Probationary tenancy? This urban myth is really about the law overriding what landlords want to happen. What many landlords would like, is to have their tenants live in the property for a short probationary period, during which time the landlord can evict the tenant at will, before the tenancy starts properly. Not possible. Sorry! Street…
Section 21 possession notices and eviction I am pleased to report a Court of Appeal related decision on section 21 notices, which finally takes a sensible attitude on saving clauses. As you may or may not know, where the notice is served after the fixed term has come to an end, the persons drafting the…
A case recently reported in the Legal Action Magazine shows how silly things can get, if the court paperwork is not completed correctly by the claimant or his solicitors. Mr O’Brien granted Mr Hill an assured shorthold tenancy from 9 June 2008. No deposit had been paid to him. On 12 June he served a…
We all know, or those of us who do possession proceedings know, that only the landlord (the claimant) or his solicitor can sign the court paperwork for issuing a county court claim for possession. Claim forms being signed by letting agents is one of the top reasons why cases get chucked out by the court….
It is not often realised by those outside the profession, that the Law Society produce some excellent handbooks on all sorts of legal topics. This book is a good example. This book is really intended for housing law practitioners, essentially those looking after landlords and tenants in the social housing sector – mostly local authority…
This is a real hangover from the past, but a surprising number of people still think that accepting rent from a tenant they are evicting will somehow prejudice their case. This dates back to pre Housing Act law. For hundreds of years back into the past, landlords have been able to evict tenants under a…
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Devious tenant works the system in Canada
It is interesting to read sometimes about the problems landlords have in other jurisdictions. A CBS news report tells the tale of Toronto landlord Jane Randall who has been trying to evict her non paying tenant for months. In October it seems she obtained an eviction order but this was cancelled “when the tenant complained…