to quit', also known as a 'section 8 possession notice', is so called because it operates under section 8 of the Housing Act 1988. A section 8 notice can only be issued to a tenant who has breached the terms laid out in the tenancy agreement and if certain conditions have been met, the most common being one involving rent arrears. The landlord cannot evict the tenant without first obtaining an order for possession from a court. Before applying to the court for such an order, the landlord must serve a Section 8 notice to quit on the tenant. The notice states that the landlord intends to seek possession of the property and states the ground or grounds on which possession is sought. Also it enables you to end a shorthold tenancy agreement during the fixed period of your tenants agreement, with an average notice period of 2 weeks (2 months if ground 2). I just told landlords to verify the tenants information beforehand to avoid problems in future!

111

Lisa 20th December, 2013 @ 13:22

On a periodic tenancy on a month to month basis, got an email through saying landlord wishes to sell up and wants us out.

I trust this isn't legal as it's not a proper notice 21 - The landlord has given 2 months notice as dated when email sent but that's not the date my tenancy would end as that is the 28th of each month not the 16th.

On the other hand the deposit hasn't protected so am I correct in thinking a notice 21 can't be served till that is done?

Landlord wishes house on market within the next few weeks - am I within my rights to not allow agents and viewers too often?

I'm up to date with my rent and there hasn't been any issues I've caused. Landlord has failed to do structure repairs and hasn't renewed my gas safety certificate despite me asking several times for this to me done. I've been without lights since the summer now - can I claim a rent reduction at all? Thanks!

112

darnelle 16th January, 2014 @ 14:15

I'm on section 8 and was call to come into. Office I get there and first they pulled out papers for income I told them I get student loans and she kept asking how much and I kept telling her I didnt know then she kept saying well estimate this went on awhile Then I told her I had school that evening and I could let her know then then pulls out these lease papers for me to.sign and I'm.sitting there reading them she goes section 8 will let you know your portion there the same as your other one only its not I'm like when dix my rent go up from $415 to 485 I thought I was spose to get a letter anyway don't know why I signef it because now U found out they were suppose to give me proper notice this started.on Jan 1 and they.callef me into the office on thr 6th and then they put a notice on my door that I owe them 90 I've felt so bad cause I should have called sec 8 just never had to all that before even thougb I signed are they violating any lawS by knowingly not guiving me proper notice and I really believe its because I'm going tool scbool and getting money from somewhere why else would you go up &70 on somebodys rent that you know is not working at this time I've been here 4.years

113

Trevh 18th January, 2014 @ 16:25

Why don't you all pay your rent or move out, thats what you signed for. Negotiate with your landlord or letting agency.Not all landlords are ruthless. But why should a landlord invest in property Next time you sign a tenancy agreement, read the terms. First and foremost pay your rent and don't commit to a property you can't afford.

114

Lisa 18th January, 2014 @ 18:28

To Trevh,

My rent is fully paid up - thanks ! But landlord refusing to do repairs & attempting illegal eviction isn't on. Why should a tenant invest any money in a property when landlords won't do major repairs?!

115

Trevh 18th January, 2014 @ 18:54

Lisa. Landlords, whom cannot nor address repair issues is not acceptable. Have you spoke with your agent or is this a private letting. ? How long have you lived at your property ?.

116

Lisa 18th January, 2014 @ 19:05

Lived here 2 years.

Been in discussion - landlord failed to get a gas safety check - I paid for this.

Leaks in roof - no lighting due to this. Landlord refuses to do repairs as is trying to sell up. Leaks for 8 months.

Getting legal advice now as landlord refuses to give rent reduction. Eviction was a brief email - not legal.

He doesn't.deserve a good tenant !!

117

Lisa 18th January, 2014 @ 19:06

It's a private let btw

118

Trevh 18th January, 2014 @ 19:27

Are you through an Agent Lisa ?

119

Lisa's 18th January, 2014 @ 21:08

No it's a private let - direct with landlord

120

dave 3rd February, 2014 @ 04:08

i rented a one bedroom bill sinclusive and I have been consistent with my rent.The agent entered my room without my consent , I realised money was missing in my room at that point and at some point the agent used my name as the person responsible for the water bill, so the bills was coming in my name to the extent of threat of adding to my credit history. I approached the agent and he resisted and gave me quit notice because I approached him. he served me sec8 and lied that I play music loud in the house. it is now a new month and he is asking me for rent. should I still pay rent after the quit notice till I get a new place?

121

Freddy 5th February, 2014 @ 16:09

Dear Armin,

I refer to your post on the 20th of July 2012 (number 88); the post where you claim 'You spammers have no shame and your command of the English language is execrable.'

Just to remind you my friend, advise is the verb and advice is the noun.
'My advice to you is….'

Have a nice day my friend.

