Landlord Wins Eviction Case Against Tenant with 17k Of Arrears

June 19, 2012 - PRLog -- Evictions South East are reporting an unprecedented rise in demand for their services over the last 3 months, with the average number of calls to their Landlord Legal Advice team increasing 275% compared to the three months previous, and of these 9 out of 10 are serious enough to require immediate legal assistance.

http://www.evictions-southeast.co.uk

The reasons landlords and letting agents call us for help can be for a number of reasons. It may be that rental arrears have built up, complaints about anti-social behaviour have been lodged, or damage has been inflicted upon a property. By far the most common is rental arrears...

“One landlord who was living and working abroad, had a the tenant who had run up arrears over £17,000. The tenant had failed to answer the telephone, reply to emails or letters from the landlord who was trying to find out why the rent was not being paid. The landlord had no agent and so was trying to deal with the situation directly. Unfortunately the landlord was unable to secure any payments or commitment from the landlord after several months and ever increasing arrears. After a call to Evictions South East we immediately started legal proceedings against the tenant – they had had a free ride for long enough and the landlord had been very patient – however, the landlord just simply could not afford to keep the non paying tenants in an expensive 5 bedroom detached property in the heart of Kent for any longer. Amazingly, the tenant put in an enormous 80 page legal defence listing all kinds of lies and loopholes to try and evade eviction. Including claiming the property was in bad repair and causing ill health (the property was the landlords main residence prior to living abroad and was in top condition!) the tenants also tried to claim they had been making cash payments for the last 6 months! Evictions South East are all too familiar with all the excuses non paying tenants try to use in court to avoid eviction – but nothing gets past us, we know the law inside and out and as always got an order for Possession without any adjournment and in the shortest time given which is 14 days after court hearing.”

Renters can rely upon a number of reliable safeguards in the battle against eviction. However, perhaps the most important form of protection is the 1977 eviction act, which stipulates that it is only possible to remove a tenant upon the issue of a court order. It also outlines the possibility of prosecution for any landlords who might force access or harass their problem tenants.

Even on occasions where the local community have complained, tenants may exploit loopholes in the law to keep the roof over their heads. Knowing how difficult it is to prove instances of anti social behaviour, they may continue to wreak havoc until eviction becomes a reality. Despite demands from desperate landlords, the courts may grant a second chance to problem tenants if they can prove that their irresponsible behaviour has come to an end.

There is so much governmental and charitable support for renters that landlords can be forgiven for thinking that the world is against them. It could even be argued that the drive against homelessness is bad news for rental property owners who are attempting to run a profitable business. As evidence of this point the housing and homelessness charity Shelter provides a great deal of advice on delaying bailiffs and challenging possession orders.

Landlords regularly complain about the amount of time that it takes between issuing a notice of eviction and actually reclaiming a property. They often have to wait a number of months for the case to be heard in court. And even if the evidence stacks up in favour of the landlord, there remains the potential for protracted appeals. It is worth pointing out that the landlord is often left severely out of pocket, after waiting such a long time to evict a non paying tenant. There is even the possibility of have to spend great deals on property reparations after the tenancy comes to an end.

When highlighting the problems faced by landlords one rental industry expert said, “There is no consistency in the eviction process and it is archaically slow. It can take up to three months to gain a court eviction order. Judges seem to review cases on a random basis and opinions differ from judge to judge. There is confusion amongst judges and magistrates on the terms in which eviction notices can be granted.”

For more information about the legal eviction process or some free legal advice on how to evict your problem tenant quickly please go to http://www.evictions-southeast.co.uk