Evicting troublesome tenants from a residential property is always a difficult task, and with the introduction of new court processes for evictions using a High Court Enforcement Officer (HCEO), it is likely to become temporarily more difficult while landlords learn about the new procedures.
Gaining an understanding of the changes, and how they will affect you, the landlord, will mean you can evict tenants in the quickest and cheapest way possible. To help landlords understand these changes, we are talking through what you need to do to recover your property outlining:
- Whether you still need an Order for Possession
- What you need to do if you want to repossess your property
- What you need to do if you need to repossess your property and recover rent at the same time
Do I still need an Order for Possession?
An Order for Possession is still the first step you need to take to recover your property if you need to evict tenants, have given 2 months’ notice in writing, and they remain in your property.
In most instances, you can apply for this online at a cost of £325, but in cases where you have to have to apply via post (for example, when you’re making a forfeiture claim), you’ll have to pay a fee of £355.
Once you receive your Order for Possession from the County Court, you will either be granted leave to transfer up, or will have to apply for it using a form called N244 (costs £100). This N244 form will also need completing if leave has been granted as you will need permission to issue a writ of possession.
Repossessing your property
If you want to recover rent as well as evict your tenants, skip to the section below. If you are only seeking to recover your property, read on.
After obtaining an Order for Possession, the next step to recovering your property and evicting your tenants is to complete an Order for Permission to issue a Writ of Possession form (PF92) and a Request for Issue of Writ of Possession (PF88). You can submit this to the High Court or District Registry at the same time as PF92, but need to request they seal it.
There is a court fee of £66 for this step.
Repossessing and recovering rent
If at the same time as evicting your tenants, you also need to recover money owed, such as rent arrears, and have already received an Order for Possession, you will need to complete a Request for Issue of Combined Writ of Possession and Control. You can submit this to the High Court or District Registry at the same time as PF92, but need to request they seal it.
There is a court fee of £66 for this step.
Obtaining a Writ of Possession
Once the relevant forms detailed above have been completed and submitted, you can complete a Writ of Possession form (No.66) requesting it to be sealed at the High Court or District Registry.
With a Writ of Possession, a High Court Enforcement Officer (HCEO) can act on your behalf and evict your tenants and if necessary, recover rent arrears, freeing up your property to be re-rented to suitable tenants.
It can be difficult to understand the process of evicting a tenant, especially when faced with multiple forms. If you would like some assistance with your evictions, please get in touch with Able Investigations. As a team of certificated bailiffs and enforcement officersbailiffs and enforcement officers, we have the experience and expertise to follow your court case right through to your desired outcome. Call us on 0345 366 0000 or fill in our contact form to discuss your tenancy troubles today.
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