122

Dave B 24th February, 2014 @ 12:34

I was served with a Notice to Quit in December 2011, I moved out in February 2012 and sent a letter to the council saying that I had done so. I have now just received a Claim Form from the Court saying that I owe rent to the Council for March and April of 2012. If you are served with a Notice to Quit and then move out, can the council then claim rent after this period like this?

I would really appreciate any comments. I was served with a Notice to Quit not because I didnt pay my rent (this was all up to date) it was because I didn't let the gas man in as I wasn't in at the time!

many thanks

123

jcherry 28th February, 2014 @ 08:25

Getting impatient and need some help please ? Here goes my man of a year has two little boys 3 and 4 he has been telling his ex girlfriend their mother to pack and get out .OK for years not funny anymore she is abusive to the boys she just needs to go we are from here in Oregon and really could use some adive

124

Kelly rushton 11th March, 2014 @ 15:54

Can't any one help me I'm livening in a rented house with 2 kids I fell behid with my rent I own my landlord 2000 paid but got it down to 500 my landlord keep texting me everyday asking for the money I'm tryin my best to get it paid as fast as I can my landlord as nw sent me a text saying this is ur 14 days note to leve the house can he do that by text thanks

125

Geoff 24th June, 2014 @ 06:35

I often think tenants conveniently forget who actually owns the property they live in and the fact they pay a rent entitles them to abuse the building in any way they see fit. The landlord in most cases has commited himself to a morgage or bought the property outright and therefore must have a return on his investment.
Despite a list of rules and conditions agreed with the tenant from the start of a SHTA many tenants appear to think that they can break the rules, abuse the property and the landlord should do nothing. I have recently had a case where the tenant had disposed of items of furniture that were on the original inventory and left the house in a state .. Their reaction was that of total surprise when I informed them they had lost their bond to cover the missing items and to return the property to the original standard. People like this deserve to be issued with Notice to leave immediately. They fully expect the landlord to finance the trail of devastation they leave!

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Muhammad Butt 22nd July, 2014 @ 20:06

Hello,

I have a big tie problem for me.

I am runing one house of my uncle in which there are 4 bedrooms and each room is given to individual. One of the tenant is not paying me the rent and is not leaving too. We have no agreement signed as well. No one in the house is happy with him, i even changed the door lock but he managed to come in.

Police told me to send him the section 8 letter, and i just started looking for what it is.

I just can not afford him to live there longer as he already owe me 12 days rent and he is still living there and threatning to bring his boys into it.

I do not know after how many days of giving section 8 form i have to go to court for this one room evacuation.

Any suggestions?

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Campbell 29th August, 2014 @ 22:59

Please can some one advice me ? I live in a shared accommodation and I do not have any agreement with the landlord and I have live there since January , I never owe rent but my landlord gave me an eviction to leave the room in a week time and am always busy with work , what can I do please .

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Frustrated resident 17th November, 2014 @ 18:49

Please bear with this, its a bit long winded but I'll try shorten the story.

Basically we have a house full of students living in our street intent on causing a serious nuisance late at night on several occasions. Letting agent informed, university informed, formal complaint to police and threat of prosecution under section 82, Environmental Protection Act, 1990.

Still getting noise problems but it seems the owner of the property and the letting agent seem reluctant to remove these disruptive people. It appears a Section 8 could be issued on ground 14 of the Housing Act, 1988 but its a dicretionary ground. I've also been told by someone in the letting industry, this is not enough grounds alone. I've also been told they cannot issue a section 8 until they're 6 months into the tenancy agreement. Is this true?

Can anyone offer any advice on when can and can't be done by the landlord and/or agent? I suspect the lack of action is purely for financial reasons.

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Benji 18th November, 2014 @ 11:46

@Frustrated resident,

A landlord has very little power over their tenants behaviour.

Section 8 ground 14 is discretionary.

The landlord needs a lot of solid evidence the tenants are causing a nuisance. One complaint from you is nowhere near sufficient.

It is very unlikely a judge will grant the landlord possession on those grounds.

It can be served at any time.

The 6 months thing is about section 21, whereby the landlord can evict at the end of the fixed tenancy period without having to give (or prove) reason. However, as this is a student let, the tenancy agreement was probably given for 12 months so the landlord will be unable to evict under section 21 before then.

Your best route is via your local authority.

They will try to fob you off even though it is their job.

So before complaining to them do some online research all about their policies, what they can and can't do, who's job it is, keeping a diary of nuisance etc, etc.

Also look up who owns the property on land registry;

https://www.gov.uk/search-property-information-land-registry

Read up on HMO's. Find out your local authority criteria (it varies) for a HMO and see if the property qualifies. Carry out a search of HMO's and find out if the property is registered.

Once you are fully armed, then book an appointment with the right person at your local authority and make a formal complaint.

Don't expect miracles.

