Eviction using section 21
Section 21 of the Housing Act 1988 is the section which says that you can evict your tenant, without giving a reason, provided you serve the proper form of notice.
It sounds like quite an easy eviction procedure, and in a way it is. However it is not straightforward and there are quite a few misunderstandings. Here are five for you:
1. You can issue eviction proceedings during the fixed term.
Not true! The the start of section 21(1) it says “..on or after the coming to an end of an assured shorthold tenancy which was a fixed term tenancy..” meaning that you can’t use the section before this.. If you do the Judge will just chuck the case out. I have known of cases where this has been done (not my cases).
2. The notice period is always two months.
Not true! Two months is just the minimum notice period. Usually it needs to be more. For example if you serve the notice a the start of the fixed term it cannot end until the fixed term does, which could be many months away.
Then if you serve the notice after the fixed term has ended, it has to end at the end of a ‘period of the tenancy’ which in some cases means that the notice period is nearly three months.
Then you have to allow time for service. For example if you serve it by leaving it at the property (eg by inserting it through the letter box) it won’t be deemed served until the next working day.
3. The deposit can offset against rent arrears rather than being protected.
Not if you want to bring a claim for eviction under section 21. I got caught out by this one once. Section 215(1) of the Housing Act 2004 says
If a tenancy deposit has been paid in connection with a shorthold tenancy, no section 21 notice may be given in relation to the tenancy at a time when—
(a) the deposit is not being held in accordance with an authorised scheme, or
(b) the initial requirements of such a scheme (see section 213(4)) have not been complied with in relation to the deposit.
The wording is fairly straightforward and does not appear to contemplate the possibility of anything else being done with the deposit.
If you want to evict your tenant under s21 it is best to play safe and protect the money. Otherwise you risk the Judge chucking out your case. You can always claim against the deposit when the tenant leaves.
** Note that the law on tenancy deposits has changed since this post was written in 2011, please check out a more recent post**
4. The accelerated possession procedure is really quick.
This is true only if three months or more comes within your definition of ‘quick’. You can read my urban myth about this.
5. You have got to issue eviction proceedings as soon as the notice period expires.
Not true! The notice has an indefinite life span until the tenancy ends. Which it will do if you give the tenant a new tenancy agreement. Otherwise you can use it years after it was served. See this urban myth.
** Note that the law on section 21 has changed since this post was written in 2011, please check out a more recent post**
So there you are. Five misunderstandings.
If you need to draft up a s21 notice
- Possession notices are available on my Landlord Law site
- Find out more about eviction generally >> here
Photo by woodleywonderworks
Kevin Winchester (Winchester Lettings Group) says
Hi Tessa,
Great blog on Section 21 it’s amazing how so many landlords don’t understand the correct use of it. The legislation is pretty clear to a seasoned landlord or property proffesional.
We send a blank Section 21 with advice & guidance notes of how & when to serve for fixed term we also advice a different one is used when the tenancy is periodic.
Last year we served several Section 21’s which caused no problems at all, however we did have 2 tenants that failed to move out. We used accelerated procedure 1st time & in about 8 weeks had a grant of possesion, the other one took nearly 12 weeks because the tenant put up a defence, the judge still gave us possesion. The annoying thing in both cases was it took nearly a whole month to get the court baliff to remove them!!!
A section 21 is far less hassle then Section 8 on discretionary grounds :-)
Tessa Shepperson says
Hi Kevin, thanks for your comment.
Yes people do not always realise how long it can take to get a bailiffs appointment, particularly in the London and other big city courts. In some of the London courts there is a waiting list of eight weeks or even more.
We have all the notices on Landlord Law for people to use, plus full instructions – not all landlords have helpful agents.
