We have recently represented a Landlord in rather long and protracted possession proceedings. Not only were the tenants extremely difficult, but throughout the pandemic they had accumulated arrears in excess of £35,000!

The Landlord was frustrated at the process and fed up with the significant arrears. The Landlord was unable to get any response from the tenants so instructed us to deal with his case.

In the midst of the pandemic, the first issue for the Landlord was the longer notice period for the Section 8 notice, which was followed by long delays from the courts due to the backlog created during the pandemic. 

Following our instruction we communicated with the tenant and established that she was living in the property on her own with her children - the other tenant (her partner) had vacated. The tenant agreed to vacate the property and offered £5,000 to settle the matter. Although the amount offered was a lot less than the amount owed, the Landlord was relieved to be getting his property back.

The female tenant vacated the property as agreed. However, we then received communication from the previously absent tenant, to say he needed access to the property, and should the Landlord not provide this he would bring a claim for unlawful eviction.

Unlawful eviction claims pose a significant risk to landlords, who must carefully establish that they have vacant possession o before changing the locks at taking back possession of the property. To avoid any risk of a claim against the landlord which would be a costly exercise, we advised the Landlord to allow access and continue to the hearing (already listed) to obtain possession and a money judgment for the balance of the rent arrears. 

On the day of the hearing, the tenant attended and argued that he intended to defend the claim. The court adjourned the matter to give the tenant a chance to file and serve a fully particularised defence – another delaying tactic on the part of this tenant. No defence was however received, so we urgently requested that the matter be listed for a possession hearing.

At the possession hearing we were able to secure a money judgment for the full arrears, a daily rate for rent until the eviction went ahead, interest, possession in 14 days, an order that the deposit be released back to the Landlord in full, and the Landlord’s full legal costs. This was a fantastic result following a rather long wait for the Landlord.

Despite the outcome being in the Landlord’s favour, much can still be learned from this case.

1.   Referencing: Referencing tenants and in particular checking to ensure their ability to afford the monthly rent separately is crucial.

2.   Settlement: At Woodstock we are proactive in assessing opportunity to settle claims throughout. In cases such as this where arrears are significant, we look to avoid costs incurred in the litigation process where possible.

3.   Unlawful eviction: Landlords should always seek advice from a legally qualified professional to ensure they are able to take possession of their property without risk of a claim against them.

The next step for this Landlord is to explore the options for enforcement of the money judgment to recover the sums due if the tenant fails to pay the sums to our client as ordered by the court. The baton will be passed to our fantastic debt recovery team who will look at all avenues available and consider the best method to get the money back in our client’s pockets.

This may seem like a daunting task, but the Landlord has 6 years to enforce the debt and there are several options available to recover the money over that period of time.