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J_London 27th January, 2015 @ 02:19

Is it a requirment of a Section 8 Notice that it HAS to be signed and dated?

i.e. Does a Section 8 Notice HAVE to be signed and dated (the bit at the end on most forms) to be deemed served/proper notice??

Sounds like a silly - but is a genuine - question (that I cant seem to find the answer to)

A definitive answer (with link) would be much appreciated.

Many thanks

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Chris 28th February, 2015 @ 12:04

What is the position if the owner has died and the new owners ( son or daughter) wishes to sell the property? Hence, evicting the tenant is the logical process.

What are the rights of the tenant?

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Polly 17th March, 2015 @ 07:39

When my father passed away 6 years ago, my mother asked me to move into a self contained annexe while she stayed in the main part of the property, because she didn't feel she could live in the house alone. I moved in giving up my then home to my son. She has now said I have to leave. I am 65 years old and have a full time job and keep my part of the property in pristine condition. Aged 86 this is a woman who gets up at 7am and cleans windows, doors, floors 7 days a week until 1pm (5 hours a day). It's an obsession. Obviously at that age she is finding it fairly hard to keep up with this regime and expects me to take more and more responsibility for her cleaning. I'm not prepared to do that which is why she has become hostile and told me to leave. It's been a hard 6 years but I have stuck it out because I had nowhere else to go. What can I do ?

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kook 18th March, 2015 @ 19:03

I find the whole system is heavily in favour of the tenants, we private landlords suffer massive financial hardship due to a minority of tenants, I have tenants that have refused to pay rent for three months, wrecking my family home and have been caught out claiming benefits and working, It will take me months to get bailiffs to remove them, and never a chance of getting the rent arrears or damage fully paid for, so how fair is that

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Captain Hook 18th March, 2015 @ 21:34

It will take me months to get bailiffs to remove them, and never a chance of getting the rent arrears or damage fully paid for, so how fair is that

It ain't.

Then again, if amateur mugs like you didn't take the scumbags on in the first place, they would have nowhere else to turn to but criminals or landlords like me that factor in the extra risk.
I would carry out proper checks, create a proper tenancy, put precautions in place to stop them taking the piss and charge them at least double bubble for the privilege.

Sorry Kook, it is unfair but amateurs like you are doing pro landlords out of business.

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marc h 2nd July, 2015 @ 08:31

hi is the ground 1 in section 8 still a mandatory notice, i have a tenant in my house i have issued notice to vacate, i intend to move back into my house and have lived there as my main home previously, i have since found out that also she has breached many of the conditions of the tenancy agreement ie animals in the house, putrid colour decoration in her childs room and the kitchen, not keeping the garden in a suitable condition and causing a nuisance in the locality of the house due to rowing and fighting with her non live in boyfriend and having a police car on the drive for 3 days ( this looked terrible to the nieghbours) due to allegations of violence from the boyfriend, the local council have basically told her stay put until the bailiffs knock, i simply cant wait that long i need to move in on the date i have given ( correct amount of notice ) due to relationship breakdown, any help will be appreciated

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gaurav 3rd November, 2015 @ 16:22

Hi All

I am staying in 1 bhk in Uxbridge and my letting agent is Cameron’s. I was told initially that my notice period is of 2 months but I dint realise that in the agreement it says that 2 month notice period starts only before contract start date that is 26th of the month. I gave notice on 30th Oct and was expecting that 30th Dec can be my last day. But as I gave notice 4 days later my agent is saying irrespective of notice I have to pay for January rent also

My issue is that my visa is expiring end of Dec, and even if I want I cant stay more than 30th Dec and it will not be appropiate for me to pay for Jan rent. I had given my visa copy to agent before we signed the agreement and he was aware that my visa is expiring end of Dec

Can anyone please guide what legal rights do I have as I dont want to pay for Jan rent as I wont be in this country

Regards

Gaurav

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cara 18th February, 2016 @ 18:27

I have been residing in a flat as a private tenent for 5 years now under a short assured tenency agreement and was informed last week that my landlord wishes to sell and so given a notice to quit the tenency on or before 8 weeks from the day it was served. I found another flat very quickly and told my letting agent that I could leave within 10 days. If I was to leave in 10 days I would owe them 3 days rent which of course I would be hapoy to pay when returning keys. I was shocked when the letting agent said that I could leave in 10 days fine but I wouls still be obliged to pay the rent for the full 8 weeks! Is this right or legal? Anyone know? As the letter says leave on or before the 15th April at the latest. If I leave before can they really still demand rent?

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Simon Pambin 19th February, 2016 @ 09:42

Hi Cara.

I'm assuming you're still in a fixed-term agreement rather than a periodic tenancy where you can give one month's notice.