Ben Reeve-Lewis says
The big misunderstanding that I see the most of is people not realising that there are 2 section 21s. The 21 (1) b; and the 21 (4) a; and the end date requirment of the 21 (4) a; that isnt there for the (1) b;
And in relation to Kevin’s point above I was recently apalled by a case of mine that went into court in November where the tenant foolishly counterclaimed for disrepair, that I think she is going to have a hard time with, even though she is my client and the judge set a hearing date for March…..5 months later. Bloody ridiculous.
With that in mind does anyone know any loose CPRs that could bring things forward?
David says
I will give you another 4 myths:
1) if the notice is served in the last 2 months of the fixed term then you have to consider the expiry of the notice in relation to the periods of the tenancy or have to use the 21(4) periodic version of the notice. Not true
2) You can serve the section 21 notice at the outset without any negative consequences. There are several problems with this, not least of which is simple customer service, “Hello and welcome to your tenancy and here a notice to get out”! Not true, there are consequences. Tessa this might deserve an article on its own?
3) The section 21 notice is some sort of prescribed form. Not true, provided it is in writing and contains the right information it can have a variety of forms, hence why some suppliers have one notice for both forms and some suppliers use different forms for the fixed term and periodic versions.
4) Notices for periodic tenancies have to include the Prescribed Information required for Notices to Quit. These are not Notices to Quit (the Housing Act 1988 is quite specific that a landlord cannot use a Notice to Quit for and AST) and the Notice to Quit Prescribed Information Regulations do not therefore apply. This is a common problem I have found with Local Authority staff.
Ben Reeve-Lewis says
And while we are on the subject then…..
Another misunderstanding I see is where people serve a section 21 but dont bother buying a standard one and just write it on a piece of paper. this is fine but Section 21 (4) states that it must mention proceedings under section 21 (4) somewhere on it, also backed up by the case of Adamson v Mather.
So a landlord could have everything in order but if the document doesnt say “section 21” it can be invalid.
Tessa Shepperson says
David and Ben, thanks for your comments. David – I think you have given me some new Urban Myth topics there!
Ben, agreed. It is MOST unwise for landlords to use anything but a properly drafted section 21 notice, and get a bit of advice on it (or use a service such as Landlord Law (http://www.landlordlaw.co.uk) where everything is explained carefully). The most common reason for possession claims being thrown out by the courts is that the section 21 notice is incorrect in some way.
Ben Reeve-Lewis says
Absolutely Tessa and in my job my role is to try to block possession proceedings if I can (sorry all you landlords out there) and the first port of call for me is always to look for the dodgy notice. So a landlord really should make their lives easier by getting a proper one, its not like they cost hundreds of pounds
I regularly see landlords issuing a Section 33 notice for some bizarre reason. this is a type of Section 21 but only applies to scottish Assured Shortholds. Dunno where people get them
Kevin Winchester (Winchester Lettings Group) says
Hi Ben,
As you know accelerated claims are served based on the papers. Your quite right about them being very picky about how the notice is written. The devil is in the detail!
Also you mention that a lot of landlords use Section 33 notice, they get them & tenancy ageements from WH Smiths.
I have had the pleasure of seeing many re-hashed versions of notices & tenancy agreements a landlord is well advised to use someone like Tessa or using an agent that’s ARLA or NALS licensed will mean they are less likely to get outdated paperwork.
Tessa Shepperson says
Ben, I suspect people download them for free from the internet from sites giving free landlord advice where they don’t bother telling them, or it is not made clear, that the forms are for Scottish properties only.
David says
Ben, from memory, without being able to give you a reference off the top of my head, the rule is that the judge must, if a defence is put forward that, if proved true would thwart possession, and the paperwork does not prove otherwise, list a hearing. However the rule is that the hearing should be within the period in which possession would normally be given (14 days here). In your example I would suggest that the judge has erred in that even if disrepair were proven it would not affect the landlord’s right to possession under section 21.
Tessa Shepperson says
Thats right David. Nothing should prevent possession under s21 other than a defective notice, something wrong with the specific procedure (such as the claim being started too soon) or the tenancy not actually being an AST.
