As predicted, the inexorable rise in court fees continues with the House of Lords having approved a new rise the other night.
As discussed in the comments below (re the original version of this post), it looks as if the new fees for eviction have not been brought in.
However you should thank your lucky stars that you are not bringing a chunky financial claim:
- The fee for claims from £10,000 – £199,999 will now be five per cent of the claim; and
- The fee for claims £200,000 and above will be fixed at £10,000. However
- The fee for claims from £1 – £9,999 will remain unchanged;
These fee increases have been almost universally condemned, as they effectively put big claims beyond the reach of anyone (other than the seriously wealthy) who is unable to get some form of financial assistance.
Note – landlords wanting to bring a possession claim against their tenants can find out about our free guide here.
[This post has been amended from its original form as it looks as if the increase in eviction fees has not gone ahead]
In housing advice world we already see many cases where rogue landlords try and avoid the costs of eviction in numerous ways from cajoling verging on harassment or straight out illegal evictions. This is going to see a rise in those cases just at the time that most local authorities are bringing in cuts to staffing of specialist jobs, meaning more will get away with it too.
Hi Tessa
The guidence issued by the justice website today states:
“Non-money claims
To issue a claim for something other than money, including possession, the following fees will be payable based on where you start your claim:
•
High Court
£480
•
County Court
£280
•
Possession Claims Online (PCOL)
£250”
So no change. The HoL did not approve the £75 hike for possession claims!!
http://hmctsformfinder.justice.gov.uk/courtfinder/forms/ex050-eng.pdf
I think Ben has got it in one, unless the legal method of evictions is affordable and does not have unreasonable delays, more landlords will go rogue and use other methods…
Hi Tessa,
I agree with Laura, it looks like the fee hike has not actually occurred….yet. Until a charge is produced to someone showing the increase i would not heed any rumors just prior to an election, call me a cynic!
Hello
As the others are saying, I don’t think the possession fees are correct.
See my last article on our website for more details (I won’t link here as don’t want to use your site as links to mine without your permission). Just click on “recent” on our site.
Many thanks
Adrian
Guild of Residential Landlords
Thank you everyone for pointing this out. I was relying on other sites being correct about this but it goes to show that you should double check everything!
I have now amended this post – thank you to everyone here for your help.
Just had an email from Chris Taylor of Drydens Fairfax (many thanks) who confirmed that there is a separate consultation re the possession fees. He gave me a link to the impact assessment which may be of interest https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/396892/imapct-assessment-enhanced-fees-possession-claims.pdf