It's technically legal but the agent is being an arse and potentially not acting in the landlord's best interests. The agent wants to squeeze every last month of commission that he can, whereas from the landlord's point of view, the sooner you vacate, the sooner he can sell. Remember you have a right of "quiet enjoyment" for the full term of your tenancy, so nobody may enter the property (for viewings etc) without your permission. What's more, if you ignored the S21 and stayed on beyond 21 April, it would take months to evict you. I'd be inclined to contact the landlord directly and see what he says.

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Sam 9th November, 2017 @ 12:18

I'm a landlord who unfortunately didn't set up any tenancy agreement in writing with my tenant in 1994. They have been in my property ever since and always paid the rent. For the last 10 years I have been sending them letters stating I would like the property back and for them to leave the property. They have never replied and refuse to leave the property, they continue to pay the rent. This is my only home (currently having to live with a friend) What is the process I have to go through in order to obtain my property? I don't think a section 8 is valid as there are not rent arrears and a section 21 relates to an assured short hold tenancy which I don't have, do i?

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Benji 18th October, 2018 @ 09:30

The information about ground 1 is incorrect;

This ground can only be used if before the tenancy the Landlord had lived in the property as his / her main home.
The court has to look at all the circumstances, including hardship to the tenant or Landlord before deciding whether to make an order.

Correct wording;

Ground 1

Not later than the beginning of the tenancy the landlord gave notice in writing to the tenant that possession might be recovered on this ground or the court is of the opinion that it is just and equitable to dispense with the requirement of notice and (in either case)—

(a)
at some time before the beginning of the tenancy, the landlord who is seeking possession or, in the case of joint landlords seeking possession, at least one of them occupied the dwelling-house as his only or principal home; or

(b)
the landlord who is seeking possession or, in the case of joint landlords seeking possession, at least one of them requires the dwelling-house as [F1his, his spouse’s or his civil partner's] only or principal home and neither the landlord (or, in the case of joint landlords, any one of them) nor any other person who, as landlord, derived title under the landlord who gave the notice mentioned above acquired the reversion on the tenancy for money or money’s worth.

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Joe 19th November, 2020 @ 03:43

I have an periodic assured tenancy and have been renting my home since 1990. The landlord was leasing at the time and subsequently purchased the freehold in 1998. Their poor attitude and unwillingness to carry out repairs or maintain exterior and interior problems escalated. They made it obvious that they considered any requests to do work inconvenient for them. I would have to remedy some of the faults myself and ask for reimbursement. This was always dealt with begrudgingly.
On occasions when a repair was asked for despite verbal assurance work was either ignored or delayed.Recently despite involving the council I was issued with a substantial dent increase demand. The overall MO has been pay the rent put up with it or else we will serve a Notice to Quit.
Other examples of retaliatory actions include vandalism of personal property abusive workmen employed by them withdrawal of services and low level intimidation.
They have been granted permission to redevelop their property but failed to inform me. Instead they appear to be attempting to make a case against me to be an irresponsible tenant denying access to their property and making allegations of antisocial behaviour. By their own admission they have been making unsolicited attempts to contact me by knocking at random times then claiming that I am not in residence. They also claim they are checking for evidence of lights on in the property and making enquiries of my neighbours if they have seen my comings and goings.Demands to gain entry for non essential work include letters delivered by hand and copy letters glued to front door obscuring key hole as evidence of no occupation. Desperate actions of a possessed landlord.
I am severely disabled and on advice contacted my local constabulary to log with them my vulnerable status. They were disinterested and confirmed if a request from the landlord/agent/owner regarding my welfare due to their false statements that I may be unwell or deceased the police may attend the property and if I do not answer my front door have powers to force entry. Three separate enquiries with my local constabulary all confirmed that this is the case if owners make a request to investigate further. Despite me assuring them I am alive have no rent arrears and have many documented and verified examples of bad practice by the landlord including prior reports intimidation logged by themselves they appear to be on the side of the landlord.
One of the officers was relatively sympathetic but overall they said it was a civil matter. I am appalled at their cold and indifferent stance. I live alone and am classed as vulnerable by the council. Not sure if I have any recourse ? So much for local residents and council tax payers getting assistance over non resident landlords with huge portfolios but their default excuse for lack of repairs is no funds for work.
Over the years they have been absentee landlords often abroad and casual regards contact numbers supplied. They have always charged market rents for substandard service and dwellings.
This is a poor show especially as the council despite their pdfs giving advice on good practice are not keen to implement sanctions of any description.
Advice welcome as I feel my civil liberties and rights have been infringed and eroded by government agencies reluctant to assist.
Big money versus no money !?!

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The Landlord 20th November, 2020 @ 21:37

@Joe,
Really sorry to hear your situation, sounds terrible.

I may have missed the obvious, but why do you actually want to remain in the property if you're being treated so poorly? The situation sounds extremely toxic.

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