The disrepair claim should be dealt with separately.
jjlandlord says
Hello Tessa,
Regarding your first point re starting eviction proceedings during the fixed: As I understand it a section 21 notice served during the fixed term may not have a notice period ending before the end of said fixed term.
Wouldn’t that also imply that a landlord has no ‘ground’ to start proceedings during the fixed term?
Westminster says
Re 1. I agree with you, but the debate is still raging on the landlordzone forum, with many still asserting that a s.21 may expire and proceedings begin before the end of the fixed term, in order to obtain an order dated for the day after the term ends. Is there any case law you could cite to convince the unconvinced!
Re 5. There was a post on Painsmith’s blog last year about this. http://tinyurl.com/36j7ac6 In the comments section, they added that it was a “risky strategy” to continue to accept rent after notice expiry “as not all courts will accept this”, (regardless of the true legal position). I would be interested to hear your view on this, and whether or not one should refer to rent as mesne profits after service of s.21 as a safeguard?
Tessa Shepperson says
My view is that the s21 notice should not end before the fixed term does. I don’t have any case law to hand to support this but I can remember a client coming to me once complaining that his case had been chucked out by the Judge, and this was the reason.
If the people on the forum want to give it a go, good luck to them. But I would not recommend it. Note that if they lose and the tenant has got legal aid to defend they may end up having to pay the tenants costs. Which could be expensive.
My interpretation also is that s21 has nothing to do with rent, and that people can continue to accept rent up until the bailiffs throw the tenants out. I cannot see how legally accepting rent can adversely affect their right to possession. That used to happen with the old forfeiture rules but forfeiture is not available for ASTs.
Westminster, I agree with the Pain Smith blog post – yes Judges do sometimes make mistakes in the law but I don’t think we should act on the basis that they will. It is better to go to court armed with proper knowledge so things can be explained to them and they come to the correct decision. Point a DJ at a statute and they will generaly take notice.
Otherwise it is rather like a comedy sketch I heard once where a man said he always waited at traffic lights becuase his brother never took any notice of them and might be coming the other way! And would go through red traffic lights for the same reason …
Alicia says
I was reading a post about landlord property liability insurance(http://www.commercialliabilityinsurancespace.com/?p=81)…Does this have anything to do with some of the misunderstandings? I was not sure if having insurance would help in any of these issues. If my landlord was going to evict me during the first term, based on section 21, could insurance cover his legal costs? Thanks and great post Tessa!
Tessa Shepperson says
Glad you liked it Alcia. I am not wholly familiar with these insurance policies but I think they are more for protection for landlords if the tenant needs evicting after failing to pay rent.
Even if he does have insurance, that would not affect your landlords right to possession, it will just cover his expenses.
And my view is that the landlord CAN’T evict you during the fixed term. At least not using section 21.
John says
Tessa,
Could you clarify what you mean by your first myth “that you can issue a section 21 during the fixed term”
Can you not issue a section 21 that expires after the end of the fixed term?
Tessa Shepperson says
Hi John. You can serve the notice during the fixed term. Nothing wrong with that, its a good idea.
However (in my opinion) you can’t issue possession proceedings at the court (ie based on the s21 notice) until after the fixed term has ended.
Or rather you can issue proceedings but it will be a waste of the court issue fee as the Judge will just dismiss the claim without making an order.
John says
Thanks Tessa,
I’ve got one where I’ve issued a tenant notice during the fixed term with two months rent, and she’s turned around and given me notice (to end at his rental period), giving him nearly an extra month. What can I do? Do I issue proceedings on the last day, but it will get thrown out because she’s given me notice. Do I just have to wait for the extra month?
Tessa Shepperson says
Can’t really advise properly without seeing the paperwork, but if the tenant has said they are going, and they are not paying rent, do you trust them to go when they say they will?
Often this is just a ploy by tenants to get the landlord to delay the issue of proceedings to give them more time at the property. During which they don’t pay rent!
