Accelerated Possession Procedure

SOME BACKGROUND

A s.21 notice comes in a prescribed form and allows you to obtain a possession order. It will not allow you to claim for any rent arrears or other issues. A claim relying on a section 21 notice is a no fault claim. You are merely stating to the tenants and court that you are the landlord and want possession of the property back.

The benefits of a section 21 notice are that there are only very limited circumstances when a tenant can defend s21 possession claims, such as if the notice itself is not valid (the most common form of defence). In usual circumstances the s21 procedure will be dealt with on paper and will not involve a hearing unless either the tenant raises an issue or a judge looking at the papers spots an issue and decides to list a hearing anyway.

A section 21 notice cannot be served in the first 4 months of a tenancy. Due to coronavirus legislation the notice period has been extended to 6 months and cannot expire before the end of the fixed/assured term. If the tenant remains in the property beyond then you are entitled to issue a claim.

There are other important requirements to be considered before a valid section 21 notice can be served. We detail these within our eviction guide here.

Our fixed fees are set out below. These only apply where we are instructed throughout.

THE SECTION 21 EVICTION SERVICE

STEP 1; THE NOTICE

Our fixed fees includes drafting a section 21 notice. To go ahead email the AST, Deposit prescribed information and terms and conditions, EPC and How to Rent Booklet to us at [email protected] and we will confirm next steps.

STEP 2; THE CLAIM

Our fixed fee includes drafting and issuing the claim and is plus the court fee of £355. To go ahead email the AST, Deposit prescribed information and terms and conditions, EPC, How to Rent Booklet and section 21 notice to us at [email protected] and we will confirm next steps.

Issuing a claim based on an incorrect or invalid section 21 notice can result in you being ordered to pay the tenants legal costs as well as your own. If the section 21 notice is not valid it is not in your interests to issue a claim relying on that notice and is better to review whether the notice is valid first. If you are unsure whether you are entitled or have served a valid section 21 notice contact us. We will review your position and notice and will advise you are able to issue proceedings based on the section 21 notice. To go ahead email your details to [email protected] and we will contact you.

STEP 3; THE HEARING (if there is one)

If there is no hearing there is no cost and a possession order will be received. With a section 21 notice and accelerated possession proceedings the starting point is that there will be no hearing. The court always has discretion and if the tenant defends the claim OR the judge looks at the paperwork and decides there is an issue they want to look at, a hearing might be ordered. If you need more information regarding the eviction process and how it works, read our eviction guide available here.

STEP 4; THE BAILIFFS

Our fixed fee includes applying to the court for a bailiffs appointment, if needed

Residential Possession Services

Our fixed fee covers all of our services for residential possession:

• Complete review of all tenancy documents
• Advising on any problems or issues so that a valid notice can be served
• Resolving the problems
• Drafting notices and serving on tenants
• Drafting claim for possession
• Reviewing any defences received
• Drafting any witness evidence
• Attending hearing, or instructing advocate to attend
• Corresponding with tenant as necessary
• Applying for County Court Bailiff

Fixed Fee: £2,500 plus vat and court services

Court Fees: £355 and £130 (subject to change by the court)