DR says
Hi there, I am in the opposing corner to jjlandlord and Westminter (who I admire greatly) on the LLZ site. Your point one states “..on or after the coming to an end of an assured shorthold tenancy which was a fixed term tenancy..” but that is quoted out of context. It states that the court can make an order for possession on or after that date, NOT that the application can not be made before that date. Indeed, a side issue would be the issue of an expiry date on an s21(1)(b) – it is often stated that the expiry date can not be before the end of the fixed term (making an application before the end of the fixed term impossible) – but unlike s21(4)(a), 21(1)(b) makes no mention of the need for an expiry date to even appear on the notice.
My take on the situation is that on a 6 month tenancy starting 1/1/11 the landlord could legally serve an expiry-date-free s21(1)(b) on, say, 1/3/11 and apply to the court on 2/5/11 requesting possession on 1/7/11 – being on or after the coming to an end of an assured shorthold tenancy which was a fixed term tenancy.
Anecdotal evidence says no – but none of the above is contrary to section 21(1)(b). I fail to see how a DJ could impose any rules in addition to those in the statute, unless perhaps they are hidden in CPR or something similar? Would a DJ have such a right? Could a failed application be refered to a Circuit Judge?
Tessa Shepperson says
Interesting point. I would not risk it myself. When going for possession I generaly take an overcautions belt and braces approach. My clients would not like it if they lost their case!
But what does anyone else think?
DR says
I can totally understand your approach, but if we can clarify the *legal* position your clients may find thay can end their 6 month tenancies after 6 months – which is surely how it should be? Maybe you could gain possession for them 6-8 weeks before your competitors could? Wouldn’t that be a coup?
Current thinking would only allow possession at 8ish months if the courts were reasonably quick about things. Surely the law should back the idea that a six month contract should be endable at the end of 6 months? No other contract for 6 months means 8 months!
Tessa Shepperson says
I have had a quick scout around in my text books. The possession proceedings text books don’t seem to have anything but there is this case reported in the Housing Law Casebook, 4th edition by Nic Madge and Claire Sephton. I hope they won’t mind my quoting from it. The report is a bit inconclusive and does not answer the point directly but it is the best I can find.
Gloucestershire HA v Phelps
10 February 200 , Gloucester County Court
Possession cannot be ordered under s21 within a fixed term (in absence of break clause)
The claimant granted the defendant an assured shorthold tenancy on 4 February 2002 for a fixed term of 12 months. It was described as a ‘Starter Tenancy’ and included a clause that it would cease to be an assured shorthold after 12 months conditional on no possession proceedings having been brought.
On 4 September 2002, the claimant served a s21 notice but cited rent arrears and anti-social behaviour, although no such behaviour was specified. The claimant brought a possession claim under the accelerated possession procedure. A possession order was made by a district judge without a hearing on 11 December 2002.
The tenant appealed successfully because the possession order had become effective before the 12-month fixed-term tenancy had ended. HHJ Hutton stated that s21 specifically provides that possession may be granted only if the assured shorthold tenancy has actually come to an end at the time of the order. In this case it had not come to an end. The application and the possession order were premature. Although anti-social behaviour was raised in the claim, this was irrelevant because this action was not commenced under Housing Act 1988 s8.
jjlandlord says
That’s basically my point of view: Namely that applying for a possession order by starting proceedings before the end of the fixed term is premature since possession cannot be required until term ends: Tenant is still within notice period until then.
And thus courts should in principle refuse to accept applications during fixed term.
Ben Reeve-Lewis says
Blimey, this one is running haha. How can such a simple procedure cause so many legal arguments? And I dont mean that as an insult to anyoner either. It just goes to show how mad housing law is.
I may be repeating what has already been said but in slightly different words, which can sometimes be helpful (and certainly helps me to undertsand the arguments) but this is the advice I give to my clients (I hope to Buddha I have been right all these years).
You can serve a section 21 the day a tenant moves in, so it will expire 2 months into the fixed term but in such cases the fixed term takes precedence and you cant apply for possession until the fixed term has expired. Have I missed something in the above complexities though?
And DR you say “I fail to see how a DJ could impose any rules in addition to those in the statute”. You would think so wouldnt you but I have suffered at the end of some mad DJs in my time.
A couple of years back when there was all that Hoo Ha about postponed orders and the date for possession creating tolerated trespassers, I trained a bunch of housing officers in Hertford who tolds me that their local DJ granted postponed possession on the new N28a but insisted on adding a date of possession, thus perpetuating the whole mess all over again.
And I once lost a case in front of a screaming mad judge, who still practices, who told me that the absence of an old style section 20 notice did not create an assured tenancy by default but created an assured tenancy, for a fixed term…….mad old bat!!!!!
Tessa Shepperson says
DR, I agree that from the landlords point of view it sounds fair to issue proceedings in advance so that the order can be made as soon as possible after the fixed term comes to an end.
However until the fixed term comes to an end, the tenants won’t have done anything wrong. They are fully entitled to be in the property. So far as I am aware you cannot successfully issue proceedings in respect of a breach or default which has not yet happened.
Kevin Winchester (Winchester Lettings Group) says
If served correctly & in a timely manner the process to serve a section 21 & then issue court papers when the time comes to do so it is actually a relatively painless process.
In my opinion it’s far easier than using section 8 on descriany grounds as you rely on the judge to agree with your claim.
Tessa yet again a great blog my apolgies for not commenting more often, I always read your tweets and blog, I run a very busy Lettings company so don’t get much time to comment & using my iPhone keypad is quite cumbersum. My new years resolution was to comment more on blogs that interest me so I am making a good start now :-)
David says
Long time ago but I seem to remember that not long after the Housing Act 1988 came in a landlord applied to court on the last day of the tenancy/notice and was thrown out for starting too early. Only a DJ so not binding. However, surely the issue is one of cause of action? When you serve the notice you are saying you intend to take court action if the tenant does not go. The tenant does not go at the end of your notice so you start court action, before the end of the fixed term. Since the fixed term is not ended, then surely at the date of application you don’t have any cause of action as this will not arise till the end of the fixed term. The courts would, if this was allowed, have to process thousands of wasted applications where the tenant simply moved out anyway. After all the Civil Procedure Rules were to try and make court action a last resort, hence all the pre-action protocols. A parallel would be applying to the court for the hearing in case you could not settle in the pre action information. I can’t see the courts allowing that.
I like DRs reading of it, and very accurate it is too. Trouble is I don’t make a living out of arguing this to the courts of record so I have to have another strategy. If you want a possession order to take effect at the end of 6 months, just give a 4 month fixed term (or thereabouts), serve notice after month 2 and seek a court order after month 4 to take effect at month 6. No great controversy there. Good for landlords but bad for lawyers, sorry Tessa!
jjlandlord says
Even on a 4 month fixed term, I believe landlord is not allowed to use s21 to seek possession before tenancy has run for 6 months… So back to square one.
Ben Reeve-Lewis says
Some good stuff on Nic Madge’s website here http://www.nicmadge.co.uk/assured_shorthold.php
Kevin Winchester (Winchester Lettings Group) says
Surely the whole point of serving a section 21 is to get possession of the property at the end of the fixed term if it’s a 6 month you serve it on month 4 plus add a few days for post ect.
If a landlord serves the section 21 with no intention of using it then why bother, just let the AST go periodic if you want to get them out using the other Section 21 it’s no biggy really.
I hear of agents advising landlords to serve the notice requiring possession on the same day a tenancy is granted. Have not heard about a dairy or outlook calendar? I write to all my landlords even if not managed 13 weeks before the end of the fixed term as a reminder if they want the property back to get the notice served.
Ben Reeve-Lewis says
Oh and Alicia, I have had quite a bit to do with landlords insurance lately.
As far as I am aware I have only seen insurance for rent arrears cover, not ground only claims. Endsleigh certainly provide legal represnetation for rent arrears claims and an indemnity of up to £2,500 which seems to be industry standard but the landord has to pay the first £1,000 excess, which amounts usually to the deposit.
I think insurance on section 21 claims, which are by far the more common would be a bit of an expensive liability for insurance firms. I keep cominh across figures of 7% and 10% as being the percentage of cases that end up going all the way for rent arrearsclaims (Landlord Action and Helplandlord)
Tessa Shepperson says
Its great to see you on the blog Kevin :) A good resolution I think.
I think you are wise not to serve a s21 on the day the tenancy is granted – this is a bit dangerous as the tenant may say (and how can you deny it conclusively if the date is the same?) that it was given to him before the tenancy was signed, and you cannot serve notice to end a tenancy which has not started yet.
Hi David, your comments make sense. The courts are certainly against unnecessary cases, they are completely overburdened and underfunded. It is a very serious problem which no one other than lawyers and court staff seems to be very interested in.
Tessa Shepperson says
jjlandlord – actually you can. I had clients give a one month periodic and s21 notice (he had moved into a different room in a shared house) and then we issued after the notice had expired. We got the case to court before the end of the 6 month period but the Judge was able to make the order dated afterwards.
Point is though that we issued after both the (very short) fixed term and the s21 notice had ended.
jjlandlord says
Interesting. Did getting the case to court before the end of the 6 month period not go against the “6 month rule”, though? (Thus being vulnerable to successful appeal)
Tessa Shepperson says
With the six month rule, it is the possession order which cannot be made within it, issuing proceedings is OK.
Section 21(5) says “… the order may not be made so as to take effect earlier than … [six months] …”
jjlandlord says
Thanks for that, Tessa.
David says
Tessa, Thanks for answering JJLandlord point about application within the 6 months. This was one on appeal to a circuit judge in the county court some years ago.
Regarding the section 21 and fixed term point, I discussed this with my good friend Adrian (one of your “Notable Persons” Tessa) and he point out that the wording of section 21(1) includes the word “WAS” (This was not his thinking but he kindly raised this point for my attention).
I Quote section 21(1) (my emphasis if I get it right!):
Without prejudice to any right of the landlord under an assured shorthold tenancy to recover possession of the dwelling-house let on the tenancy in accordance with Chapter I above, on or after the coming to an end of an assured shorthold tenancy which a fixed term tenancy, a court shall make an order for possession of the dwelling-house if it is satisfied—
Is there not a strong argument that if you make the court application during the fixed term, DR’s proposition, then it fails on the “WAS” test. At the point the court is considering the issue they cannot issue an order as the tenancy IS a fixed term tenancy not WAS a fixed term tenancy?
The word WAS would seem to imply it has to be in the past tense and the word relates to the order.
There is a narrow window in which one might argue that the you serve notice to expire at least a month before the end of the fixed term, apply to the court just before the end of the fixed term gambling on the court not looking at the paperwork till after the fixed term. I would still argue this falls foul of the cause of action problem mentioned before.
jjlandlord says
Interesting point. I guess this ‘was’ is coherent with the ‘on or after the coming to an end’ right before it.
David says
Sorry I see in my last quote the word “WAS” is missing from the quote (the very word I was trying to emphasis disappeared, there’s irony!). The quote should be (emphasis permitting!)
I Quote section 21(1) (my emphasis if I get it right!):
Without prejudice to any right of the landlord under an assured shorthold tenancy to recover possession of the dwelling-house let on the tenancy in accordance with Chapter I above, on or after the coming to an end of an assured shorthold tenancy which was a fixed term tenancy, a court shall make an order for possession of the dwelling-house if it is satisfied—
Westminster says
I think David’s argument that, if the fixed term hasn’t expired at the date of claim, there is no cause of action under s.21, is a compelling one. I agree, also, with his point that if landlords routinely brought claims in advance of fixed term expiry, when in most cases the tenant will go voluntarily if served notice, it would be a huge waste of court time in processing unnecessary claims.
Whilst s.21(1) makes no mention of the two months’ notice having to expire after fixed term expiry, IMO it would be nonsensical for the notice to expire earlier, since the landlord cannot meaningfully state that he “requires possession” before the end of the fixed term.
Perhaps the reason there appears to be no binding case law is that, were such a claim to be appealed (i.e. a possession claim brought before fixed term expiry, thrown out by a DJ), the fixed term would have expired by the date of any further hearing. While the argument could (perhaps?) still be tested in a higher court, what landlord claimant would choose to appeal than to use the far cheaper option of reapplying for possession after term expiry?
NL says
Belated, I know, but just to add my few pence worth on DR’s view on issuing possession proceedings prior to the end of the fixed term – on the basis that the hearing would be after the expiry of the fixed term.
This strikes me as a bit of a non-lawyer error. Simply because the statute (HA 1988) doesn’t expressly forbid such a thing doesn’t mean one can do it. Where the statute is silent, common law and the Civil Procedure Rules apply. And the rule is one cannot issue a claim on a non-existent cause of action and then rely on it becoming retrospectively valid. Before the end of the fixed term (and s.21 notice), there is no cause of action for possession proceedings.
If I was acting for one of DR’s tenants, I would be very tempted to immediately respond to his/her issue of proceedings, prior to the end of the fixed term, with an application to strike out the claim as groundless, with costs against DR. Alternatively, as tenant, move out at the end of the term, and apply to strike out that prematurely issued claim as an abuse of process, with costs against DR.
At the very least,if the tenants moved out at the end of the fixed term, DR’s premature claim would fail and DR would not get his/her issue costs.
Tessa Shepperson says
Thanks Nearly, an excellent comment and sums it all up very well.
It occurs to me also that serving a section 21 notice which expires before the fixed term ends could be considered harassment, as it is asking the tenants to vacate at a time when they are legally entitled to stay.
David says
Regarding JJLandlord’s point on going to court with 6 months
I mentioned a case previously about issuing proceedings before the end of the 6 months, but after the notice was correctly served and BEFORE 6 months (i.e. the fixed term is shorter than 6 months.
Adrian from the Guild reminded me of a case they were involved in 2006l [Ratcliffe v Parks 2006 unreported], on appeal in the High Court (therefore a court of record decision). The decision was that the court order could not expire before 6 months, the proceedings could take place.
Simon says
Can I issue proceedings during the fixed term of an AST if I am alleging anti social behaviour. I know I can issue immediately if I serve a section 8 but can’t seem to find anything re section 21.
Help appreciated
Tessa Shepperson says
Hi Simon. The section 21 is the no fault ground for possession and even if there is a reason WHY you want to evict your tenant, the Judge in a section 21 case will not be looking at that. He will be looking at whether you have complied with the technical rules for making a possession order under the secton 21 process. And this does not include ASB.
If you want to evict for that, then you need to use the section 8 route. This can be done during the fixed term in most cases.
Simon says
Thanks Tessa for your most helpful and quick response. I’ll serve a section 8 as suggested.
Tessa Shepperson says
I should add that for private landlords, using the discretionary grounds (the only ones available for ASB) for eviction are not always a good idea.
I don’t want to discuss this here (as this discussion is on s21), but there is a Which Possession Proceedings section of my Landlord Law site which explains this in some detail. http://www.landlordlaw.co.uk/landlords/which-possession-proceedings
zara says
hi,i gave the section 21 the day they moved in (5/10/2009)is it out of date?
Tessa Shepperson says
No, but unless you can prove you served it after they signed the tenancy agreement, it may be invalid. You can’t give a notice to end a tenancy which has not started yet.